House Okays Customary Court Amendment Law In Rivers

The Rivers State House of Assembly has passed into law the bill seeking to amend the State Customary Court Law, 2009.
The passage of the bill into law followed a unanimous adoption of the report from the House Committee on Judiciary.
Presenting the committee’s report, the chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Hon. Kennedy Ebeku said the committee abided by the terms of reference given to them by the House.
According to him, the committee was mandated to organise a public hearing and made appropriate recommendations to the house for consideration and approval.
In its submission, the committee recommended that sections 2, 39, 40 and 41 should be repealed from the principal law adding that those sections were inconsistent with the present realities.
The chairman thanked his colleagues for the opportunity to serve and urged them to ensure that the bill is passed on time so that the benefits of the bill can be realised on time.
He told the lawmakers that the bill was borne out of a recent approval given to the state to have a Customary Court of Appeal with a president as the head noting that the bill will help in the adjudication of justice in the rural communities in the state.
The committee’s report was adopted as the property of the house through a motion raised by Hon. Chidi Lloyd and seconded by Hon. Hope Ikiriko.
Contributing during the debate, Hon. Chidi Lloyd observed that the recommendation of the committee’s report on section 4 (d), that only those who have attained the age of thirty be appointed as magistrate in the Customary Court should not be carried by the house.
He maintained that the law does not intend to amend culture and traditional laws that was operational in the state rather approval was granted the state to have a president of Customary Appeal Court
The Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Tonye Harry, who presided at the sitting thanked the judiciary committee for doing a good work that led to the quick passage of the bill into law.