Elechi Swears-In Customary Court Of Appeal President

Governor  Martin
Elechi of Ebonyi State,  has sworn in Mr
O’ Connel Ogbonna as the acting President of the state Customary Court of
Appeal.

Ogbonna replaces Mr Cyril Ekuma-Nkuma, who retired on July 15 after attaining the age of 65 years.

Congratulating the appointee, the governor urged him to
discharge his responsibility with the fear of God.

“You will be presiding over a system that is shaped by the
conflict between culture and religion which are the pillars of our
existence.  The presence of more learned
people in customary court system should, however, be used to strike the desired
balance between custom and religion”, he said.

Elechi explained that it was the government’s recognition of
the importance of culture to the development of the state that made it to
inaugurate three cultural centres in the three senatorial zones.  “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led
government in the state intends using culture to bring sanity in the system and
bring together extreme sides of both beliefs”, he said.

The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Ben
Igwenyi,  said that pursuant to section
281, sub section 4 of the 1999 Constitution, the position should not be vacant.

“The new acting president took over the position as the next
officer in rank and would serve for three months, pending the confirmation of
his appointment. “If his appointment is not confirmed at the end of three
months, the next most ranking officer would take his place”, he said.

In his acceptance speech, Ogbonna thanked the government for
giving him the opportunity to serve the state, and promised to justify the
confidence reposed in him.