Judicial Officers Seek Improved Infrastructure In Enugu

The acting Chairman of
Ogui Nike Customary Court Panel, Enugu, Mr Felix Agwu, last Monday, decried the neglect of the judiciary in terms of improved infrastructure since independence.
Agwu told our source that inadequate provision of funds was responsible for the absence of a conducive environment for effective adjudication of matters at the customary and magistrate’s courts level in the country.
“Most magistrates and customary courts are old buildings, built by our colonial masters and therefore, need to be rehabilitated for efficient and effective running of the system. “In Enugu Magistrate’s Courts, two or three magistrates share one court and this does not speak well of a magistrate’s court. “That is why I say that there should be enough funds for the judiciary to rehabilitate our courts so as to have befitting courts for the smooth running of the judicial system’’, he said.
Another judicial officer, who preferred anonymity, told our correspondent that the judiciary had performed creditably as the Magistrate’s Courts in Enugu increased from five in 1960s to 36 presently.
He stressed the need for information technology and communication system to be fully integrated in the judicial process for the effective storage and retrieval of information..
“If all magisterial divisions are inter-connected through ICT, the issue of loss of case files and other bureaucratic bottle-necks would be eliminated.