Lawyers Want Courts Re-opened

Legal Practitioners in
Rivers State have called on the state government to re-open the courts so that lawyers can earn their living.
The lawyers, who spoke with The Tide in Port Harcourt recently shortly after a meeting with the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Hon. Worgu Boms, said the crisis in Rivers Judiciary had become worrisome as some of them had found it difficult to make both ends meet since the crisis began more than four months ago.
Barr. Uche Allen, who spoke with The Tide said the continued closure of the courts had dealt a severe blow on the young lawyers who depended solely on practice to make ends meet.
He told the state government to find a way out of the logjam in order to make lawyers return back to work.
Barr. Allen noted that private lawyers were the victims of the judiciary crisis in the state and called on government to return to the status quo ante to enable lawyers go back to work pending the determination of who becomes the chief Judge.
Also speaking, Barr. Endurance Akpehi expressed regrets that the crisis was allowed to linger till date.
He remarked that the interest of every lawyer should  be on how to move the profession forward and warned against unnecessary disputation that allowed the crisis to linger.
He described the judiciary crisis as an ill wind that did not do anybody any good.
“We are setting our judiciary backwards. There was glut of cases in the judiciary before the industrial action began, still the strike is allowed to linger,” he noted.
Also speaking, Barr. Jackson Assor asked the AG to expedite action to see that the crisis is resolved.
He noted that despite the fact that private lawyers were having a terrible time, a great numbr of accused persons were suffering in prison custoday.
Barr. Akpelu said that from what the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Hon. Worgu Boms said the re-opening of the court was not in sight.

Chidi Enyie