Rivers CJ Names Evaluation Committee

Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase (left) inspecting guard of honour during a visit to the Rivers State Police Command in Port Harcourt Photo: Ibioye Diama

In a bid to assess the
performance of judiciary workers in lower courts of the Rivers State Judiciary, the state acting chief judge, Justice Daisy W. Okocha has set up a performance Evaluation committee for lower courts.
Justice Okocha stated this on Monday while declaring open a two-day workshop for judiciary officers and court staff of the state judiciary at the auditorium of the High Court, Port Harcourt.
She disclosed that the committee was headed by a serving judge of the state High Court adding that only candidates from the lower courts that are confirmed to be performing well in the assessment exercise will be recommended to the NJC for appointment to superior courts of record.
According to her, Ten years ago the NJC created Performance Evaluation Committees for superior courts record with the intention to assess and monitor the performance of judicial officers for optimum         service delivery in the administration and dispensation of justice.
Justice Okocha averred that NJC in course of reviewing the guidelines for the appointment of judicial officers in the country recommended that all judicial service commissions of states should set up performance evaluation committees for lower courts adding that implication is that magistrates, Area customary, and Sharia court judges are now subject to formal performance evaluation.
She averred that such formal performance evaluation underscored the essence of the workshop adding that it was expected that all magistrates and customary court judges would better appreciate the evaluation criteria as well as their responsibilities to facilitate the process.
The acting chief judge stated that the workshop was intended to bring judicial officers and court staff in the state judiciary up to date and noted that the closure of the courts last year had robbed it  the opportunity to organise  such capacity training workshops.
She stated that the workshop was in consonance with the provisions of the NJI’s public Notice I of September 30, 2013 ” The National Judicial policy” which seeks to maintain a high standard of adjudication and administration in the dispensation of justice in Nigeria”.
The acting state Chief Judge while thanking the National Judicial Institute (NJI) for their role in facilitating the workshop urged all to take the workshop serious and equip themselves with the present realities.