Delta State has opened the High Court Complex in Asaba, which was rebuilt after it was burnt during the #EndSARS protests in 2020.
Chief Justice Marshall Umukoro, who unveiled the complex, said court processes would resume on February 15.
Umukoro described the governor’s intervention as timely because dispensation of justice was delayed for some months after the building was burnt.
He said: “On October 22, 2020, some hoodlums invaded the High Court Complex in Asaba and burnt it. We thank God for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who within 48 hours visited the court complex to see things for himself. He supported us morally and financially to rebuild this complex.
“The contract was awarded on November 20, 2020. We thank God we are here today; this is true restoration as you can see for yourself. We are happy and we thank the governor for this milestone. We also appreciate the media for giving us full coverage.
“After the vandalism, we were constrained to relocate our four judges to our buildings in Ibusa. But on February 15, Courts 2, 3, 4 and 5 will relocate back here.”
Justice Umukoro cautioned youths to refrain from destroying public buildings as monies spent in rebuilding the court complex could have been used to develop other infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Delta State Government has warned erring contrac­tors and field engineers involved in mitigating the construction of quality road projects across the state.
Speaking in Asaba, the Commis­sioner of Works, James Aguoye, said the warning became imperative due to the refusal of some contractors and field engineers to work in synergy with the Delta State Project Implemen­tation, Evaluation and Monitoring Team.
He noted that the job of the moni­toring team is to reduce the excesses of erring contractors and field engineers, saying that the team was not created to extort any contractor.
According to Aguoye, “The gover­nor feels that there is a need to have a body outside the ministry to ensure proper supervision and ensure there is strict compliance with specifications given to contractors.
“Sometimes, the field engineers compromise but when there is a body that is not in the Ministry of Works, everybody would sit up. These help to ensure jobs are done to specifica­tions”.
While appealing to the contractors to synergise with the monitoring team, he declared that any erring field en­gineer involved in sharp practices in the construction of projects would be sanctioned by the ministry.
He noted that refusal of some con­tractors to work with the monitoring team is due to refusal of their members to comply with project specifications.
Hence, he declared that contractors who did not comply with the directive of jobs done would not be certified for payment.