Rivers Judiciary Has 30,734 Pending Cases, Nets Over ?845m in 2024/2025 Legal Year – CJ

The Rivers State Judiciary has 30,734 cases pending in various courts in the state at the close of the 2024/2025 legal year.

The Chief Judge of the state, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi, disclosed this while speaking at a special court session held by the judiciary to mark the end of the 2024/2025 and to herald the beginning of the 2025/2026 legal year in the state, held recently in Port Harcourt.

Amadi stated that the figure represents all the courts in the state, from magistrates to High Courts, as well as others. He averred that the legal year’s special court session is being marked by the judiciary as a memorial for stock-taking of past activities and rating the performances of the judiciary in the legal year ended, with the view to improving on areas of notice.

Justice Simeon Amadi highlighted the absence of a Committee on Prerogative of Mercy in the state, which, he said, has contributed significantly to congestion in custodial centres. He noted that the non-reduction of sentences for inmates, including 493 male and 15 female death-row prisoners, is beyond the Chief Judge’s powers, and called for government intervention.

He thanked the Governor for the support given to the Judiciary so far, and solicited for more encouragement to reduce the pressures judicial officers face in the performance of their duties.

He used the opportunity to announce that the state judiciary, in the legal year under review, generated over ?865 million, and requested the employment of more staff for the judiciary, as well as digitalisation of the state judiciary service.

Also speaking, the President of the Customary Court of Appeal in the state, Justice Wilfred Ihenachor Obuzor, said more new customary courts were established in the state within the period, making the number of customary courts in the state forty.

He listed lack of court rooms, vehicles, and shortage of staff as some of the challenges facing the customary courts in the state, and appealed to the state governor to intervene.

In her speech, the Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Port Harcourt Branch, Mrs. Cordelia Eke, said the 2024-2025 legal year began with optimism but was soon overshadowed by political and institutional turbulence.

She noted that the state of emergency and suspension of key elected officials disrupted democratic governance and tested the resilience of the justice system.

“The absence of an Attorney General caused serious delays in justice delivery, unprocessed legal applications, and financial losses,” Eke stated.

According to her, the situation underscored the urgent need to fortify laws that protect institutions and ensure that the justice system continues to function even in difficult times.

In his own presentation on behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), Chief Onueze Okocha (SAN), expressed concern over the battered image of the Judiciary, lamenting that many Nigerians have lost faith in the courts due to inconsistent judgments and prolonged case delays.

He urged judges to resist personal interests that could influence their professional conduct, calling for renewed integrity and faster dispensation of justice.

Akujobi Amadi