The Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, Mrs Ekaete Obot, has appealed to the state government for regular release of funds to the judiciary to enhance the effective dispensation of justice, complaining that the judiciary in the state had been grappling with debt issues due to non-release of funds throughout the last legal year.
Obot’s appeal was contained in her address on Monday, during a Special Court Session to open the 2024/2025 legal year at the Judiciary Multi-purpose Hall, Judiciary Headquarters, Uyo.
According to the Chief Judge of the state, Ekaete Obot, the judiciary is currently understaffed, with the last recruitment having taken place in 2012. She highlighted that, due to this shortage, staff members are often required to handle the workload of two or even three individuals.
Obot revealed that, within the past two years, an unprecedented 316 staff members have retired from the state judiciary without any replacements.
She noted, “When retirement goes on for many years without regular replacement, many skills and competencies are lost. We therefore trust that in this new legal year, our governor will grant us leave to recruit more staff.”
During her visit to correctional facilities last year, she discovered that inmates lacked access to basic education. As a result, she suggested the establishment of proper adult education schools within correctional centres to ensure that inmates could obtain basic primary and secondary education, as well as skills acquisition, particularly for those who would eventually regain their freedom.
Obot also called for the creation of a home for the reformation of young offenders, which she christened the “Borstal Institute.”
Furthermore, she urged the Bar to continue partnering with the judiciary to ensure the speedy dispensation of justice in the state.
The Chief Judge took the opportunity to clarify a common misconception among members of the public, who sometimes mistakenly refer to her as the Chief Justice of the state. She explained that the title “Chief Justice” is reserved for the head of the Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council (NJC), currently Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
She emphasised, “It is important I use this opportunity to tell you that when you want to address me, I am Chief Judge, Ekaete Obot, and not Chief Justice Ekaete Obot. That title, ‘Chief Justice,’ is for Kekere-Ekun at the Supreme Court of Nigeria. At the Appeal court, we have ‘Justice,’ and at the silk level, we have the ‘Chief Judge’ of the state.”
In his remarks during the Thanksgiving service at Quo Iboe Church, 112 Nwaniba Road, the State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, assured the judiciary of the state government’s cooperation in enhancing the quick dispensation of justice.
He also promised to build a reputable estate for serving judges in the state by 2025 to make them comfortable like their counterparts in Rivers, Bayelsa, and Lagos States.
“I have had a very good working relationship with the judiciary led by Justice Ekaete Obot. I appreciate all her efforts in upholding justice and the decongestion of prisons.
“We are ready to collaborate with the judiciary to ensure that issues bordering on them are addressed in line with laid-down procedures. Because I envy Rivers, Bayelsa, and all other states that are doing well for their judges, so give me a few months—it may be early next year—we will acquire land and invite you for a ground-breaking ceremony of a brand new estate only for judges, particularly the serving judges.
“I believe that the retired judges already have their own; we will only support them, but let it be on record that we match our brother judges and governors in other states by giving a decent accommodation to all the serving judges,” Eno promised.
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