The Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. (Dr.) Callistus Onaga, has called on legal practitioners to make transparency, Justice, integrity and human face of law their watch words in executing their duties.
He made the call on Thursday at the Holy Ghost Cathedral, Enugu, during the Thanksgiving Mass marking the opening of the Enugu State 2021/2022 legal year and the end of service of the Enugu State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Pricillia Emehelu, who has attained the retirement age of 65 years and would be retiring on September 7.
The Cleric, in his homily, said that the legal year begins with the acknowledgement of the presence of God.” God is the ultimate Judge that dispenses justice without discrimination. His eminate nature is justice “, he said.
The Bishop admonished legal practitioners to always bear in mind that quest for justice is the last hope of every human being. “We have to sustain human life with justice. We know that people run to us as last resort, to seek justice. Let it always be in our mind. We don’t need to be extra ordinary smart in order to live fine, we should not allow ourselves to be pushed, using technicality to survive.
“Moral biased judgement is not good. The court should acquit the innocent and punish the wrong doer.
“Every legal practioner should be conscious of what he does. Think of human face of law. That should guide our actions as Christians.
” Let us employ sincerity, transparency and justice in our justice delivery.
” Lawyers should stop pushing cases behind. As human beings, what is worth doing is worth doing. You will not lose anything in taking everything to God , rather, you will gain more”, Bishop Onaga said.
Speaking on the Chief Judge’s retirement, the Cleric thanked God for her successful career.
He said: ” The Chief Judge would officially retire soon . That’s why she wants us to thank God with her for everything God has done for her all these while.
“God bless you madam. First woman Chief Judge of Enugu State. It is no mean achievement.
“She did that well. She worked well with the executive arm”, Onaga said
In her vote of thanks, the Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Pricillia Emehelu, thanked Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his support. She said she never knew she was going to be a Chief Judge, and her becoming a Chief Judge came when a man with a fear of God is the governor of Enugu State.
The outgoing Chief Judge said her ideas wouldn’t had succeeded without the support of the Chief Executive.
The first reading on ‘Straightforwardness in Speech” , was read by the Deputy Governor, Mrs Cecilia Ezeilo, who represented Ugwuanyi, while the Second reading on ” Life in the Spirit”, Galatians 5: 26-17, 22-25, was read by the Chief Judge.
At a Special Court session held at Hon. Justice I.S. Umezukike Auditorium, High Court Complex, Enugu, Ugwuanyi said that “legal year is an occasion when the learned men in the justice sector must resolve afresh to use their courage, resilience and expertise in the handling of cases to effectively respond to the challenges facing it, towards maintaining the independence and upholding the impartiality of the judiciary.”.
He described the Theme, ” Emerging security challenged as threat to the rule of law : A call for Vigilance” as apt
Ugwuanyi observed that the security challenges facing Nigeria today are without doubt at its peak. “The 2020 Global Terrorism Index ,G.T.I. placed Nigeria as the third country worst affected by the negative outcomes of terrorist activities’, he said.
According to him, security challenges affect the human situation and condition, resulting in the creation of refugees and internally – displaced persons, breakdown of law and order and the temporal and even in some cases , the permanent frustration and stoppage of economic development activities.
He thanked the state judiciary for the cordial working relationship it has with the executive arm, saying that ,”On the issue of partnership between the judiciary and other arms of government in Enugu State, I make bold to say ours ranks among the topmost in the country. Our promise is that just like all our courts are now enjoying conducive working environments, our situation and relationship will continue to get better despite obvious resource constraints.”
Earlier, in her address, the Chief Judge observed that insecurity has been a major challenge to a various Nigerian governments in recent times.
“Recently, the lexicon of insecurity became a beehive of activities with the emergence of Boko Haram Islamic sect. With it came a spare of bombings, suicide bomb attacks, sporadic shooting of innocent and unarmed civilians, burning of police stations, kidnapping of school children, rape, armed robbery, political crisis, murder, destruction of oil facilities by Niger Delta militants and a growing but sustained complaints of attacks by Fulani herdsmen on farming communities both in the North and South.
“These have become major security challenges and pose huge implications for national development and rule of law as the State bares it’s fangs in an attempt to tackle the menace” , she said.
On the review of the cases in courts, Justice Emehelu said that in the Magistrate court from 1September ,2020 to 31st July, 2021, 4,210 cases were pending at the beginning of the period, 3,473, filed, 2,467cases disposed and 5,476 cases pending at the end of the period.
In High Court, 8, 265 cases were pending at the beginning of the period, 2,860 filed, 1,812 disposed and 8,615 cases pending at the end of the period.
In Customary court of Appeal, 548 cases were pending at the beginning of the period, 139 filed, 81 cases disposed and 601 cases pending at the end of the period.
In Customary court, 504 cases were pending, 228 cases filed, 18 disposed and 540 cases pending at the end of the period.
The Chief Judge disclosed that the revenue generated within the period under revenue was N291, 135,494.70.
The breakdown is as follows,Customary court of Appeal N8,822.180.01, Probate N209,783,077.45, Court fees N69,285.697.24, Court fine N3,999,90.01 and Multidoor court house N8,066, 820.00..
She was optimistic that the 2021/2022 legal year would be better than the past year.
