Abia state: Judiciary State Resumes 2021/2022 Legal year

By Benjamin Kalu, Umuahia.

The Abia State Judiciary will on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, officially flag-off the 2021/2022 new Legal year dubbed: “The Judiciary in the new Dawn,” led by the Honourable Chief Judge of Abia State, Hon. Justice Onuoha Arisa Kalu Ogwe. It is now habitual that the observance of the Legal Year has become yearly.

In England, the Legal Year has continuously been held since the middle Ages with the exemption of the years 1940-1946, aftermath of the Second World War.

The Legal Year ceremony which is an innovation of the Western Civilization and the primary objective is to give the Bench and Bar the platform to review the performance of the Judiciary in the previous Legal Year and to fashion a programme of action for a better year ahead.
It offers a unique opportunity to dedicate and rededicate the Honourable Judges and their job of adjudication of cases, to God. This also includes the activities of the entire Judiciary, its staff, legal practitioners, as well as the membership of the Legal profession. Indeed, the Legal Year celebration in English Legal System and in other countries of the world with Common Law Tradition is a well-planned event heralding the new Calendar Year during which Hon. Judges sit in court and perform their sacred duties, just as it is obtainable in Nigeria today.

The pendulum as usual, will swing to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Chapel, FMC, Umuahia, for the Church Service and Prayers at 9 O’clock in the morning, and back to the Abia Judiciary Headquarters, High Court of Justice for the inspection of a Guard of Honour mounted for the Honourable Judges as well as the taking of salute and other side attractions depicting the age-long tradition of nobility, debonair, dignity, candour and grandeur, characteristic of the Judges of the Realm.

Elucidating on the performances of the Judiciary in the last Legal Year, Hon. Justice SMC Ururuka-Onyensoh was sworn-in as the acting President of the Customary Court of Appeal.

Twenty four new Magistrates were appointed and sworn-in just as 33 new Chairmen of Customary Courts and 87 new members were appointed and sworn-in. The high point of the achievements from the Customary Court of Appeal is the establishment and inauguration of twenty-two (22) Customary Courts and the appointment and swearing-in of a new Acting President of the appellate court in the person of Hon. Justice Okey Iyke Nwamoh as a result of the retirement of Hon. Justice SMC Ururuka-Onyensoh who also ascended the saddle as Hon. President and was accordingly sworn-in as President but retired meritoriously at the age of 65, all within the year under review.

The Customary Court of Appeal modern canteen built under the supervision of His Worship, Ijeoma Nkume, Chief Registrar of the Customary Court of Appeal, has to a great extent, helped in serving the needs of staff, litigants, counsel appearing before the Hon. Court and the general public doing business within the location of the Court. Besides, the perimeter fencing of the Customary Court of Appeal has about 70 percent completion with a gate provided with the guidance of the incumbent Chief Registrar, for security. The Customary Court of Appeal now enjoys constant power courtesy of the Chief Registrar’s efforts.

Both the High Court and the Customary Court of Appeal have amended their rules for optimal result.

Invariably, the newly appointed Judges of both the High Court and Customary Court of Appeal attended virtual and physical induction courses at the National Judicial Institute NJI, Abuja. The same applied to some older judges, while the Chief Registrars of both Courts, Judicial librarians, Chairmen , Court Inspectors, Magistrates and others in the Information and Communication Technology, ICT, etc., to sharpen their skills and knowledge in all facets of their duties. Above all, the leadership of Hon. Justice Onuoha Arisa Kalu Ogwe, as the Chief Judge of Abia State, to say the least, is peaceful and result-oriented.