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Justice Is The Fulcrum Of A Credible Society ; NBA Benin Chairman, Says At The Opening Of The 2021 Edo State Judiciary Legal Year

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The Thought Provoking Speech of the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association,Benin Branch,the Lion Bar -Pius I. Oiwoh AICMC ,at the 2021 Opening of the Edo State Judiciary Legal Year holding at the Ceremonial Hall of the Edo State High Court Complex, Sapele Road,Benin City.

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ADDRESS BY THE CHAIRMAN, NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION BENIN BRANCH, PIUS IDEMUDIA OIWOH ESQ, AT THE NEW LEGAL YEAR CEREMONY FOR THE 2021/2022 LEGAL YEAR, AT THE EDO STATE HIGH COURT, ON OCTOBER 8, 2021
PROTOCOLS:
1. It is with great delight that I stand before your Lordships and other dignitaries today, in this year 2021 to welcome Your Lordships, on behalf of the Branches of the Nigerian Bar Association (“NBA”) in Edo State, from Your Lordships’ annual vacation and to felicitate with My Lords on the commencement of the 2021/2022 Legal Year, which we are marking today.

2. In commencing this address, permit me to also on behalf of the Bar formally congratulate My Lord, The Honourable the Chief Judge of Edo State, Honourable Justice Sir, Joe Itsebaga Acha on His Lordship’s recommendation, confirmation and subsequent swearing-in as the 8th substantive Chief Judge of Edo State and to also congratulate His Lordship on the activities heralding and leading up to the formal opening of the New Legal Year. His Lordship, the Honourable the Chief Judge is a Judge whose antecedents both at the Bar and Bench are well known to us so we are optimistic that His Lordship’s tenure as the Chief Judge of Edo State will see remarkable developmental strides in the Edo State Judiciary. The Bar wishes His Lordship a most successful tenure, and we pray the Almighty God to grant His Lordship the wisdom, courage, good health and sound mind to pilot the affairs of the Judiciary, even as we pledge our continuous support and cooperation with His Lordship in the fulfilment of His Lordship’s mandate of dispensing justice to all manner of persons and in promoting the rule of law. Our appreciation also His Excellency the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki for ensuring a seemless and unbroken ascension to the office of the Chief Judge of Edo State.

3. The Legal Year celebration is a tradition that dates back to the 18th Century England. This tradition has been carried over to Courts in English Common Law Jurisdictions. This age long cherished tradition is one that usually allows for Judges to feel the pulse of the people and how the judiciary is perceived by the layman.

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4. I will use this address to touch on a couple of issues that affect the Legal Profession in particular and the people of Nigeria in general.

5. There is no gainsaying that our country Nigeria is currently laden with problems that threaten the very foundation of our existence as a country and if we must weather this storm that threatens to capsize the ship of our state Nigeria, we must tell ourselves some very hard and somewhat uncomfortable truths which will perhaps help us begin the process of making this our country endowed with enormous potentials work for the people.

6. The Judiciary just like other arms of government is being closely watched and observed by Nigerians and the international community to deliver on its mandate. It is on this basis that the Judiciary has to stand up to be counted to restore the waning faith that a lot of our young people have in the country. There is nothing as disastrous for the future of our profession and our country if the young people who form the bulk of our population lose faith in our country as this portends great danger for the future of our country with all the attendant negative consequences that this brings in its wake.

7. APPOINTMENTS:
There is a need to appoint more Judges, Magistrates and Area Court Presidents to fill the existing vacancies and increase the pace of justice delivery and reduce the workload on the already existing structure. We acknowledge the last appointment done and note with appreciation the concerted efforts to appoint competent persons to the bench but we ask that this process is hastened up to increase the pace at which justice is dispensed with.

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8. RECRUITMENT OF  SUPPORT  STAFF FOR THE JUDICIARY:
Very recently, the Edo State Civil Service commission and other public service organisations in Edo State conducted recruitment exercises to fill existing staff vacancies. We ask that the lens of employment be beamed firmly on the Edo State Judiciary as we appeal to His Excellency the Governor of Edo State to grant approval to the Judicial Service Commission to recruit more staff for the Judiciary as the Judiciary currently lacks adequate manpower to function appropriately. This has brought untold hardship to clients and lawyers alike. It is therefore imperative that we take steps to remedy this situation.

9. BAR AND BENCH:
Permit me to note that there has been marked improvement in terms of relationship between the Bar and the Bench and this has fostered cooperation, development and common good for the profession. We hope that this relationship waxes stronger in the overall interest of the promotion of justice. Just yesterday, the 7th of October 2021, we had a robust Bar-Bench Forum which enabled members of the Bar to feel the pulse of members of the Bench. It was truly interactive except for the absence of voices from the lower bench. There is a need to make this Bar-Bench Forum a much more regular event so we are not out of touch with each other. As part of our avered resolve to enhance the relationship between the Bar and the Bench, the Lion FC recently in a tournament trashed the Judiciary team 2-0 and later the NMA team to clinch the trophy.

10. REINTRODUCTION OF CUSTOMARY COURT OF       APPEAL:

Section 280 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) provides as follows:

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“There shall be for any State that requires it a Customary Court of Appeal for that State”
The Bar wishes to restate its position which it has long held since 2015 when the law establishing the Customary Court of Appeal was repealed that Edo State requires a Customary Court of Appeal, the reason for this is not far-fetched, the Customary Court of Appeal is recognised as one of the Superior Courts of Record outlined in Section 6 (5) of the Constitution. It is our opinion that the age-old question of the jurisdiction of Customary Courts of Appeal vis-à-vis can be resolved through legislative intervention at the State House of Assembly which can work on passing a law which will clearly outline the functions and jurisdiction of the Customary Court of Appeal. The re-introduction of the Customary Court of Appeal will no doubt reduce the clog in the dockets at our High Court. We, therefore, advocate that the decision to scrap the Customary Court of Appeal be rethought as it has brought untold hardships on the general public. We must remember in the words of Cyrus Das, PhD (Honorary life president of the Commonwealth Bar Association) that:

11. “Justice is a consumer product and must therefore meet the test of confidence, reliability and dependability like any other product if it is to survive market scrutiny. It exists for the citizenry, at whose service only, the system of Justice must work”.

12. I will also use this opportunity to speak on the state of our dear Edo State. I have been on record and permit me to reiterate without fear of equivocation that since the tenure of late Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia as the Governor of the then Bendel State, no Governor whether Civilian or Military has done as much for the development of the judiciary like Governor Godwin Obaseki. The evidence of the State Government’s intervention are there for all to see including but not limited to this ceremonial hall which we all stand here today celebrating the new legal year, a power generating set, standard elevators in the Old and new complex and steady power supply, tarring of the roads within the High Court, public address system in the new court among others have also been provided. We are also aware that Judges’ complex will soon be completed and handed over to the judiciary. His Excellency promised on the occasion of the handing over of the new High Court complex assured that similar interventions will be replicated in other Judicial Divisions and lower courts outside Benin City, we hope to see this happen soon. We appeal for the fencing of all our courts in Edo State as we discovered that land grabbers have encroached on our properties, this will also address some security concerns in our courts environments. For these and others we state our gratitude for these series of interventions even as we urge the State Government to keep up the good work. It is however worthy of note to the Bar to point a few areas which we believe need fine-tuning:

i. FINANCIAL AUTONOMY OF THE JUDICIARY: The issue of financial autonomy of the judiciary should be a front burner issue. The year 2021 witnessed another protracted strike the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) which clamoured for financial autonomy for the judiciary. In the course of this agitation, the members of the NBA Benin got audience with His Excellency the Governor of Edo State where the Governor restated his commitment to ensuring a financially autonomous judiciary. In line with our commitment, the NBA Benin Branch prepared a judicial autonomy bill which is currently pending before the Edo State House of Assembly. We implore that this bill be taken with all the seriousness it deserves so we can have a virile and dependable judiciary. As a corollary to this issue, we need a much more conducive environment for our Magistrates and Presidents of the Area Customary Courts so they can perform their tasks well. We have issues where some of our Magistrates are forced to board public transport to their various courtrooms. This is certainly not ideal. We once again appeal as we have done over the years that official vehicles be procured for these distinguished personalities or some sort of car ownership scheme be instituted to give them a befitting treatment and working conditions which underscore the importance of the work they are mandated to embark upon.

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ii. THE INTRODUCTION OF E-PAYMENT SYSTEM FOR COURT PROCESSES: The introduction and deployment of technology in the administration of justice is a welcome development and indeed trailblazing but the new e-filing system has brought hardship on both Legal Practitioners and litigants alike. The interface for the e-payment system is time-consuming and rather cumbersome. This ultimately leads to a lag in the process and consequent revenue loss for the Government. We urge that the developers of this system take a good look at it to sort out the problems to make life easier for all users of the platform;

iii. MENACE OF STREET BEGGING AND CRIPPLING INSECURITY: It may seem as though that there has been an uptick in the prevalence of street begging on the streets of our state. While we acknowledge the crippling economic headwinds and lack of jobs that has affected the personal finances of Nigerians, we do not accept that the obvious solution to this is street begging as this phenomenon of street begging has a bad effect on the state. We urge that something be urgently done to bring this issue of street begging under control. In a similar vein, the spate of insecurity in the state is one that directly affects the livelihoods of Judges, Magistrates/Presidents of Area Courts, Lawyers and Legal Practitioners. Lawyers are sometimes too scared to ply the road to go to other jurisdictions within and outside the State for fear of being robbed or kidnapped. This has affected the vibrancy of a lot of Lawyers’ practices. We are however relieved to hear that the 6 Governor’s of the South-South States have agreed to form a joint security outfit to bring the problem of insecurity under control. We are also aware that the military has launched an operation code-named “Operation StillWaters” to bring a lasting solution to this problem. We hope that all necessary cooperation is extended to them to succeed. Staying on the subject matter of resolutions, the 17 Southern Governors gave a deadline to themselves to pass the anti open grazing bills in the various southern states. Unfortunately, Edo is one of the States which has not met the deadline of September 1 2021, though we have gotten invitation from the State Government to attend a stakeholders meeting on a proposed anti-open grazing law. We kindly implore that the issue be expedited and done in a jiffy to fulfil the wishes of the populace.;

iv. JUSUN/LEGAL ASSISTANTS: We are all witnesses to the crippling strike action embarked upon by members of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) which hamstrung almost all States in Nigeria and the Federal Judiciary. The Edo State Chapter of JUSUN did not partake in the strike and therefore did not add to the backlog of cases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This we consider an act of good faith. We, in turn, once again appeal that the good faith displayed by the Edo State Chapter of JUSUN be repaid by the Government in ensuring that the legacy seven months salary arrears that had been owed to them be paid up. This will go to show that we indeed take their contributions to keeping the wheels of the judiciary turning seriously. In a similar vein, we once again restate our call and appeal to the authority concerned that the Legal Assistants who are members of our noble profession and working tirelessly with our distinguished Judges of the Edo State Judiciary be made permanent in the service of the Judiciary, this is to bring their wealth of experience to bear in the administration of justice;

v. ENDSARS PANEL: In the wake of the ENDSARS protests which rocked Nigeria exactly a year ago, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Federal Government resolved to constitute panels to look into the historical abuse that had been meted on innocent citizens by officers of the now-disbanded SARS unit of the Nigeria Police Force. The Panel for Edo State was duly constituted with Hon. Justice Ada Ehigiamusoe rtd. as Chairperson with membership drawn from various interest groups including the NBA. Petitions were sent to the panel and heard wherein the Bar offered pro bono service to indigent Edo Indigenes. However, to our shock and surprise, we have heard nothing about the report of that panel even after the panel since rounded up its assignments. This is not good enough in our opinion. We must always take steps to make sure we engender trust in the hearts and minds of the people of Edo State lest they think the panel was a jamboree. We therefore humbly request and appeal that the decisions of the panel be implemented.

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13. In the last month, one of the numerous contradictions which form part of the Nigerian state has been laid bare with the Federal High Court Port Harcourt Division decision on the legality of the VAT Act. While I will refrain from commenting on the decision as it is currently the subject of an appeal, I will say that the decision by the Federal High Court lays bare the enormous power the courts have at their disposal and how much more value they can add to the realisation of functioning and more just Nigerian society. Judges must therefore be very conscious of these enormous powers and act accordingly in line with their oaths of office.

CONCLUSION
My Lords, as I close this address, let me quickly state that we appreciate the hard work, industry and drive of the Judges, Magistrates, Presidents of the Area Customary Court and staff of the Edo State judiciary led by the Chief Judge whose open-mindedness, tenacity and penchant for innovation is one which we all must commend and if the saying that the morning tells the day is anything to go by, the Edo State Judiciary is ready for a bumper harvest as his Lordship’s innovative policies begging to bear fruit. We heartily congratulate MiLord who is also the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Edo State Judiciary Multi-door court House on the feat of the Edo State Judiciary Multi-door court House being the first in the country to launch and host the Online Dispute Resolution Platform. This innovation is also consistent with the virtual hearing proceedings which My Lord Honourable Justice I.O Omotoso is doing which is most commendable particularly during these trying times of insecurity. It is our sincere hope that the judiciary keeps on growing from strength to strength under His Lordship’s watch and thereafter. Once again congratulations to our newly minted Chief Judge on his swearing-in as substantive Chief Judge and also his installation as a Papal knight by His Holiness Pope Francis. We wish His Lordship a blissful tenure as he pilots the affairs of this critical arm of Government.
On behalf of the Bar, I wish Your Lordships a productive 2021/2022 Legal Year. As ministers in the temple of justice, we will endeavour to continue to work with Your Lordships to protect the sanctity of this hallowed temple and join our voices with that of others to advocate for the true independence of the judiciary and in line with our motto, ‘promoting the rule of law’.
We are at an inflexion point in the history of our state and our country and we must do all that is within our powers to make sure we regain the trust of the Nigerian people, as Edo State from available record has the best crop of Judges in the entire Country.

APPRECIATION
I will not end this address without a note of sincere gratitude to the Edo State Judiciary under the Leadership of the immediate Past Chief Judge of Edo State, Hon. Justice E. A. Edigin, Rtd., who got the express support of my Lord the Chief Judge, Hon. Justice J.I. Acha, other Judges of the Edo State Judiciary, the Hardworking Chief Registrar, Pastor Benson Osawaru Esq, and other Principal Officers of the Judiciary, for the allocation of a parcel of land to the Bar. We are pleased to inform Your Lordships that work is going on with the speed of light and if completed early by God’s grace, Your Lordships will be invited to the commissioning.
We continue to wish Your Lordships, good health, long life and divine wisdom to navigate the affairs of the Courts in this New Legal Year.
Once again, we congratulate My Lords. Ad multos annos.

PIUS IDEMUDIA OIWOH
CHAIRMAN NBA BENIN BRANCH (LION BAR)

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