Members of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) branches in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor on Monday shut down court activities across the Enugu North Senatorial District by a peaceful protest.
The lawyers protested what they described as: Judges’ frequent absence from their assigned courts and reliance on virtual court hearings.
According to NBA Nsukka Branch Chairman, Sunday Agbo, the prevalent situation did not cut it due to poor internet connectivity affecting virtual proceedings saying it all began in January: “We want the whole world to know what the judiciary in Enugu North Senatorial Zone is suffering.
“They now abandoned our courts. They have announced they want to do virtual hearing.”
The situation cuts across five judicial divisions in the zone—Nsukka, Obollo-Afor, Enugu-Ezike, Ogbede and Umulokpa—which he said have been crippled by neglect and poor administrative practices.
The practice he said, was not illegal adding: “That does not mean that a judge should abdicate his primary posting.
“Most of the time, we’ll be left abandoned in the courts on the ground that there’s no network. Those of us in Nsukka will stay until 5:00 p.m. in the evening.”
According to him, unnecessary bottlenecks have also been created by the situation alleging that active case files from local judicial divisions were relocated to Enugu, the state capital.
This he declared, made it difficult for legal practitioners and litigants to access case files and obtain certified true copies of court documents.
“They took all the case files to Enugu and blocked them there. So if you want a certified copy, you will not get it,” he claimed.
The NBA chairman further alleged that some court officials demand between ₦20,000 and ₦30,000 from lawyers to facilitate the movement of legal processes to Enugu.
His remark: “When you file a process, you will be ordered by the clerk to bring money, N20,000, N30,000, for that process to go up to Enugu.”
He also accused registry staff of deliberately delaying applications for certified court documents unless unofficial payments were made.
“If you want a certified copy of a process, it will be delayed two, three, four weeks until you mobilise the registrar with N10,000 or N30,000,” Agbo alleged.
