Enugu Gov Inaugurates 34 Model Customary Courts Across 17 LGAs

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Friday, inaugurated 34 model customary courts simultaneously across 17 LGAs.

The governor also listed numerous remarkable achievements his administration has made in the provision of modern facilities in the State Judiciary to facilitate the dispensation of justice both in the urban and rural areas.

Ugwuanyi said his administration had provided modern courtrooms properly equipped to ensure a conducive atmosphere for efficient dispensation of justice.

The governor added that his government had within the last six years created two additional Judicial Divisions and six additional Magisterial Districts to decongest courts for timely dispensation of justice.

He said that the landmark projects were in addition to the building and equipping of 24 Magistrate Courts (16 of which are brand new) as well as the construction of 34 brand new model Customary Courts (two per local government) across the 17 local government areas of the state.

The 34 Customary Court buildings which were described by the President, Customary Court of Appeal, Enugu State, Hon. Justice George Chibueze Nnamani, as part of Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration’s unprecedented infrastructural interventions in the State Judiciary as well as its urgent efforts at repositioning the Customary Courts to give them a new lease of life and relevance in line with international best practices for efficient and effective dispensation of justice in the rural areas and beyond.

Speaking during the inauguration of the Justice Chima Centus Nweze Moot Court, at the Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC), the governor pointed out that “a central part of my commitment, as governor, has not only been delivery of justice but also, its speedy delivery to all classes of people without prejudice to socio-economic status or influence.”

The governor who commended the Faculty of Law for the provision of the moot court, worthily named after Hon. Justice Chima Centus Nweze of the Supreme Court, and other facilities appropriate for students’ training, revealed that “there is, therefore, a resonance between the commissioning of a moot court scheduled today and the great strides my administration has made in the provision of modern courtrooms properly equipped to facilitate the dispensation of justice”.

He stated that the state government had in the past supported the growth and development of the faculty “and will continue to do so whenever opportunity avails the state”.

Ugwuanyi also commended the Dean, Faculty of Law, UNEC, Dr. Samuel Nwatu, and his team for the push and drive to give the faculty a new face in order to restore its prime place as the first Faculty of Law in Nigeria.

“A moot court is essentially a student’s fictional court used by most faculties of law to expose their students to real courtroom situations through simulated court proceedings with students preparing and arguing cases before a pseudo or a make-believe judge. The presence of a moot court is always a clear and strong indication that students are being prepared for post-school professional practice”, he said.

Gov. Ugwuanyi, therefore, stressed the significance of naming the moot court after Hon. Justice Nweze who he described as “a renowned jurist of our own time; an urbane, polished, elegant and cultured gentleman; an extremely cerebral and highly respected Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, an enigmatic jurisprudential personality of a character very much in short supply in our clime”.

Congratulating Hon. Justice Nweze on the well-deserved honour, the governor applauded the Faculty of Law, UNEC for the state-of-art-facility and for naming it as “The Justice Chima Centus Nweze Moot Court”.

He, therefore, charged the law students to take full advantage of the training facility in pursuit of their professional careers.

Responding, Hon. Justice Nweze expressed gratitude to God for the honour done to him by the Faculty of Law, UNEC.

Also present at the event was the Chief Judge of the State, Hon. Justice Afojulu Raymond Ozoemena, the Member representing Enugu North Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Dr. Ibenaku Onoh, representative of the Vice-Chancellor, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Prof. Edith Nwosu, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, Enugu, Prof. Malachy Okwueze, the Chairman, Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Amb. Igwe Lawrence Agubuzu, and Honourable Judges of the State Judiciary, among others.