Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa
Despite the public outcry that has trailed the shutting down of the only Federal High Court in Bayelsa State, the premises of the court remained deserted yesterday, following the inability of the presiding justices to sit.
For close to eight months, the court has been without any activity as Justice Ajiya Nganjiwa, currently under the radar of the National Judicial Council (NJC), has stayed away from work.
The same goes for the National Industrial Court (NIC), where justice Terseer Agbadu-Fishim, the presiding judge is said to be under investigation by the judicial authorities.
However, THISDAY learnt yesterday that thousands of cases before the courts have continued to suffer even as suspects, whose applications for bail were yet to be granted before the probe of the judges, continue to languish in jail.
Aside that, high profile public interest cases like that of Miss Ese Oruru, who was allegedly forcibly taken away and married off and that of the trial of suspected kidnappers of Governor Seriake Dickson’s sister, Nancy continue to pend.
Yesterday, authorities of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in the state equally decried their inability to effectively carry out their functions since they can neither prosecute ongoing cases or charge new ones to court.
In the same vein, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Bayelsa, during a press conference had called on the NJC to either allow the judges return to work or replace them.
The Bayelsa State Government, through the office of the Attorney General, said it had made several representations to the judicial authorities in Abuja, without results.
One of the foremost lawyers handling several cases in the high court , Mr. Kayode Olaosebikan, told THISDAY yesterday that apart from the human rights angle to the closure of the court, lawyers were also losing the opportunity to do business on a daily basis.
“For those of us that have criminal matters that our clients are not on bail , they are languishing in the cell. Some of them have their bail applications pending.
“The Federal High Court, by virtue of their jurisdiction, only they can sit on some specific matters. All the suspects are being held in custody by the security agencies in perpetuity. The court is not sitting,” Olaosebikan said.
He added that lawyers in the state have also been struggling to make ends meet as a result of the closure of the federal courts.
“On the business part of it, the income that should be coming from the federal high court is not coming in. It’s a terrible situation.
“That is why we have made suggestions to the authorities right from time. If somebody is on interdiction or on suspension, if you feel there’s no case, because we are not aware of any case that has been brought against the judge, if he has no case to answer, let him come back to his job.
“And if you don’t feel comfortable with his coming back, make a replacement. We are hoping that after this Easter break, things will be sorted. We have led several press conferences, led delegations, yet there has been no headway,” he lamented.
