Amby Uneze in Owerri
The Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has sworn in the newly appointed Chief Judge of Imo State, President of the Customary Court of Appeal and eight other justices of the Imo State High Court and customary court with a plea not to betray the confidence reposed in them by the society.
Uzodimma urged them to takentheir oath of office serious because the judiciary remained the last hope of the common man. Those swore in on Wednesday at the new executive chambers of the Government House, Owerri, include the Imo State Chief Judge, Justice Theresa Eberechukwu Chikeka and the President Customary Court of Appeal, Owerri, Justice Victor Okorie.
Others were eight judges of the Imo State High Court and three judges of the Customary Court of Appeal.
Addressing them after the swearing-in, the governor reminded them that the oath of office they took is “a call to service, a tasking one and as such must be carried out with the sincerity of purpose it deserves.”
He said: “We need a judiciary that will stand the test of time and this can only be achieved when the profession and performance of the judiciary is seen as the citadel of justice.
“Over time, there has been a lot of blame on the judiciary as regards making justice too costly to the common man and the gap between the common man and the judiciary has become too wide.”
He then pleaded with the chief judge and her colleagues to do all within their powers to narrow the gap, reminding that “the three arms of government are one and interwoven as the executive, the legislature and the judiciary work in conjunction and in pari-pasu.”
The governor, therefore, advised judges who, for one reason or the other, but best known to them, take decisions that are embarrassing to both the people and government of the state, to desist from such acts.
He enjoined them to use their powers to restore the statement that judiciary is the last hope of the common man and eulogised Justice Chikeka’s efficiency, saying that as an acting chief judge he found in her an efficient and effective judge “who is ready to give her best while in the office.”
The chief judge thanked God for the grace he gave the governor to swear them in.
She promised that they would abide by the oath of conduct they took and that by “the grace of God we will not fail the government and people of the state in particular and Nigeria in general.”
The newly sworn-in judges of the High Court included Justice Chinyere Ngozi Okereke, Justice Anthoneth Chinyere Onyeukwu, Justice Innocent Chidi Ibeawuchi, Justice Obinna Emmanuel Nwachukwu, Justice Lotanna Chukwunyere Leo Alino and
Justice Michael Bless Onyekachi.
Those of the Customary Court of Appeal included Justice Okafor Emeka and Justice Chinemerem Ijeoma Onuegbu.
