*Swears in 2 new Judges, charges them to always be above board
Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano has lamented that high number of prison inmates in the state, most said to be Awaiting Trial Men (ATM).
The governor who made the observation in Awka at the weekend when he swore in Justices Ngozi Lauretta Onyeka and Sylvester Odili as judges in the High Courts of the state.
Justice Onyeka was the former Chief Registrar in charge of High Courts at the State Judiciary Headquarters and Justice Odili, was hitherto a private legal practitioner based in Onitsha.
Their appointment now brings the total number of judges appointed by state government under Gov Obiano’s administration to ten, and to 28, the total number of judges in the state high courts.
He saw as worrisome a situation where over 75 percent of inmates of the State Prisons were on awaiting trial list.
He said that his administration was working out measures with the Police to expedite tidying of investigations and case files to enable the courts promptly dispatch cases before them.
He thanked the State Chief Judge, Justice Peter Umeadi for the cordial relationship existing between his administration and the entire state Judiciary in ensuring quality service delivery to the people.
He added that it shows they are in consonance with his administration’s stance that the interest of Ndi Anambra supercedes every other.
The governor therefore congratulated the newly elevated judicial officers.
Meanwhile, he urged them to be dedicated to their duties and to uphold the honor and integrity of the court in their practice in ensuring that justice was not denied the people.
The governor stated that the decision and other efforts made by his administration was to effectively and efficiently reposition the State judicial system to adequately address the plight and challenges of numerous inmates awaiting trial in the state’s prisons.
© Copyright 2017 www.elombah.com; send eyewitness accounts/reports/articles to publisher@elombah.com; follow us on twitter @Elombah; like our Facebook page: Elombah.com; join us on WhatsApp HERE