21,105 cases pending in Edo courts – CJ

Alexander Okere, Benin
No fewer than 21,105 cases, consisting civil and criminal matters, are currently pending in ‎different courts in the Edo State judiciary, the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Cromwell Idahosa, has said.
Justice Idahosa disclosed this during a special session to mark the opening of the 2015/2016 Legal Year in Benin on Friday.
In his assessment of the previous legal year, he explained that the figure, from the case flow in the various courts across the state, comprised a total of 8,717 cases at the civil and criminal divisions of the Federal High Court, 4,605 cases in the magistrates’ court while the special courts and Customary Court of Appeal had 4,367 and 3,416 pending cases respectively.
The Chief Judge stated that 16,061 cases were carried over from the 2013/2014 legal year to the year under review.
He noted that a total of ‎8,668 cases were disposed of out of a total of 29,773 cases filed at the different courts for determination, with the sum of N113,963,821 as revenue during the period.
Idahosa decried the poor structural condition of most of the courts, which he said were “in a sorry state” and “need to be renovated and outfitted with modern equipment.”
He noted that the nationwide strike, embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, over the non-implementation of the financial autonomy granted it by Federal High Court in Abuja, posed a significant challenge to the administration of justice in the state.
He, however, expressed the hope that the state judiciary would be granted full financial autonomy by the state government before the expiration of the current administration.
The Chief Judge said, “‎In Edo State, the strike lasted almost seven months. In all fairness to the Comrade Governor, he has given his word that he would grant full financial autonomy to Edo State judiciary before the expiration of his tenure in office.
“I still believe that the Comrade Governor will keep faith with his promise to grant Edo State judiciary full financial autonomy before the end of his tenure.”

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