Prof. Nnamdi Obiaraeri
The Magistrates’ Association of Nigeria is simply abbreviated as “MAN”. As the acronym suggests, MAN is the umbrella body of all Magistrates in Nigeria.
From the 19th to 21st day of June 2024, the Imo State Chapter of MAN under the able leadership of His Worship Nkeiru Nwauwa held the MAN week with the eye popping or fulgurant theme “REPOSITIONING THE MAGISTRACY IN IMO STATE TO SURMOUNT CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES”.
Trust any gathering of lawyers or judex, apart from providing the participants and invited guests a rare opportunity for social camaraderie, the event was a bountiful intellectual festival- something one can delightfully describe as a harvest of uncommon juridical ideas.
The 2024 MAN Week was historic or epochal because the last time Magistrates in Imo State met in what is supposed to be an annual event was over ten years ago.
It was a jinx breaker of some sort as Magistrates need to be trained and retrained on contemporary developments in the legal system. Unarguably, annual intellectual rituals like the MAN week provide one of the vistas for knowledge and skill upgrade for Magistrates.
From the programme of events which was punctiliously followed, Day 1 was set aside for arrival of National Executive Officers of MAN and Magistrates from other States of the Federation. Day 2 was a combination of the opening ceremony and Lectures.
For the opening ceremony, there was a Welcome Address by Imo State MAN Chairman; a Keynote Speech by the Honourable Chief Judge, Imo State, Hon. Justice T. E. Chukwuemeka- Chikeka and a Speech by Special the Guest of Honour, His Excellency Senator Hope Uzodinma, Governor of Imo State. The Second Session featured presentation of learned papers.
The first paper was titled “Restoring the Dignity of the Magistracy in Imo State”. The designated Chairman of Session/Moderator was My Lord Hon. Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, Justice of the Supreme Court.
The lead paper was presented by Hon. Justice E. N. Eke while the discussants were Chief C. O. C. Akaolisa, Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Imo State and Prof. C.K. Okorie, SAN, Dean of the Faculty of Law, IMSU.
The second paper was titled “Restorative Justice and Non-Custodial Measures under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the Imo State Administration of Criminal Justice Law and other related Laws”.
The lead presenter was Prof. U. U. Chukwumaeze, SAN, Vice-Chancellor, IMSU while the discussants were Prof. Nnamdi Obiaraeri, Professor, of Law, Faculty of Law, IMSU and Chief Magistrate Augustine Ogoma, Ph.D.
Day 3 featured the presentation of papers in the morning session. The topic was “Judicial Ethics/Judgment writing: Principles and Practice”. This was under the distinguished Chairmanship and moderation of Hon. Justice P.O. Nnadi (Chief Judge retired).
The lead presenter was Hon. Justice K. A. Ojiako and the discussants were Hon. Justice S.I. Okpara, Hon. Justice Vin Onyeka and Chief Chinedu Agu, former Secretary, NBA Owerri Branch.
The closing events in the evening featured Dinner which held under the Chairmanship of Honourable Chief Judge, Imo State ably represented by Hon Justice Vin Onyeka.
The Dinner lecture titled “The Magistracy in Imo State – A New Normal is Possible” was presented by Hon. Justice B.A. Njemanze (Chief Judge retired).
The Vote of thanks was comprehensively rendered by Chairman, MAN Week 2024 Planning Committee, His Worship Emeka Ukachukwu) who extolled everyone that facilitated the highly successful event. As a joyful participant, apart from the hardworking Chairman of the MAN Week Planning Committee, I take liberty to also commend the industry and level-headedness of His Worship Augustine Ifeanyi Alamezie Secretary MAN/Secretary of MAN Week Planning Committee, His Worship Dike Ibegbulem, Alternate Chairman, MAN Week Planning Committee on lectures and Publicity and the rest members of the 2024 Man Week Planning Committee.
It was a memorable event even as Magistrates were reminded of the need to continue to pay tenacious fidelity to judicial ethics which among other things forbid corruption, bias, lateness to Court, disrespect for lawyers or litigants, sloppiness and timorousness.
Apart from adjuration on judicial ethics, there were other fallouts and or outstanding issues from the Imo State MAN week 2024 for repositioning the magistracy.
Before getting into those knotty areas, one must commend the array of distinguished Judges of Imo State Judiciary, lawyers and other stakeholders that attended the MAN week activities in solidarity with members of the Lower Bench.
To underscore the importance of the Imo State Chapter MAN Week, the Honourable Chief Judge of Imo State graciously approved work free days during the period to enable all Magistrates in Imo State to attend and participate in the slated activities. It was therefore not a jamboree.
The papers presented were insightful while, discussions and interventions were both constructive and brutally frank.
The importance of Magistrate Courts cannot be overemphasised. According to the Chief Judge of Imo State, “the Magistrate Court is the face of the justice delivery sector.
It is the first point of call of most matters and the Court that handles most of the matters for the common man. Most matters also end there and only a few people have the course to go beyond. This is why it is referred to as “the beast of burden of the judiciary.”
In her welcome address, the Imo State MAN Chairman aptly described the Magistrates’ Court as “Court of summary jurisdiction, the grassroots Court that guarantees justice to the greater number of the Imo People”.
The claim that that about 80 percent of criminal prosecution takes place at the Magistrates’ Court is indubitable. Access to justice is a fundamental right.
Anyone interested in access to justice must therefore be interested in the Magistracy and other levels of Courts. By reason of their position in the judicial ladder, they seldom speak out or make their position on issues public.
For reasons of ethics, indeed, the judiciary hardly speaks about its daunting challenges except on very rare occasions. Hence, in the Welcome Address of Imo State MAN Chairman, the Magistrates in Imo State voiced out their concerns and suggested practical ways to reposition the Magistracy.
Before making passionate appeals, impassioned demands and reasonable suggestions on the way forward, the Magistrates recounted the pathetic tales of how Magistrates sitting in rural Courts encounter challenges on daily basis in the course of discharging their sacred duty.
According to them, these range “from humiliation from litigants, threats from the villagers and lawyers to dilapidated courts and unhealthy environment and absence of little or no infrastructure(s).
As they are not provided with vehicles, in the discharge of their duties, Magistrates are exposed to risk as they “jump into public buses with the criminals brought before them.
There have been “several reports of Magistrates dragging seats in public buses with defendants” or accused persons “facing criminal trials in their respective Courts.” On some occasions, “Magistrates have been dragged to court for inability to pay something as simple and basic as house rents”.
They further lamented that “it is common knowledge that Magistrates in Imo State have no security protection from the police or other sister security agencies; not even while sitting. This puts out Magistrates as endangered species.”
They lamented that the basic pay of a Magistrate cannot boast of transporting him to and fro to the Court in one month; not to talk of discharging his domestic responsibilities to his family, society and most importantly taking care of his health and being able to appear decent to work.
Pointedly but respectfully therefore, in this same welcome address, the Magistrates appealed, in their own words, to “the generous, loving and judiciary friendly Governor of our dearest State, Distinguished Senator Hope Odidika Uzodimma (Onwa Oyoko), to in his usual magnanimity approve the enhancement of the salary of Magistrates in the face of the present economic realities in the Country; to provide official vehicles to Magistrates; look into the security of Magistrates, especially at the Courts.
With humility and sense of responsibility, we plead for extension of the retirement age of Magistrates in Imo State from 60 years to 65 years, as now obtainable in many other States in Nigeria, who have extended the age of retirement of their magistrates, just as igbo adage says “EME NWANYI KA EMERE IBE YA ANYA UKWU ALA”.
They requested that “Magistrates’ Courts in rural areas be reconstructed as many of these courts are in the state of total disrepair and near collapse.
These Courts pose serious danger to the lives of the Magistrates and other Court users.” Finally, they pleaded that Magistrates be provided with working materials like computers and generators for steady power supply to enable them discharge our duties effectively.
There is nothing more to add except to accentuate that the appeal by MAN Imo State was not a solitary one. The Chief Judge of Imo State vividly corroborated their demands in My Lord’s speech at the occasion.
The seminal papers and animated discussions on the twin topics “Restoring the Dignity of the Magistracy in Imo State” and “Judicial Ethics/Judgment writing: Principles and Practice” hammered on improved welfare and security for Magistrates amongst other pragmatic recommendations towards repositioning the magistracy.
The Dinner Speech titled “The Magistracy in Imo State- A New Normal is Possible” delivered by Hon Justice B.A. Njemanze (retired Chief Judge of Imo State), harped on incorruptibility, improved welfare and security of Magistrates in Imo State. The dinner speech was loaded, although in the words of the eminent jurist, his speech was “like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.”
The burning interest created out of the MAN week proceedings is that the Magistracy in Imo State needs to be urgently repositioned, hence the escalation of the fallouts of the Imo State MAN week in this write-up.
The reasoned appeal to reposition the Magistracy is well placed before the Governor of Imo State. For the records, the address was not all about complaints and demands.
The Magistrates were also full of praises for the Governor as they roundly extolled his proven ability to turn things around for good although they expressed a burning desire “to have a share in these wonderful testimonies”.
Among other things, they eulogized the Governor for the recent elevation to the Higher Bench of two Magistrates, to wit; His Worship U. M. Njoku (Chief Registrar) and His Worship Adaego Nnosiri.
Like Oliver Twist, they were quick to “most respectfully request that the number be increased in subsequent appointments”. Sensible citizens have a knack for “thanking and requesting” in same breath!
The Magistrates have not asked for too much. They should even be blamed for speaking out late.
All their demands can and should be met in full, failing which most of them in the immediate. Nothing invested in the judiciary is too much because access to justice is a mirage without a functional judiciary.
The plea for extension of retirement age of Magistrates to 65 years (as is the case in some neighbouring States) can be handled expeditiously by the Imo House of Assembly passing a law to that effect.
Coincidentally, the Speaker of Imo House of Assembly was represented at the Imo State Man Week by some Honourable Members and they made open commitment to be partners in the quest to reposition the Magistracy in Imo State. Provision of vehicles should not be too much of a problem.
Apart from those elevated to the Administrative Cadre as Chief and Deputy Chief Registrars, there are only sixty six Magistrates in Imo State judiciary although more magistrates are needed. Magistrates need to be mobile and travel in dignity to their work places.
Repair of dilapidated Court halls should be undertaken immediately for health and public safety reasons. Only recently, the Governor took the commendable step of refurbishing the vehicles of the Police for enhanced security of the State.
It is only logical that Magistrates that will try offenders apprehended by the law enforcement agencies should also have their Court halls, welfare and security shored up. What is worth doing is worth doing well.
I therefore join in the clarion call for the repositioning of the magistracy in Imo State. As His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Imo State pleases.
A new normal is possible!