Hon. Justice Akperi Was Never Rude To The Bar —– Warri Chair –Michael A. Asugo, Esq. | Nairalaw

The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Warri Branch, Mr.
Michael A. Asugo, Esq., has said that Honourable Justice (Mrs.)
G.E. Akperi was never rude to the bar during her time in the
bench.

Mr. Asugo made this statement in a speech delivered in the
Valedictory Court Session in honour of her Lordship on Tuesday, the
26th of February, 2019 at the High Court, Warri.

According to him, Justice Akperi wil be greatly missed by
members of the NBA Warri branch.

See Statement:

SPEECH DELIVERED BY MICHAEL A. ASUGO, ESQ, ACIArb
(UK),CHAIRMAN, NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION,
WARRI BRANCH,AT THE VALEDICTORY COURT
SESSION IN HONOUR OF HON.JUSTICE (MRS.) G. E. AKPERI ON TUESDAY THE
26TH OF FEBRUARY,2019 AT THE HIGH COURT, WARRI.

PROTOCOLS
My Lord, Hon. Justice Marshall Umukoro ably represented by Hon.
Justice T.O.Diai, serving and retired Judges of the Delta State
Judiciary, The Hon. AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice,
Delta State, Judges of the Revenue Court,the Chief Magistrate of
the Warri Magisterial District, Worshipful Magistrates present,
Presidents of Area and District Customary Courts, Chairmen of the
various Branches of the NBA, Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Past
Chairmen and Secretaries of the NBA, the Family of Hon. Justice
(Mrs.) G. E. Akperi, gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen.
We are gathered here this morning to honour Hon. Justice (Mrs.) G.
E. Akperi after about 32 years of service as a judicial officer,
most which were spent in the Delta State judiciary. My Lord joined
the judiciary as a Magistrate in 1987 and was elevated to the High
Court on the 4th of January, 1998. Today, as she marks her 65th
birthday, in line with the relevant provisions of Section 8 of the
Public Service Rules, 2008, My Lord must step down from the Bench
and proceed on a well-deserved retirement. On behalf of the NBA
Warri Branch and indeed the entire Bar in Delta State, I wish My
Lord, a happy 65th birthday and a happy retirement.

The judiciary in Delta State has gone through a lot of changes
since My Lord Hon.Justice (Mrs.) G. E. Akperi joined it. There is
no doubt in the mind of Nigerians that the judiciary is today
facing challenges unheard of a few years ago. It is therefore only
fair that on this occasion of the retirement of Hon. Justice (Mrs.)
G.E. Akperi, we should take a brief but critical look at the state
of the judiciary not only in Delta State, but in Nigeria
generally.

NUMBER OF JUDGES SERVING ON THE BENCH
With the retirement today of My Lord Hon. Justice (Mrs.) G. E.
Akperi, the number of judges serving on the Bench of Delta State
has been further reduced to thirty (30). As at January, 2018, Lagos
State had fifty two (52) Judges and recently, the Governor stated
that the State was planning to increase the number of
Judges to one hundred and twenty (120). With only thirty Judges in
Delta State, many courts have no resident Judges. The implication
of this is that, the few Judges now sitting on the Bench in Delta
State have to sit in multiple Judicial Divisions, contend with more
cases, fewer hours of rest and more risk to their health. An
average High Court Judge in Delta State spends a minimum of five
hours in open court every day listening to argument, watching the
demeanour of witnesses and writing bench rulings on all manners of
applications. The Judge then retires to his chambers and or study
at home to read written addresses, pleadings, motions, affidavits
and write more detailed rulings and/or judgments. This backbreaking
workload is beginning to take its toll on the Judges. Some of them
now look older than their real ages. We do not know the level of
mental, emotional and physical strain this is causing in their
lives. Neither the State nor the Judiciary has deemed it necessary
to carry out a clinical study of the effect of the current workload
and work environment on the Judges. I am sure that if it is done,
the result will not beencouraging. In years gone by, it was unheard
of for Judges to sit in two or three different courts except when
they were empowered by warrants, signed by the Chief Judge of the
State, to sit in courts, other than their regular courts, to
complete part-heard cases. Unfortunately, it is now the norm for
Judges to preside in two or three different courts at the same
time. My Lord Hon. Justice G. E. Akperi was sitting in the High
Court of Justice, Ekpan, in addition to her duties as a Judge of
the High of Court ofJustice, Warri and the Administrative Judge of
the Warri Judicial Division. The result is that in spite of her
best efforts, My Lord, Justice Akperi is leaving behind some cases
that must now start de novo. Some of these cases are over 25 years
old. The NBA Warri Branch believes that the administration of
justice in Delta State must be improved beyond the present
experience if the judiciary is to maintain the confidence of the
members of the public. It is practically impossible for a Judge, in
the present circumstance, to write quality and enduring judgments
which eminent Jurists such as Late Hon. Justice Chike Idigbe, Late
Hon. Justice C. A. Oputa, Late Hon.Justice Kayode Eso, Late Hon.
Justice A. O. Obaseki, Late Hon. Justice A. Nnamani etc., were
known for and which made them famous as Judges. The Delta State
Judiciary has some of the most brilliant and hard-working Judges in
Nigeria. However, the conditions under which they work, hinder
their performances. This is not acceptable.

On the 9th of May, 1994, Hon. Justice Olajide Olatawura retired
from the Supreme Court and in his speech at the valedictory court
session in his honour, he spoke about the challenges the Bench in
Nigeria was facing. My Lord, in the year 2019, those same
challenges are not just still with us but they have been magnified.
In the speech, he said “The courts are expected to sit at 9.00am.
Unless a previous notice to the contrary has been given. It is
wrong for a judge to sit in his Chambers to finish reading his
newspapers before coming to court. It is wrong for a judge to fix 5
or more cases for hearing in a day. It is an impossible task and a
self-inflicted punishment”. My Lords, yesterday, I appeared before
a Judge of the High Court in this Judicial Division and there were
twenty cases on her docket. If it amounted to self-inflicted
punishment for a Judge to fix more than five(5) cases for hearing
in 1994, one can imagine what it is now. To further worsen the
situation, some of the Judges presently sitting in two or more
courts, will soon leave for national assignments at various
Election Petition Tribunals that might last for six months or more.
The question we need to ask ourselves, is whether, a busy judicial
division like Warri or Effurun can be run by only one or two
Judges. I have it on good authority that the only Judge who sits at
Orerokpe and Isiokolo Judicial Divisions is also slated for a
national assignment as stated above. What is going to happen to all
the cases in those judicial divisions? It is our view that if
nothing is done now, the administration of justice in Delta State,
will further suffer unmitigated damage. It is for this reason, the
NBA Warri Branch hereby calls on the Delta State Judicial Service
Commission, to as a matter of urgency, commence the process of
appointing a minimum of ten eminently qualified and competent
Judges, into the High Court Bench of the State. Furthermore, Delta
State should emulate Lagos State and commence the agitation for the
allocation of more judges to the State, even beyond forty (40).

THE STATE OF THE JUDICIARY
The Judiciary is the third arm of Government. It is now being
treated like a department in the executive arm of Government. It is
our view that the Judiciary must assert itself positively to
protect its independence. It must insist on being treated like the
third, independent and equal arm of government. Judges should not
be seen jubilating publicly and genuflecting before the officials
of the executive arm of Government, just because they have been
given cars or granted approval to travel abroad and such other
benefits, which they are ordinarily entitled to. In the speech of
Hon Justice Olatawura earlier referred to, he also said that: “No
Judge
has the right to be hostile to the Government, but no Chief Judge
should be an errand boy to a Governor. We should not compromise our
constitutional powers as judges”. The point we are making here is
that, when the executive refuses to give what is due to the
Judiciary to it and compels a Chief Judge to beg for what should
ordinarily be given to Judges as a matter of course, it amounts to
treating the Chief Judge like an errand boy. We are aware that most
of the time more Judges cannot be appointed because the State
Government is unwilling to provide vehicles for the new Judges.
However, the Government has no problem providing vehicles for the
use of political appointees, most of whom actually do nothing. The
time has come, for the Bar and Bench to come together and
synergize, so that we can fight for a Judiciary we can all be proud
of. It must be noted that the bar has been in the fore front of
enhanced welfare for all judicial officers in the country but for
some inexplicable reasons, the judiciary has failed to co-operate
with the Bar, in this regard. One example will illustrate this
point. In 1996, when Major General B. Oteri encroached on land
belonging to the judiciary in GRA Warri, the NBA Warri Branch was
able to secure an interim injunction to stop the construction of
the building the Major General was putting up on the land with
alarming speed. Surprisingly, as a result of “pressure” from
Government, the case was transferred to another Judge of the High
Court of Justice Warri Judicial Division who vacated the interim
order. Although the order was later restored by the Court of Appeal
on an appeal by the NBA Warri Branch, the judiciary effectively
frustrated the branch from pursuing that case. General Oteri’s
house is still standing on judiciary land a stone throw from here
as a testament to the inability or refusal of the judiciary to
assert itself and protect itself.

The current travails of the Chief Justice of the Federation,
Hon. Justice Walter N.Onnoghen, ought to concern all of us in this
court room. This is because, if the issue is not properly handled,
it will spell doom for the Judiciary. The NBA has joined all other
concerned global organizations to condemn the suspension of the
Chief Justice of Nigeria on the basis of an ex parte order obtained
in questionable circumstances. The NBA has stated that its position
has nothing to do with whether the CJN should be tried on charges
of corruption or not but rather on whether by the principles of
separation of powers enshrined in the 1999 Constitution as amended,
the executive arm of government can unilaterally suspend the head
ofanother arm of government in the way it was done. Since the
matter is still in court and therefore sub judice, we will refrain
from commenting on its merits. However,
we need to mention that it was rather disheartening to note that
when the NBA decided to boycott courts for two days to register its
displeasure over the issue, some members of the judiciary due to
fear or a desire to please the Government, refused to cooperate but
sat and allowed lawyers who in disobedience to the NBA directive
attended court to conduct their cases. This issue has openly
revealed that the battle for the sanctity and independence of the
Judiciary has just entered a critical stage. Whether we will win or
lose depends on our attitude. It is our prayer that the Bar and the
Bench do not become lily livered when it matters most. This is the
only way history will judge us kindly.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE BAR AND THE BENCH IN DELTA
STATE
My Lord, Hon Justice G. E. Akperi (Mrs.) will be greatly missed by
members of the NBA Warri Branch. My Lord always attended our events
and at times, contributed financially. In January, My Lord joined
the bar in the first NBA Warri Branch prayer session. The large
turnout of our members here today is a testament to how dear she is
to us. Notwithstanding the closeness of My Lord to the Bar, she was
very strict when she needed to be. She insisted on members of the
bar (particularly the female members) being properly dressed in her
court. She was in control of her court and managed to create a
balance between firmness and friendliness. She was never rude to
members of the Bar. When a member of the Branch was brutally
assaulted by police officers in June, 2018, she readily intervened
to secure medical attention for him. It is the desire of the Bar
that this same type of relationship can be created with other
Judges in the State.

As My Lord bows out today, we wish her happy retirement, good
health and contentment. To her loving husband and children, we say
a big thank you for allowing her the time and space to carry out
her duties as a Judge. We also join her to thank God who made
everything in her life possible. On a final note my Lord, we wish
you a happy birthday and bid you a successful and enjoyable
retirement.

Michael A. Asugo, Esq., ACIArb
(UK)