Human Rights Activist, Hameed Ajibola Jimoh has written a letter
to the Honourable Chief Judge of High Court of the Federal Capital
Territory-Abuja, over what he describes as the in-conducive and
unbearable condition of the Court due to deplorable facilities.
Mr. Jimoh made this appeal in a letter dated the 29th day of
March, 2019, and made available to TNL, in which he passionately
called for the urgent improvement in the deplorable conditions of
facilities in the Court, sitting in Kwali Area Council, Abuja.
29th March, 2019.
The Honourable, the Chief
Judge,
High Court of Federal Capital
Territory-Abuja,
Headquarters,
Maitama,
Abuja.
Your Lordship,
A PASSIONATE AND COMPASSIONATE APPEAL FOR URGENT
IMPROVEMENT IN THE DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS OF FACILITIES IN THE HIGH
COURT OF THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, SITTING IN KWALI, KWALI
AREA COUNCIL, ABUJA
- The above subject matter refers My Lord.
- I am a legal practitioner and a human rights
activist. On the 28th day of March, 2019,
I had the opportunity of being present at the High Court of Federal
Capital Territory-Abuja, sitting in Kwali, which is close to the
Kwali Area Council, Federal Capital Territory-Abuja. I had observed
the deplorable conditions of some of the important and necessary
Court’s facilities which require urgent intervention of Your
Lordship, hence, this appeal, passionately and
compassionately. - My Lord, the proceedings in the Court was really in-conducive
and unbearable due to deplorable facilitties. The condition was
very hot because there was no supply of electricity to the Court’s
complex. Though the High Court’s building is a new structure, with
air-conditioners and ceiling fans, but none of these necessary and
important facilities could function due to lack of electricity.
This situation made the Presiding Judge of Court No.
36, and the lawyers in court not to be robed (i.e, to
remove their wig and gown). Also, litigants, witnesses in the
witness box, accused persons/defendants in the dock and the
audience in the court room could not bear the hot temperature
except to use hand fans to ventilate themselves of hot temperature
as they continue to sweat profusely (including me myself) and the
Court’s proceedings had to still continue in such discomforting
conditions. - Furthermore, I observed that the toilets though very
beautifully decorated, could not be usable due to lack of water and
the reason for no water was because there was no electricity to
pump the borehole machine build on the premises. I only wondered
how possible it would be for the courts’ staff, the counsel and the
litigants and others to use the rest room or toilet (both males and
females) to answer the call of nature such as to urinate and to
defecate without water supply?! From the information that I got,
just about two (2) cleaners are available to do the cleaning job
and would have to fetch water in buckets from outside the Court’s
premises or the neighbouring premises which are few meters or
kilometers away from the Court’s premises. - Also, I observed that there was a generator plant on the
court’s premises but has not been installed from my findings for
weeks. The generator could have supplied electricity to the court
but has not been installed. - I believe that Your Lordship might not be aware of these
conditions of those facilities, so I decided to bring it to Your
Lordship’s attention or notice for urgent and immediate necessary
actions. I therefore suggest and recommend an investigation into
these my reports. - Finally, while I hope that Your Lordship would take urgent and
immediate steps in putting all these facilities in normal function
and operation for an effective dispensation of justice in the
Court, please accept my warm regards.
Yours faithfully,
Hameed Ajibola Jimoh Esq.
Sole Practitioner/Principal Counsel/Human Rights
Activist.
Cc: The Chief Registrar, Office of the Chief Registrar,
High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Maitama,
Abuja.