Delta Judiciary afflicted with fund challenges, former NBA Publicity Sec, Edun, says judges, magistrates salaries poor

Former National Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Kunle Edun Esq today said the Judiciary in Delta State is afflicted with challenges of adequate funding.The legal practitioner in a response to WhatsApp message to PEBNEWS sent to him said, "We have a serious dearth of Judges in Delta State."Edun said, "We still have Judges in the 21st century in Delta State presiding over two High Courts. While the Governor, the Speaker and top government functionaries have fleet of SUVs, Judges do not. The one vehicle given to each of them are not changed as at when due. Some of the vehicles break down."According to him, "The Magistrates and Customary Courts Presidents, now called Chairmen, are worse hit. Most of them have no official vehicles. I am talking about even Chief Magistrates having no good official vehicles. Many of them now drive their private vehicles to courts. Their pay are very poor. "Some of the Courts' buildings are eyesores. Take a look at the Chief Magistrate Court Effurun building. "You will weep for the judicial staff, litigants and lawyers that are still using that building. That structure is in a state of near collapse. There are many others like that."He noted that, "The Uduaghan government demolished the former High Court Warri building. Nothing was wrong with the buildings. He pointed out that, "They were built in the days of the Western Region and still very strong and magnificent to behold. Dr. Uduaghan, an Itsekiri man from same Warri area demolished the buildings and promised to build a more modern multi-storey High Court building on the same spot before completing his tenure. He never did.  NBA Warri was opposed to the demolition of the building. "We suggested that government should acquire land elsewhere to build the new High Court. The former Governor ignored the advice. More than 14 years down the line, there is nothing on ground on the spot where the old High Court Warri building was. "While Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa almost completed that of the new High Court multi-storet building in Asaba before exiting office, that of Warri has not even started after 14 years. Judges and lawyers now squeeze themselves into cubicles called courts which government said was only to be temporary, to conduct court business in Warri. Government lied."The welfare of Judges is almost nil in Delta State. They still use long hands to write proceedings in courts when neighbouring States like Bayelsa State have deployed technology in their record of proceedings."Edun stated that, "Delta State cannot be said to be a poor State. Moreover, with the removal of fuel subsidy, the State's allocation from the Federation account has almost tripled. The government should consider investing heavily in the Judiciary."He disclosed that himself and the former 1st Vice President of the NBA, John Aikpokpo⁩-Martins obtained a court judgement from the Delta State High Court to enforce financial autonomy in the State judiciary."As part of our advocacy for a better court system in Delta State, I and John Aikpokpo⁩-Martins, a former 1st Vice President of the NBA recently obtained a judgment from the Delta State High Court to enforce financial autonomy in the State Judiciary."The Delta State government has never complied with the constitutional provisions regarding financial autonomy for the State judiciary. They still give hand outs to the Judiciary. "In the judgment we obtained, we sought for declaratory and compelling orders against the Governor of Delta State, The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, the Chief Judge of the State and the State's Accountant General, based on the constitutional provisions expressly directing the heads of Courts to present their budgets directly to the House of Assembly and not through any Executive intermediary, which is the same procedure that the State House of Assembly follows in its appropriation requests."Edun also said, "The State House of Assembly does not present its appropriation requests to the Executive. It does not go through the Executive. The Judgment is still subsisting and we urge the Governor of Delta State to comply with it. It's for the good of the State. If we take care of the rule of law, one day, the rule of law will also take care of us."