Nasarawa Judiciary sets up six panels to review judgments by lower courts

The Nasarawa State Judiciary on Monday constituted six appeal panels to review 124 judgments delivered by lower courts in the state.

Justice Suleiman Dikko, the state Chief Judge, announced this at the inauguration of 2018 first Call-Over Special Appeal Session at the State High Court in Lafia, saying that the cases to be reviewed included 69 civil and 55 criminal cases.

He said that the six panels would be sitting concurrently in Lafia, Keffi and Karu in order to ensure justice to litigants who were dissatisfied with earlier judgments.

He added that out of the 124 cases, 66 were old cases, while 58 were new.

He warned judges against engaging in unwholesome practices, promising to initiate mechanism that would prevent corrupt practice by judges and other judicial staff.

Earlier, Ishaka Dikko, Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lafia Branch, listed some challenges facing the judiciary, namely, the lopsided posting of staff to urban courts and dearth of judges and courtrooms.

He said other challenges were poor facilities in the courts and inadequate enforcement of court judgments.

He called on the state government to digitize courts proceedings.

Also speaking, Abdulkareem Kana, Commissioner for Justice, said the executive would continue to support any initiative that would enhance the efficiency of judges for better service delivery.

He therefore urged the judiciary to deal with corrupt officials to protect its integrity.