The Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Halima Abdulmalik, has lamented that successive governments in the state starve the judiciary of the much-needed funds to carry out its duties.
Abdulmalik called on the government of Mohammed Bago to immediately implement the Harmonised Conditions of Service Law 2023 passed by the Ninth Assembly of the state legislature.
The Chief Judge made the call on Friday, during the last day of the special court session to mark the 2023/2024 Legal Year which took place at the High Court complex in Minna.
While requesting Governor Bago to order the full implementation of the law, she said, “Niger State lawmakers had passed into Law the Harmonisation of Conditions of Service for magistrates, sharia court judges, state counsels, draftsmen and others connected with criminal justice”.
According to her, “Some courts in Niger State are operating in rented accommodations while others are dilapidated. The Izom Magistrate Court has partially collapsed,” attributing the trend to insufficient allocation of funds for capital projects in the judiciary.
“It is from the allocations that we pay the Judges’ rents, attend national and international conferences, and carry out capital projects. The High Court complex is in dire need of upgrade by way of reconstruction, rehabilitation, and re-roofing.
“Since the creation of the State, the High Court conference Hall is yet to be completed. If when completed, the Hall will serve as our meeting point Conference Centre, and venue for our in-house capacity-building training.
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