Chief Justice of Niger State, Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik has disclosed that the activities of armed bandits has resulted in the forceful shut down of four magistrate and 11 Sharia courts in the state.
The CJ, who stated this in Minna during the special court session to mark the 2023/2024 legal year of the state high court, recalled how bandits abducted the Registrar of Sharia Court, Ibbi, Mallam Mohammad Namaru.
She explained that the registrar was whisked away by gunmen to an unknown location on April 11, 2023, and later killed by his abductors.
Speaking in an emotion-laden voice, Abdulmalik urged the state government to support the children of the deseased by giving them scholarship for their education, adding that doing so would encourage the judiciary to continue to serve unconditionally.
The CJ explained that within the year under review, radical reforms and massive renovations of five magistrate courts and six offices within the high court complex in Minna were embarked upon, despite the paucity of funds, among others.
In his address, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Niger State, Barrister Nasir Muazu, noted that the judiciary, in the past years, has witnessed the legal community’s resilience and adaptability in the face of challenges, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 had forced the legal community to rethink the way to deliver justice.
He stated, “the pandemic period, pushed us to embrace technology, virtual courtrooms, and remote legal proceedings”.
