Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti has reiterated his administration’s commitment to transforming the judiciary in Abia State by introducing modern technology to enhance the efficiency and operation of the justice system.
Govrnor Otti made this promise during a thanksgiving service held to mark the commencement of the 2024/2025 legal year, themed “Advancing the Judiciary in Abia State: Tradition Meets Innovation,” held at the Queen Elizabeth Chapel, Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia.
The Governor emphasized the need to improve the working conditions of judges in Abia State, noting that many of them still operate under extremely difficult conditions, with court infrastructure in various stages of dilapidation.
He noted that while many states in Nigeria have transitioned from handwritten documentation to digital case management systems, Abia is still lagging behind.
The Governor said that his administration in a bid to address the ugly trend has already initiated moves for the automation of legal procedures to meet the 21st century demands in addition to the retrofitting of 17 court halls across the state’s 17 local government areas.
“We have identified 17 court halls in the 17 LGAs that we have started. We have the prototype such that by the time that we are done, when you walk into the court halls in Abia State you’ll know that it is a modern court hall.
“Beyond that and most importantly, we also have taken a principle decision to introduce innovation in the way you carry out your jobs.
“You are aware that in some states in Nigeria, the practice of non handwriting, the practice of manually documenting everything has changed.
“Today reports are filed online that you can work from anywhere just with the benefit of a single device. We have also taken a decision to automate virtually all the process that you go through.
“We have requested experts to send proposal and the last time I checked, we have zeroed down on who we thought was the best in terms of introducing technology and we have given them a go ahead to automate the entire process from the library through the case file and then documentation that you require“, Gov Otti stated.
Governor Otti while stressing that the success of the automation process depends on the active participation of the judges, appealed to the Chief Judge of the state to make the Judges available for training as government has made provision for the training judicial officers on the new systems.
The Governor who noted that the relationship between the Executive and the Judiciary in Abia State remains strong, with both arms of government working hand-in-gloves to ensure a functional system, affirmed his administration’s commitment to delivering the change that Abia residents voted for in the last general elections.
In his sermon earlier, the Chaplain, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Chapel, FMC, Rev Earnest Onyeukwu said that God is looking for a man with a difference like Nehemiah who can turn our reproach to rejoicing and implored the judiciary officials not to be distracted but to discharge their functions with the fear of God.
The Thanksgiving service which is part of the programmes lined up for the beginning of a new legal year, featured prayers for the Governor, the state and Members of the Bar and Bench and was attended by top judicial officers, government officials, and legal practitioners across the state.
