Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, on Thursday, inaugurated the reconstituted Enugu State Judicial Service Commission and Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy.
The commission, chaired by Chief Judge Justice Ozoemena Afojulu, includes members such as Dr. Kingsley Udeh, Justice Chibueze Nnamani, Justice Reuben Onuora (Rtd.), Prof. Andrew Chukwumerie (SAN), Hon. Gabriel Agbo, and Dr. Udechukwu Ezeh.
The seven-member Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney General, includes Barr. Seth Nwokolo as Secretary, Dr. Rita Emeh as a member, and representatives from the Nigeria Correctional Service, CAPIO, and CIDJAP.
Governor Mbah emphasised the importance of a functional judicial system in attracting investments and tasked the commissions with ensuring the welfare and employment of judicial officers.
“Recall that in my first anniversary address, I outlined several reforms and steps we have taken in the judiciary.
“This is essential because it also ties to the objective of the government to grow our economy because one of the indicators of the ease of doing business is also the enforcement of the contract. But that would not happen if you don’t have a sound judicial system.
“We are currently digitizing and also digitalizing our processes and procedures. Our effort in making sure we get our procedure in court reported verbatim is at an advanced level. What that will also do is eliminate the burden of longhand reporting to allow our judges to be more effective.
“We are also creating specialized courts in the state to fastrack access to justice. So, this is indeed, a very important commission, and we have taken our time painstakingly to select those who made it as members of this commission,” he said.
Inaugurating the Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, Mbah regretted that a prison designed to accommodate slightly above 650 currently has over 2000 inmates with over 80 per cent of inmates awaiting trial and charged the members with a robust decongestion of the correctional facilities.
“As you may already be aware, the major function of this body is to review the application on clemency and advise the governor with recommendations.
“It is our hope that your decisions and indeed your reviews will not be taken lightly. They would have to be done with a deep sense of duty and also be guided by the objective guidelines you have in looking at each case. We expect that each case would be reviewed on its merit, not driven by any subjective interest because, at the end of the day, this would be for the common good of the society.
“The recommendations you make would ensure that we continue to stay in a safe society and also our prison is decongested,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, speaking during the separate inauguration ceremonies, the Chairman of the Commission and Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Afojulu, as well as the Attorney General and Chairman of the Council of the Advisory Council on Prerogative, Dr. Udeh, pledged the commitment of their support to the governor in his push to reposition the state.