By Chidi Nkwopara
OWERRI—Over 39,122 cases are reportedly pending in the nine judicial divisions of Imo State High Court, while over 21,452 cases are similarly pending in the 20 Magisterial districts of the state.

Imo State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Benjamin A. Njemanze, disclosed this in a four-paged address he delivered at the stakeholders’ meeting organized in Owerri by the state government.

“Similarly, over 10,589 cases are pending in the Customary Court of Appeal and Customary Court. The number of cases pending in the various courts reveals the volume of work the Judiciary is saddled with”, Justice Njemanze said.

Noting that the present government of Imo State had to the best of his knowledge not disobeyed any court order, Justice Njemanze said the government had been of immense assistance to the judiciary in the state.

“The government improved the financial and infrastructural position of the judiciary. Government has provided functional vehicles to the judges and magistrates, electric generating sets for all the judges, laptops for all the judges and there was improvement in the environmental working condition of the courts,”Njemanze said.

He was particularly irked that Imo State was a litigious state, adding that the judiciary hd been striving to accommodate this litigious propensity of the citizens of Imo State.

Justice Njemanze revealed that the state government equally reduced and had promised to further reduce the financial burden of the judiciary, especially with regards to ameliorating the financial burden of retired judges.