—Wants more security for judicial officers 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

BENIN CITY – IT was a torrent of praises and commendations for Justice Rita Nosakhare Pemu who retired from public service yesterday after 29 years in the bench retiring as the presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Owerri Division.

At the valedictory session held at the Court of Appeal premises in Benin City which also coincided with her 70th birthday, Justice Pemu also called for reorganization of the registry of courts where she said most of  problems in the courts are just as she also called for improved security for judicial workers citing recent killing of court heads in some parts of the country and her kidnap in February last year.

She said she had the best of her career at the Owerri Division because she was able “to navigate and circumvent very difficult challenges.”

Pemu said the judiciary must shun corruption as the courts remain the last hope of the common man.

According to her, “I leave behind in the Owerri Division, a sanitized registry and a calm court. I am certain that the lawyers and staff in that division will attest to this fact.

“In any judicial system, I found that the registry of the court is the nucleus or pivot around which every other department revolves and once you sanitize the registry of a court, half of the problem is solved, a prime, proactive and unadulterated registry is a blessing to any court. Therefore it is desirous and indeed imperative to sanitize on continuous basis the registry of the courts. Counsels should desist from colluding with registries’ staff to cut corners.”

Security for judicial officers 

Speaking of the safety of judicial officers, she said “The issue of security is at the front burner. The issue becomes more profound particularly as it appears that the judiciary and indeed judicial officers are targets. Just a couple of weeks ago, the chairman of a customary court in Imo state was dragged out of the court and shot on the head in the course of performing his judicial functions. Again, about two Sundays after, a court in Imo state was gutted down by hoodlums. On February 20, 2022, while I was traveling from Benin to Owerri, I was kidnapped by hoodlums within the Ihiala axis of Anambra state. It was only by the grace of God that I escaped with some of my staff. My personal driver and the two cars in our possession are still missing as I speak. The judicial officers are exposed to too much danger and should be protected.

In her speech, the President, Court of Appeal Nigeria, Hon Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem who was represented by the Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Benin Division, Justice Orji-Abadua Ngolika said Pemu was one of the Justices whose judgments have become references 

Justice Ngolika noted that  Justice Pemu is reputed for writing her judgments in simple English for easy comprehension. 

Speaking to journalists at the event, the governor Edo state extolled the virtues of Justice Pemu noting that her achievement is an inspiration to the younger generation, especially the girl child. 

He said but for the judiciary, there would have been crisis in Nigeria going by the outcome of the February 25,  Presidential Election but for the hope by the people that they would get justice in the courts.

He also called for the decentralisation of the country’s security system to check the level of insecurity in Nigeria.

Obaseki said “I will say that for the judiciary in Nigeria, as you know it is the last hope for the citizens, you all saw what happened in our country on February 25 and the reason why we have the peace today, the calm in the country is because people know that there is an institution, the judiciary where people believe and hope that they can get justice and therefore they are holding back, sheathing their swords until the outcry of the judicial process, without the judiciary, without the judicial process, that arm of government can you imagine the crisis we would have been in as a country today?”

The representative of the body of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, BOSAN,  who also stood in for the Warri Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Ama Etuwewe, SAN said Justice Pemu was the first female member of the Warri Branch of the NBA to rise to become a Justice of the Court of Appeal while the chairman Benin Branch of the NBA, Nosa Edo-Osagie Esq. said “It is a thing of joy when judges retire unblemished after a long service. Today, a forthright, trustworthy and quintessential jurist retires from the bench with an admirable record of hard work, integrity, unbroken trust and knowledge”

The high point of the event was the public presentation of her book, Evidence of Grace.