Mbah inaugurates reconstituted council on prerogative of mercy, judicial service commission

Peter Mbah, governor of Enugu, has inaugurated the newly reconstituted state judicial service commission and advisory council on the prerogative of mercy.

During the inauguration, Mbah said the commission will oversee judicial officers’ employment and welfare.

Ozoemena Afojulu, the chief justice of Enunu, is the chairman of the commission, while Kingsley Udeh, the commissioner for justice and attorney- general, and Chibueze Nnamani, the president of the court of appeal are members.

Other members are Reuben Onuora, a retired justice; Andrew Chukwumerie, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN); Gabriel Agbo; and Udechukwu Ezeh.

The seven-member advisory council is chaired by the commissioner for justice, with Seth Nwokolo as the secretary and Rita Emeh as a member.

It also has as members representatives from the Nigeria Correctional Service, the Carmelite Prisoners Interest Organization (CAPIO), and the Catholic Institute for Development, Justice, and Peace (CIDJAP).

The governor recalled that he outlined some reforms and steps taken in the judiciary during his one-year anniversary speech.

“This is essentially 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,” he said.

“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 to 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.”

The governor expressed concern over the overpopulated prison, which he noted was originally designed to accommodate slightly above 650 inmates, but currently has over 2000 prisoners.

He noted that over 80 percent of inmates are awaiting trial and urged the members of the council to come up with recommendations to enable the state to decongest 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,” the governor added.

“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 society.

“The recommendations you make would ensure that we continue to stay in a safe society and that our prison is decongested.”