Hon. Justice Amina Augie (middle) Governor Rochas Okorocha (1st right), Mrs. Nkechi Okorocha (2nd right), Chief Judge of Imo State Justice Pascal Nnadi (1st left) and others, when Justice Augie who represented the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Tanko Mohammed Commissioned the Justice Oputa High Court Complex Owerri, built by Governor Okorocha, on Wednesday May 15, 2019.
The Acting Chief
Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Honourable Justice Tanko Mohammed has
charged Judges in the Country to write Judgements for posterity and
for the sake of history and not for money or any other material
consideration, describing the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa as a good
example of what an ideal Judge should be.
Justice
Mohammed spoke while commissioning the Ultra Modern High Court
Complex built by the government of Governor Rochas Okorocha which is
called Justice Oputa High
Court Complex, in Owerri on Wednesday.
Justice
Mohammed who was represented by a Judge of the Supreme Court, Hon.
Justice Amina Adamen Augie stated “We thank God for the vision
given to His Excellency, Governor Rochas Okorocha that came to
fruition in the realization of this wonderful court complex. I doubt
if there is any state in this country that has a High Court Complex
as magnificent as this one. For this, we thank God for His
Excellency, the governor of Imo State, we thank God for the Judges of
Imo State and we thank God for the people of Imo State who are going
to benefit from this complex after the commissioning”.
Justice
Augie continued “The complex is so comfortable that it will enable
judges to relax and do their jobs well and give justice without fear,
favour or ill will. At the same time, when you walk in and see the
name of the complex, Hon. Justice Oputa Complex, he is one of the
greatest Jurists this country ever had. Till today, if I am writing
any judgement, I still rely on him because he was a great jurist. He
was able to capture the law, he was able to explain it and was able
to put it into clear words,
“Justice
Oputa was an example of what a Judge should be. He never knew that
one day a complex like this will be named after him. This is a
message to all living judges that we must all have posterity in mind.
It tells us that whatever we are writing, we should remember that one
day, hundred years time one of your grand-children will be reading
whatever rubbish you have written or reading something sublime you
have written and they will proudly say, my grandfather or mother has
done well by the kind of judgement he or she has written,
“Posterity
beckons on us not to write bad judgements today because somebody paid
us money, tomorrow that person is gone, your reputation down the
drain, your children will never want to accept that they were your
children. When they are confronted with your name, they will deny it
because the association comes with something shameful. Is this what
we want as Judges? Or do we want, when long we are gone, our works
will teach, motivate and inspire people even those who don’t know
the law”, she stated.
Governor
Rochas Okorocha in his speech at the historic event said he would be
remembered for all the works he has done as the governor of the State
after he must left as governor stating “I stand here today to
present to you this wonderful edice which is tripadite in
arrangement. The first building standing by the left is called the
Justice Building and the one in the middle is the Building of equity
and the last one is building of fairness”.
His
words “When I came in as the governor, I was not lucky like those
packaged by the elites of Imo State. I hadn’t any support of the
big masquerade politician in the State. I came in as the governor of
Imo State through the window of the masses and not through the door
of the elites. I didn’t have the co-operation of who is who because
I bend protocols for the good of the masses. I have never broken any
protocol or law, I only bend it a bit and make sure it doesn’t
break, and at the stage of breaking, I strengthen it to the
destination I am going to”.
He
continued “One thing you cannot take away from me is that I came
here with a passion and vision to make Imo better. But if I have
followed your way, this structure standing here wouldn’t have been
standing because there were many governors and leaders before me. If
I had followed your style and system, the International Cargo airport
which is the biggest in this country won’t be standing tall at the
airport and so many other projects of note. Only few days ago, we
collected the licence of four new Universities, all established in
Imo State but yet you don’t understand,
“Today,
we have the best police headquarters in Nigeria after the one in
Abuja and we have the best prison headquarters in Imo State all built
by this government and our Justice Oputa Court Complex stands tall in
Nigeria today. Let my work speak for me even after I leave office.
This is the only message I have for my political opponents and
definitely my work will speak for me”, he stated.
The
governor remarked “By 29th May, I will no longer be
governor and never in the history of mankind will I be your governor
again. But one thing I am sure is that I have done and what I will be
remembered for. I have opened up Owerri, I have given Owerri a new
life and today our city is functioning, our roads are expanded, real
estate is growing in geometrical progression. I have turned land to a
capital as wealth set aside for production of further wealth. “Imo
people will remember as the person who expanded and developed Imo,
Imo people will remember me for the free education”.
The
Chief Judge of Imo State, Justice Pascal Nnadi in his speech said
“The event of today, which is the official and ceremonial
commissioning of the new Justice Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa High Court
Complex marks a major milestone in the annals of the history of the
Judiciary of Imo State Nigeria. This edifice and world class Master
Architecture was solely conceived, designed and erected by the Rescue
Mission Administration of His Excellency, Owelle Anayo Rochas
Okorocha, the governor of Imo State of Nigeria”.
Justice
Nnadi added “This is coming at a time when the Judiciary in the
State is in dire need of such accommodation and facility for the
execution of their legal duties. The Commissioning of this Complex
today will go a long way to reduce the threatening suffocating
situation of insufficient court facilities which for many gave rise
to the uncomfortable situation which we have found ourselves in where
Court Judges store one Court Hall”.
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