Niger Chief Judge relocates Lapai High Court for renovation of dilapidated building

The Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik has announced the temporary relocation of Lapai High court to the Chief Magistrate court complex in Lapai.

The announcement was contained in a press release by the Chief Registrar of the State High Court, Hajiya Amina Lamide Musa, explained that the relocation was to commence the renovation works of the Court.

According to the Chief Judge, members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Minna and Suleja as well as Litigants should file their processes in the temporary location of the High court.

She further directed members of the public and counsels to channel their litigations and other necessary processes for prompt judicial and administrative action.

The Lapai High Court, has been in deplorable state in the last ten years as the ceiling board and entire building is almost falling down forcing the workers to take refuge when it rains.

Apart from the ceiling, the roof and toilet facilities were begging for repairs, just the judge’s chamber and the registrar’s office were not even habitable.

Worried by the inhabitable conditions of the court building, Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik swiftly relocated the court to the temporary office of the Lapai Magistrate court for speedy administration of justice

In a telephone interview with CAPITAL POST in Minna at the weekend, the Chief Registrar of the State High Court Hajiya Amina Lamide Musa Saidu explained that the chief Judge directed the immediate relocation of the High court during an inspection visit to the court.

She said during the visit the Chief Judge discovered that the deplorable condition of the Court would not be convenient for the staff to perform their duty effectively “which informed her decision to relocate to Lapai Magistrate court.”

She explained that arrangements are on ground to commence the renovation of the court ” But for now the court has to be relocated pending the completion of the renovation of the court.

Although she said she could not remember when the Lapai High Court was built, CAPITAL POST gathered that the court was built some nineteen years back which has not been renovated any successive government.