Flood: Submerged Kogi High Court to be Relocated - Kogi Chief Judge
The Chief Judge of Kogi State, Honourable Justice Nasir Ajanah, has said that the submerged Koton-Karfe High Court Complex, will to be relocated to avoid the perennial flooding and the attendant challenges in administration of justice.
He made this known, during on the spot assessment of the extent of damage on the submerged complex.
He said the relocation was the only viable alternative, to arrest the perennial breaks in the administration of criminal justice in the area.
"The busiest prison yard in the State is located in this town. So, it is important that we relocate the court, from here to another location within the town.
"That is the most important thing to do now, because this is a very busy place", he said.
Ajanah said the cost of putting up a new complex for the High Court and the Chief Magistrate Court in Koton-Karfe, would be included in the State supplementary budget, and hoped that it would be approved and released.
At the Palace of the Ohimege of Koton-Karfe, Alhaji Abdulrazaq IsahKoto, the Chief Judge reiterated the need to relocate the court, and appealed to the traditional ruler to allocate another plot of land, for the construction of a new complex.
He said that it was the community that allocated the land for the submerged complex, without knowing that the area was prone to flood.
Responding, the paramount ruler expressed the community's regrets over the unfortunate hiccups arising from the natural disaster, and promised that land would be sought and allocated within the next one week.
Isah-Koto however, appealed to the Chief Judge to establish smaller courts, especially around the new Medium Security Prison in the area, to take care of litigation arising from the riverine communities.
The Registrar of the Court, Mr Aliyu Musa,
while speaking with newsmen on the matter, said the staff resumed work Monday Morning, September 3, to meet a flooded complex.
Musa said though the flood had been a recurring perennial phenomenon from 2012, weakening the seven-year old structure on a yearly basis, this year's onslaught was higher and more devastating.