A legal practitioner has questioned plans for a special Court of Appeal sitting in Shendam, Plateau State
A lawyer, Chidi Anselm, has raised concerns over a planned special sitting of the Court of Appeal in Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau State, alleging that the event could amount to an abuse of judicial authority.
The concerns were contained in a statement circulated on X ahead of a special sitting scheduled for Saturday as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the Court of Appeal.
According to Mr Anselm, the court’s president, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, issued a notice for the sitting to hold in Ngootuguut, Shendam Local Government Area, which he claimed is not an official seat of the Court of Appeal.
“The Court session will be presided over by Monica Dongban-Mensem, President of the Court of Appeal. The sitting will be held at Ngwa Rina Ngoot Long Shendam Local Government Council. It is not a seat of the court,” the lawyer stated.
He further alleged that the location was selected because it is the hometown of the Court of Appeal president.
“The only reason is that this is also the hometown of the President of the Court of Appeal,” he said.
Mr Anselm also claimed that matters had been listed on the cause list for determination during the special sitting and criticised what he described as a directive inviting members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Shendam Branch, to attend “as a mark of courtesy” and “show solidarity” to the Court of Appeal president.
“There is only one name for this, let’s be clear. It is abuse of power,” he alleged.
Documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES show that the Ngootuguut Development Association invited guests to the commissioning of a newly constructed Magistrate Court in Ngootuguut on June 13.
The invitation, signed by the association’s president, Yitnoe Tsenpet, described the project as a milestone for access to justice in the area.
A separate letter from the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Jos Division, Francisca Mesiobi-Emeto, invited the chairman of the NBA Shendam Branch to a special sitting marking the court’s 50th anniversary.
The letter stated that the anniversary event would hold on June 17 at the Court of Appeal premises in Jos.
The Court of Appeal, established in 1976, is Nigeria’s intermediate appellate court and sits in designated judicial divisions across the country.
As of the time of filing this report, the Court of Appeal had not publicly responded to the allegations raised by the lawyer regarding the planned sitting in Shendam.
Efforts to obtain comments from officials of the Court of Appeal were unsuccessful.
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