Lawyers in Enugu Protest Virtual Court Sessions, Threaten to Close Courts

Lawyers in Enugu North District, Enugu State, held a protest on Tuesday. They were unhappy about judges refusing to hold physical court sessions. This has been going on for years since judges switched to virtual proceedings.

In a video shared on Facebook, the lawyers expressed that the judges’ choice to stick with virtual court sessions is affecting justice. They warned that they would stop attending virtual court sessions unless there are urgent changes and judges start physical hearings again.

The protesting lawyers, as gathered by PREMIUM TIMES, came from five judicial divisions in Nsukka Zone. These divisions include Nsukka, Obollo-Afor, Enugu-Ezike, Ogbede, and Umulokpa.

Reasons for Protest

During the protest, which took place in all five divisions, Sunday Agbo, the Chairman of the Nsukka Branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), spoke out. He said judges had previously switched to virtual hearings due to insecurity in the area.

"We all welcomed that; we accepted it hoping that things would improve. For three years now, clerks from the various courts have been using their mobile phones to video the judges in the form of (conducting) virtual hearings," he explained.

Mr Agbo pointed out that this situation forces lawyers to sit close to opposing witnesses during cross-examination. Sometimes, these witnesses threaten to attack lawyers who are questioning them.

He also mentioned that they want the Enugu State Government to properly equip all courtrooms with the necessary tools to make virtual proceedings better.

"We are not saying that virtual hearings should be stopped. But we are saying that let these judicial divisions be equipped with modern facilities that will make virtual proceedings efficient," he said.

Threat to Shut Down Courts

Frank Agbowo, one of the protesting lawyers, spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on the phone after the protest. He said judges moved to virtual hearings because of frequent kidnappings along Ugwogo-Opi-Nsukka Road. Judges have to travel from Enugu metropolis to get to the Nsukka area.

Mr Agbowo argued that the virtual system is not helping justice due to several issues with it. "Sometimes, the judge needs to watch the witnesses, the behaviour of parties during the proceedings to determine how he or she is going to make his or her decision," he said.

He added, "Again, when we will file (our case) here (in Nsukka) and the clerk will find a way to send the file to Enugu (metropolitan branch of the court)."

Continuing, he said, "Sometimes, a lot of things get lost. During the virtual proceedings, sometimes we wouldn’t get to hear the judges when they spoke because the network would disrupt the proceedings. So, it is not working.

"Sometimes, a lawyer may have a document in his possession that he needs to tender. But the judge may not see the document and the other counsel on the opposition side will not be able to examine the document."

He explained that if one lawyer is joining from Lagos, another from Nsukka, and the judge is in Enugu, the judge may not see the document one of the lawyers wants to present. This makes it hard to know if it meets the rules of the Evidence Act.

Mr Agbowo said virtual proceedings are okay for minor cases but should not be used for serious matters. He recalled that they had written to different authorities, including Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State and the state chief judge, but nothing has changed.

He said the protest was one of the first actions by the NBA leadership in the zone to fix the issue. "Secondly, we are not going to attend any court. In fact, all the courts in the zone will be grounded. We are shutting down the courts until those judges resume physical sittings," he stated.