Akwa Ibom Customary Courts: Who will Save Our District Court Chairmen? By ~ Meti M. Ukpeh, Esq. [Uyo-based Human Rights Lawyer ] In Nigeria, beyond the Superior Courts of record recognized by the Constitution of Nigeria(as amended), there exist several other layers of courts, most of which exist by dint of the laws of the various states. In this class are the Customary Courts, Magistrates Courts, the Area Courts, among others. In Akwa Ibom State, the Customary Courts occupy the immediate layer after the Customary Court of Appeal (though yet to be established), which explains why appeals from the Customary Courts go to the High Courts(S.67, CCL,2022).The Customary Court is the closest court to the grassroots(S.1, 14, and 18, CCL.) The Customary Courts in the state handle not less than 70 percent of the cases adjudicated upon in the State. I am not quite exact as to the total number of Customary Court Chairmen bearing this burden but I suspect that the figure must be hovering above nine...
