The immediate past Grand Khadi of Kogi State Sharia Court of Appeal, Zakariya Idakwoji (rtd.) has appealed to Kogi State Government to pay the gratuities of retired judges in the state to alleviate the suffering.
Idakwoji made the appeal at a Valedictory and Special Court Session held in honour of deceased and retired judicial officers of the state judiciary at the state High Court Complex on Tuesday in Lokoja.
Idakwoji noted that many of the retired judges died before anything could be done about their benefits adding that the payment would help to alleviate the suffering of those of the families left behind by the deceased.
Idakwoji urged Gov. Bello to look at the prevailing situation in the country and consider the plight of the retired judges saying, “His excellency should use his magnanimity to pay our gratuities.
“This would go a long way to reduce the hardship being faced by retired judges and families left behind by some of them after succumbing to death”, he lamented.
The retired Grand Khadi Zakariya Muhammad Idakwoji was in office as head of the court from 2012 to 2018.
Also speaking, Retired Justice Elias Adem Egwu, formerly of the state Customary Court of Appeal, asked the judiciary to work on the jurisdiction of the customary court of appeal.
According to him, the issue of jurisdiction of the customary court has been an issue that has lingered for too long, stressing that, their areas of jurisdiction in the state should be defined and strictly enforced.
He however advised the judiciary to organize a seminar for Area Court Judges adding that their is need for legal practitioners to cite customary laws within their localities rather than foreign laws in local land cases.
