The Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade, has said Nigerian laws have been static for too long and deserve to be updated.
Gov. Ayade, therefore, advocated for a turnaround where laws would shift away from codification to what he called “principles of reality”.
He stated this while swearing in three new High Court Judges: Emmanuel Agiampuye Ubua, Obo Awusa Obo and Imelda Bassey Etape, at the state executive chambers.
The justices took oaths of office and allegiance before the governor and the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Michael Edem, as well as members of the state executive council, some mebers of the bar and the bench.
Ayade charged them to take the appointments as a great task and responsibility, noting that a lean liberty was better than a fat slavery.
Ayade said, “You had rather stay in your poverty as a judge than to have all the wealth and have your soul enslaved to your conscience because you have perverted justice.”
The governor challenged them to make law the only driving force, stressing the need for the judges to see arbitration as the alternative to conflict resolution and the most welcome concept in modern legislative and legal practice.
He reminded the judges that, “The judiciary requires men of honour and integrity, who appreciate true value and honour, who understand ethics and morality and the science that man is a spiritual being,” adding that, “In whatever you do, there will be a time where your deeds will be accounted for.”
Responding on behalf of the newly sworn in judges, Justice Etape thanked God for being fair and gracious to them and the governor for the honour done them, as well as the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for the support they received. She assured the governor that she and her newly sworn in colleagues would acquit themselves in their new responsibility.
