The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Customary Court in Dutse, Abuja, has appealed to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to support the renovation of its court complex, which was damaged during the 2020 EndSARS protests. Court President Aderinto Adesoji made this appeal during a resumed hearing in a divorce case between Chiwendu Nwadi and her husband, Emeka Nwadi, currently being held in Ushafa, Abuja.
Since the 2020 incident, which left the Dutse Customary Court facilities unusable, the court has been conducting its sessions at the Ushafa Customary Court, a sister facility located around 17 kilometers away within the Bwari Area Council. Ushafa holds sittings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while the Dutse court is limited to using the venue on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
During the session, Adesoji highlighted the challenges of scheduling cases with limited court days, explaining that these restrictions delay timely decisions in sensitive cases like family matters, especially child custody, which require urgent adjudication. He emphasized that the NBA had previously promised to facilitate repairs but has yet to fulfill those commitments.
Responding to the appeal, Moses Ibe, counsel for the petitioner, promised to relay the message to the NBA’s Bwari branch. He added in an interview that the distance and restricted court days have hindered the court’s ability to provide quick justice, a goal the Dutse court was originally established to achieve.
