Ebonyi Assembly increases judges to 50

From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki

The Ebonyi State House of Assembly has passed a bill to amend the High Court Law of the state, 2009, increasing the number of judges from 35 to 50 in the state.

The amended law, which takes effect from October 5, 2026, was considered and adopted paragraph-by-paragraph at the Committee of the whole of the House during the Assembly plenary, yesterday.

The amended law also increased the retirement age of a judge from 65 to 70 years. The amendment of the law followed Governor Francis Nwifuru’s letter to the Assembly.

Speaker of the Assembly, Moses Odunwa, described the governor’s  proposal for the increase in the number of judges and their years of service as apt, saying it would facilitate speedy dispensation of justice in the state. He lauded members for the accelerated passage of the Bill.

Chief Whip of the House, Chief Nkemka Okoro-Onuma,  representing Ebonyi North-West State Constituency, Aloysius Nwodo, and the member representing Izzi West Constituency, Chief Abiri Godwin Abiri, among others, said the passage of the Bill would reduce the workload on judges, enhance efficient judicial service delivery and create employment opportunities for Ebonyi citizens in the justice sector.

In another development, the House approved the engagement of financial consultants for the identification, reconciliation, and recovery of funds and refunds due to the state, including the assessment of infrastructure fund allocation from the federal government.

The House noted that the engagement of financial professionals, with MSCA World Projects Limited as Lead Consultant, would aid the swift recovery of outstanding revenue refunds, grants and statutory revenues from various Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies, including funds expended on equipping the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, among other infrastructure interventions.