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From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has canvassed the need for public enlightenment on the technicalities in judicial proceedings to enrich public knowledge and enhance the understanding of the practice of the Law of Evidence in Nigeria.
He made the call during the public presentation of a book, “Law of Evidence in Nigeria: Practice and Procedure” written by the Secretary to the Government of Enugu State (SSG) and Director General of South East Governors’ Forum (SEGF), Prof. Simon Uchenna Ortuanya, at the Amadeo Event Centre, Enugu, yesterday.
The governor pointed out that “given the dynamism and growth of the Nigerian judicial system, I strongly believe that legal paraphernalia in Nigeria must be strengthened for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness”.
He stressed that the new book on issues relating to the Law of Evidence and its practice especially in this era of rapid communications and information technological changes globally, is a welcome development “particularly against the background of the dearth of standard textbooks in such areas.”
The governor therefore commended the author of the book for his vision and efforts to document what he considered as a very comprehensive account of the processes involved in establishing truth of facts in the judicial process and the legal principles relating to relevance and admissibility of facts.
“My position is even emboldened by the scholarly words of no other than the Justice Chima Centus Nweze of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, who, in his forward, described the book as quite captivating, just as the logical presentation of ideas are very illuminating”, he said.
Governor Ugwuanyi stated that the book will surely attend to the weaknesses in the current legal framework as well as fill the gap in the public understanding of “what facts that may be proved, what facts to be excluded from the Judge’s cognizance, the burden of proving these facts and how these facts are proved in Nigerian courts.”
Expressing optimism that the book will serve as a good reference document on the Nation’s legal system, the governor recommended it for general readership, especially to Justices, Senior Advocates and the Academia.
