Legal activities in the Nsukka zone of Enugu State may be grounded as lawyers in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor have resolved to embark on a joint protest over the prolonged refusal of High Court judges to resume physical court sittings in the area.
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The protest, scheduled for Tuesday, June 2, 2026, is expected to involve the shutdown of High Court premises across the zone until judicial officers return to physical sittings.
The lawyers said the continued absence of judges from physical courtrooms has caused hardship to legal practitioners, litigants, detainees and other justice sector users in the zone.
According to legal sources, High Court judges in the Nsukka axis have not been sitting physically for years due to worsening insecurity and repeated attacks by armed non-state actors in parts of the South-East.
The judges were said to have abandoned physical courtrooms and relocated operations to Enugu township, with many cases either handled virtually or delayed indefinitely.
The development has reportedly created severe difficulties for lawyers and litigants, particularly those in rural communities who are unable to travel to Enugu for physical hearings or effectively participate in virtual proceedings.
Legal practitioners in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor argued that the situation has denied thousands of citizens access to justice, leaving criminal suspects in detention without trial and stalling civil and commercial matters.
@thenigerialawyer“Access To Justice Grounded” — NBA Nsukka, Obollo-Afor Lawyers To Shut Down High Courts Over Judges’ Refusal To Resume Physical Sittings
“For years now, High Courts in Nsukka zone have not been sitting physically, citing insecurity,” a source said.
“This has caused lawyers and litigants untold hardship. Based on this, NBA branches of Nsukka and Obollo-Afor have resolved to protest tomorrow [Today] by shutting down the High Courts until judges resume physical sitting.”
Confirming the development, the Chairman of the NBA Enugu Branch, Chief Barr. Venatus Chukwuma Odo, said High Court judges had abandoned judicial divisions outside Enugu township because of serious security risks.
Odo said the Ugwogo Nike, Opi and Nsukka road, which serves as a major route between Enugu metropolis and Nsukka, had become notorious for kidnappings and attacks on travellers.
According to him, the worsening security situation forced judges to relocate their physical operations to Enugu for safety reasons.
He recalled a personal experience on the highway, saying he narrowly escaped an attack while returning from his village on December 25, 2025.
“As a person talking to you, on one occasion we nearly ran into them. I think that was on the 25th of December 2025. We were coming back from my village in Ukeh through Opi and as we passed Maduka University, those coming back were waving us down to come back that the kidnappers were operating,” he said.
He added that the kidnappers were operating around the mobile police camp area on the road and abducted people that day.
“So judges were frightened and I think the decision was taken by the judiciary to bring them all in for security purposes,” Odo said.
He explained that the withdrawal of judges was not intended to punish Nsukka litigants or deny them justice but was driven by concerns over the safety of judicial officers.
Odo also disclosed that the challenge was not limited to Nsukka, saying judges had also reportedly left their stations in Oji-River, Aguobu-Owa, Amagunze and Awhum in Udi Judicial Division because of similar security concerns.
He said a similar pattern had occurred in neighbouring Imo State, where judicial divisions outside Owerri were reportedly moved to the state capital for security reasons.
Despite the security explanations, lawyers in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor insist that the continued absence of physical court sittings is no longer acceptable.
They argued that other public institutions, markets and banks continue to operate physically despite the insecurity, and that the judiciary’s continued reliance on virtual proceedings amounts to surrendering the justice system to criminals.
The lawyers also maintained that remote proceedings have not adequately served litigants, especially rural residents, detainees, witnesses and parties who lack the resources or infrastructure to participate effectively.
The planned protest is expected to put pressure on the judiciary and state authorities to provide adequate security arrangements that would enable judges return to their divisions and resume normal court operations.
Efforts to obtain a reaction from the Chairman of the NBA Nsukka Branch, Barr. C. S. Agbo, were unsuccessful, as calls to his phone reportedly went unanswered.
The looming shutdown reflects growing frustration within the legal community over the impact of insecurity on access to justice in Enugu State and other parts of the South-East.
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