Lawyers from the Nsukka and Obollo-Afor branches of the Nigerian Bar Association have sealed the Enugu State High Court in Obollo-Afor over the continued failure of judges posted to the area to resume physical court sittings.
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The action, which reportedly led to the suspension of judicial activities at the court, came weeks after lawyers in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor protested the prolonged absence of judges from courtrooms across the Nsukka judicial zone.
The affected judicial divisions include Nsukka, Obollo-Afor, Enugu-Ezike, Ogbede and Umulokpa.
The judges were said to have stopped physical sittings nearly three years ago following rising insecurity, kidnappings and attacks along the Ugwogo-Opi-Nsukka Road, a major route to the zone.
Following the security concerns, court proceedings were moved to makeshift virtual hearings. However, lawyers said what was initially accepted as a temporary arrangement had become a major threat to the administration of justice.
According to the lawyers, the virtual proceedings are often conducted through court clerks using mobile phones, rather than proper video-conferencing facilities, thereby making the process ineffective and unsafe for litigants, witnesses and counsel.
They alleged that the arrangement has exposed lawyers to intimidation during proceedings, as counsel are sometimes made to sit close to opposing witnesses during cross-examination, with some reportedly facing threats of physical violence.
The lawyers also complained that the absence of judges from the divisions has crippled the local legal economy, affected litigants’ access to justice and disrupted businesses that depend on court activities.
They argued that while courts have remained largely abandoned, other public institutions in the area, including banks, markets and schools, continue to operate, insisting that the judiciary’s continued absence amounts to surrendering the justice system to criminals.
Beyond the issue of physical sittings, the lawyers also raised concerns over alleged corruption and administrative delays in court registries.
They alleged that obtaining Certified True Copies of court processes now takes weeks unless registry officials are “mobilised” with unofficial payments, reportedly ranging from ₦10,000 to ₦30,000.
The NBA branches had earlier petitioned the Chief Judge of Enugu State on March 26, 2026, demanding urgent intervention and administrative reforms.
However, following what they described as the failure of the authorities to take decisive action, the lawyers resolved to boycott all virtual proceedings and shut down court activities in the affected divisions.
The action reportedly escalated after a protest march by lawyers in Nsukka on June 2, 2026, during which they demanded the immediate restoration of regular physical court sittings or the provision of properly equipped modern virtual court facilities.
@thenigerialawyer“Judiciary Has Surrendered To Criminals” — Nsukka, Obollo-Afor Lawyers Seal Enugu High Court Over Judges’ Three-Year Absence From Physical Sittings
The lawyers are also demanding the return of displaced case files to their proper judicial divisions and the use of secure official residential quarters already provided for judges within their posted jurisdictions.
They maintained that court premises in the zone will remain shut until the Enugu State Government and judicial authorities address the concerns.
The demands include the return of judges to full-time physical sittings, installation of functional virtual court infrastructure, restoration of case files to local divisions, and a clear administrative framework to prevent further delays and alleged exploitation in court registries.
The development has deepened the crisis in the Enugu North judicial zone, where lawyers say litigants have been denied effective access to justice for nearly three years due to the prolonged absence of judges from physical courtrooms.
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