Justice Mohammed Adishetu Mohammed of Minna High Court Number Four has raised alarm over the unpleasant condition of his court.
The judge described the conditions in courtrooms in Niger State as being like prisons, lacking basic facilities for humans to function optimally.
Justice Mohammed stated this on Monday during the sitting of the court, when the room became hot and almost unbearable for lawyers and litigants.
It was learned that the presiding judge noticed that everyone inside the courtroom was sweating and fanning themselves with document papers.
He was said to have also noticed that the only air conditioner in the courtroom was not functioning properly, prompting him to ask the clerk to bring in a standing fan.
Apparently wanting to fix the situation, Justice Mohammed was said to have halted proceedings for almost five minutes while pleading with the bar to bear with him on the situation.
However, the standing fan, like the air conditioner, did not work when it was brought in, and the court has to resume under the same harsh room temperature conditions, with the presiding judge still pleading for more understanding.
He said, "Please bear with us. I can see that the courtroom is a little bit uncomfortable. We have an air conditioner that is not functioning properly.
"As you can see, these chairs in the courtroom have been here since 1986. I even had to fix some of them when I came in".
He described as unfair the decades of negligence of the state judiciary by successive governments, adding that "this is the reason why it is said that prisons and courtrooms look alike in Niger State. It is unfair; the Executive is not treating the judiciary fairly".
The Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik, had, during the special court session to mark the 2023 legal year, described the conditions of courts in Niger as pathetic.
She decried the fact that some courts in the state were sitting in rented accommodation, even as she said that the Izom Magistrate Court had collapsed.