By Sunday Apah
ASABA – Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has stated that the crumbling public confidence in the judiciary poses a catastrophic threat to the very fabric of society.
He warned that desperate citizens, stripped of faith in the courts, could descend into violent self-help, plunging the state into utter lawlessness.
The governor stated this on Wednesday during the high-stakes swearing-in of six new judges—a ceremony he framed as a critical last stand for justice. With the eyes of the state upon them, the newly minted justices were urged to become unshakeable pillars of probity, courage, and absolute impartiality or risk presiding over a descent into anarchy.
Anointed to the hallowed benches of the Delta State High Court are Justices Otite Jonah Akpobaro, Jereoma Sam-Oligida, Irene Boeye Ukuli, and Otome Benjamin Adamidenyo. Ascending to the Customary Court of Appeal are Justices Bridget Onome Ojeikere and Stella Ovuorieroro Okah.
Governor Oborevwori noted that the survival of democracy itself hangs in the balance, resting solely on a judiciary that is not only credible and independent but is seen to be so. “Justice must be blind, fearless, and favourless,” he declared, asserting that only such unwavering integrity can salvage public trust and guarantee social harmony.
The appointments, he revealed, followed a razor-sharp constitutional process, with candidates brutally vetted by the National Judicial Council after nomination by the state’s Judicial Service Commission.
While congratulating the judges on their elite elevation—a testament to their perceived knowledge and integrity—Oborevwori delivered a spine-chilling caution. He branded judges as being perpetually “on trial in the court of public opinion” and demanded they resist any temptation that could shatter judicial independence.
Highlighting a sweeping, high-tech overhaul of the state’s justice system, the governor unveiled shocking reforms: a futuristic Delta State Criminal Information System for biometric criminal tracking, virtual courtrooms beaming from maximum-security prisons, and plans for automated court recordings. He heralded these as weapons in a war against court congestion and delay.
In a historic revelation, Oborevwori announced that the state’s own Solicitor-General, Mr. Omamuzo Erebe, had shattered ceilings by attaining the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2025—a first for a Delta civil servant.
Speaking for the newly sworn justices, Justice Bridget Onome Ojeikere accepted the grave mantle, pledging to serve with ironclad integrity, without fear or favour.
The ceremony, a tense gathering of the state’s most powerful figures from all government branches, underscored the monumental stakes: the very peace of Delta now rests on the scales of justice these six individuals will hold.
