By Frank Ulom
OGOJA (CONVERSEER) – The Cross River State High Court in Ogoja is yet to be renovated, 14 months after fire razed down the building.
Converseer reports the Ogoja High was gutted on 5 January 2026, at about 7pm.
Efforts to quench the fire by residents proved abortive as the court building, located at the Government Reserved Area (GRA), Ogoja, was completely razed.
No fire service attended to the fire as their office and equipment need more attention.
The Chief Judge of the State, His Lordship Honourable Justice Akon B. Ikpeme, who visited two days later, described the Ogoja High Court fire as being devastating to the judiciary.
“I think the one word I would say that is quite devastating, devastating for the judiciary, primarily and of course for the state. This court has been here for as long as you could imagine, serving the people of Ogoja,” Ikpeme said.
Everything was moved to Magistrate Court II.
The presiding judge of Ogoja High Court, Honourable Justice Daniel O., decried, “This incident is quite heartbreaking to render, and very unfortunate.”
The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ogoja branch, Matthias Aniche Esq., on his part, appealed to the government to provide them with a good temporary working environment as they await the rehabilitation of the gutted court.
“What I can say is that the High Court has been burnt down. We don’t know the source of the fire outbreak. You know, the fact speaks for itself. We don’t have a place to sit and, you know, deal with our matters.
“We are now using one small court, called Court 2. Well, a few days back, on Friday [last year], we held our meeting and we made some resolutions. That court is too small for us because it’s a High Court, a court of records. It’s not a Magistrate Court,” Aniche said.
Well, all that was said last year and today is 9 March 2026, and nothing has been done since then.
Citizens are concerned about the current situation of the court and Judiciary in a whole.
Tom Alims, one of the voices in Cross River North, decried that public infrastructure such as the court should be on the priority list. He recalled how the citizens took it upon themselves to renovate the Magistrate’s Court, which the government abandoned.
“As we drove through Ogoja High Court premises that was engulfed with fire over a year ago, I asked myself silently ‘When will the Government begin the renovation of this Court serving the entire Cross River North and part of Central or is the Government waiting for us to begin community efforts to renovate it as we did with Ogoja Magistrate Court II?’
“Renovating a public infrastructure such as this should be a top priority for the Cross River State Government.
“Sadly, it seems no one is concerned. Those saddled with the responsibility to fix this are more concerned with their politics of 2027. But you see, if this is fixed, you can boldly point to this as one of the achievements of the Government in Ogoja and Ogoja people nay Cross River North will be glad to give you their support because they have visible evidence of your good works with this project.
“Let me be hopeful that something will be done as soon as possible,” Alims stated.
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