Frank Ulom
A damaging fire has gutted Magistrates’ Court 1 in Ikom, Cross River State, destroying vital case files, court records, and documents, including matters with judgments still pending.
The incident occurred on Wednesday night with no fire service to arrest the situation.
The fire, according to sources left significant damage to the facility, with important judicial materials reduced to ashes.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained at the time of this report.
Converseer reports that this is the second time a court has been razed by fire in the state in the last 15 months, with the former being the Ogoja High Court in January 2025.
Reacting to the incident, Publisher and Rights Activists, Agba Jalingo, who helped renovate one of the Magistrates’ Courts, laments the situation of Magistrates and other courts in the state.
According to Jalingo, “As of today, there is no Magistrates’ Court in Ikom. There is none in Ogoja.
“In Ikom, there used to be 3. Courts 2 and 3, were sharing the same courthouse. A tree fell on the courthouse and destroyed it and till now, it has not been rebuilt. The remaining Court 1, was raised to ashes by fire last night and no one knows the cause of the fire.
“In Ogoja, there were two Magistrates’ Courts. Court 2 has been abandoned since February 14, 1979. So both courts 1 and 2 were sharing the same dilapidated building.
“It took the effort of yours sincerely, to raise money from the general public to rehabilitate Court 2, which became the only remaining Magistrates’ Court in Ogoja, after the building housing Court 1, became so bad that it could no longer be put to use.
“When an inferno gutted the State High Court in Ogoja less than two years ago, the court relocated to the Magistrates’ Court 2, which we renovated, leaving Ogoja also without any existing Magistrates’ Court.
“What happens now is that, the High Court Judge now sits on Mondays and Wednesdays, while the Magistrate sits on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Magistrate Court 2, which we renovated with money donated by the public.
“So just imagine that the general public did not donate money to renovate the court, even the High Court in Ogoja will not have a place to sit.
“If you are not a lawyer or you haven’t been to jail or have no relation that needs a court date to be released, you won’t understand the impact of this. But honestly speaking, it is heartbreaking and very very very very terrible to imagine that major towns which are the headquarters of the Central and Northern Senatorial Districts of our state can no longer boast of any Magistrates’ Courts.
“What is the fate of the thousands behind bars waiting for their freedom? Is it that the government has no budget for the courts or is the budget frittered away?
“We renovated Court 2, which remains one of the cutest courts in the State with less than N10m public donations. Is that what the government cannot do? Jalingo stated.
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