The long-awaited creation of the Bonny Judicial Division has finally come to fruition, as legal practitioners and traditional leaders gathered to inaugurate it on Tuesday, 10 June 2025.

The development was met with palpable joy, as attendees described it as a milestone for justice delivery in the Bonny Kingdom.

The new division is currently sitting at the Rivers State High Court premises in Port Harcourt.

The event, which coincided with the eve of the Bonny monarch’s birthday, was described as both timely and symbolic by Abel Attoni, who represented the Bonny Chiefs’ Council.

“I feel elated and more particularly that it is even happening today, the 10th of June, 2025. If you recall, our monarch’s birthday is tomorrow the 11th. So I think it’s a good birthday present given for the development strides in our kingdom.”

He commended the initiative, noting the gap the court has bridged and the financial burden previously borne by litigants travelling to attend court sittings in other parts of the state.

“Well, basically, you have to deal with transportation, as I speak now, transportation to and fro Port Harcourt will take you about #20,000 and if you get down, you will have to transport yourself to the High Court or wherever the court is sitting in the state, so it’s really been a burden and we thank God that eventually, we know it’s sitting here in Port Harcourt but we’re also making efforts in Bonny to build a befitting High Court, the land is there, it has been procured. So the next thing is the building and the Chief Judge has given us a time line of about one year. So we will do assiduously to ensure that it’s achieved.”

Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Port Harcourt Branch, Emmanuel John an indigene of Bonny further explained the legal and administrative reasons behind the delay in the Court’s relocation”.

“Today we are celebrating the creation of the Bonny Judicial Division which is long overdue and we’re grateful to God that today it has come to fruitfulness.

“We also thank the Chief Judge of Rivers State for harkening to our calls and cry, you know how far Bonny is, going to do a matter in Port Harcourt from Bonny. Before now some of our matters are taken to Bori, you can imagine somebody who has a matter in Bonny, you will come file in Port Harcourt, they will send you to Bori, you need to transport yourself to Port Harcourt and then you now have to go to Bori, it was later reversed to Port Harcourt, but now, with this creation, all our matters will be cited in one particular Court not in different courts.”

John added that although the judicial division has now been established, its sittings will remain in Port Harcourt until facilities in Bonny are completed. He highlighted the need for infrastructure such as a suitable courtroom, staff quarters, and residential accommodation for the presiding Judge.

“By the special grace of God, in no distant time, when the Court hall in Bonny is built, it means that, what matters emanating from Bonny will be held in Bonny town, so that those who do not have what it takes to finance themselves to Port Harcourt will do their matters freely.”

He further clarified the National Judicial Council’s (NJC) criteria for establishing a judicial division.

” You can see Bonny took a long time for us to have it, but from what we gathered, it depends on the number of cases emanating from that judicial division.”

“I can tell you we have more than 150 cases to over 200, so the Judge will be busy enough, there be no case of having just two matters, the judge cannot sit where he just have in a day 2 to 3 matters, it means you will not meet up with your role in NJC.”

For now, the Bonny Judicial Division will continue to operate from Port Harcourt pending the completion of local facilities. The Chief Judge of Rivers State has reportedly set a one-year timeline for the construction of the court building in Bonny.

The inauguration ceremony concluded with Justice Rita Oguguo presiding over a matter.

Community leaders and legal practitioners expressed optimism that, once the infrastructure is complete, the division will serve as a lasting solution to the years of hardship faced by Bonny litigants and legal professionals.