Training on Court reporting for Communication staff opens near Abuja

A weeklong training programme on court reporting organised by ECOWAS Court for its communication officers opened on Monday 19^th July 2021 near Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.

In a message to the opening, the President of the Court, Justice Edward Amoako Asante said the training was designed to improve the capacity of the beneficiaries to report the Court in order to improve its visibility through the use of various communication channels.

He charged the officers to see the exercise as an opportunity to update their skills and urged them to diligently participate in the programme in order to advance their capacity to increase the court’s visibility using various communication channels.

Justice Asante who was represented by the Head of Information and Communication of the Court, Mr Sunny Ugoh said the training programme was designed to equip staff of the division with additional skills and capacity for improved reportage of the regional court.

‘I look forward to the training manifesting in improved reportage and visibility of the Court,’ the President added.

Presentations at the training will focus on the mandate of the court, practice and procedures, accessing the court, Applicable law, the legal forces of decisions and method of enforcement of decisions and the procedures for filing cases before the Court.

There will also be presentations on basic newswriting skills, ingredients of court reporting, tools for online reporting including Twitter, Facebook, the web site and email.

The resources persons are drawn from the Registry of the Court as well as the and research and documentation departments in addition to communication experts from outside the Court.

After the opening, the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Court, Dr Athanase Atannon delivered the first presentation which was an overview Court including the legal basis for its establishment, composition,

The second presentation on the practice and procedure before the Court was delivered by an Assistant Registrar, Mr Tauheed Issah on the Practice and Procedures of the Court as well as the procedures for accessing the Court. He used the opportunity encourage the participants to familiarise themselves with the Community texts and rules of procedure of the court.

One of the Communication experts, Mr Anselm Okolo, also made a module on active listening skills. During his session, he described listening as a process of hearing, understanding and ability to effectively communicate in order to share the knowledge with a target audience.

He enjoined the participants to communicate in simple language with consideration for environmental, cultural, and religious factors. Citing CNN’s former lead news anchor, George Bernard Shaw, he said, “The greatest problem with communication is the allusion that it has been accomplished.”

The training programme which has in attendance five staff of the communication division, is being facilitated by Dr. Athanase Atannon, deputy chief registrar, Mrs Franca Ofor, head of legal services of the court, Mr Ghislain Agbozo, senior research officer, Ms Zara Carew and Mr Tauheed Issah, assistant registrars respectively and a team of consultants comprising Mr Anselm Okolo, Mr Mukhtar Adamu and Victor Ugwu from messerand.