FASHOLA COMMISSIONS NEW COURTS COMPLEX IN EPE

FASHOLA COMMISSIONS NEW COURTS COMPLEX IN EPE

……..Says court complex to reduce cost of access to justice for residents

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) today commissioned the combined High and  Magistrate Courts in Epe, which he named in honour of a former Chief Judge of Lagos State, Ligali Ayorinde , declaring that the event is a fulfillment of  a process of bringing  access to justice close to  the people.

The Governor speaking at the Court complex in Epe said with the court complex in Epe, said  justice in a most efficient and conducive manner is now a grassroots matter in the town as the need to travel out of the town has now been greatly reduced in addition to the cost and inconvenience.

Governor Fashola explained that the location of such facilities like the Courts Complex has a key role to play in maintaining law and order in the society, adding that without access to justice through the courts, the breakdown of law and order becomes a real possibility.

In naming the Court complex after  Hon. Ligali Ayorind, Governor Fashola said it has become the tradition of the present administration to honour those who have served conscientiously and whose labour of yesterday has made endeavours of today possible.

Speaking earlier, the Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Funmilayo Atilade said the successful completion of the structure is another great step of the present administration in Lagos State to ensure greater access to justice and ensuring speedy administration of justice.

She said this will enhance prompt and efficient justice delivery and therefore assisting in prison decongestion.

In his address, the Hon. Attorney-General and   Commissioner for Justice  Mr. Ade Ipaiye  said that with the growing pace of interpersonal, commercial and contractual relationships in Epe, it is  proper that matters of law and order be given priority consideration.

He said with commissioning and handing over of the modern court house, the  challenges of quick dispensation of justice will be met, adding that Epe is ready to take on the task of ensuring that the orderliness, peace and tranquility for which this area is already well known, will remain, even as industrialization and modernization arrives on a very large scale. 

Ipaye briefed that the Courthouse was conceived in 2008 as part of His Excellency's Law and Order programme, addind that it has 6 fully air conditioned courtrooms for judges and magistrates, with Chambers and Secretary's office attached to each, a reception and waiting area, all sizable and well furnished to a high standard, and It also has robing room and library for lawyers, registries, a total of six toilets and 4 shower rooms, a water treatment plant, furnished staff canteen, separate holding cells for male and female accused persons awaiting trial, two gate houses, a generator room, cctv facilities for round the clock security and parking spaces for litigants and judges respectively.

 ‘This provides us with a unique opportunity to accommodate judges and magistrates in this judicial division with very conducive facilities and amenities which will no doubt enhance justice delivery as well as the welfare of judges and magistrates. It also affords legal practitioners and litigants the best of facilities in which to do business and to resolve cases without having to travel long distances. I believe that this ultramodern courthouse will especially enhance the prestige of my colleagues who may now very rightly claim that they have one of the best working environments in the entire country’, he added. 

Ipaye informed that the judiciary staff association of Nigeria is on strike throughout the country, judges and magistrates are locked out of their chambers, leaving no room for the hearing of any case, no matter how grave or urgent, while accused persons, who are presumed innocent under the Constituition, are being detained without any opportunity to apply for bail.

 He briefed that ‘information we have is that the strike is on account of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by federal government officials and the Association whereby money would be deducted from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government as well as the Federation Account and paid over to the Heads of State Judiciaries. While we have nothing against judicial autonomy in all its ramifications, we are surprised by the plan to allocate the federation account other than to the Federal, State and local governments as envisaged by the Constitution. Apart from being in clear breach of section 162(3), this plan does not disclose a revenue allocation formula upon which the deduction is to be based. As far as we know, the existing allocation formula only contemplates revenue sharing between the federal and state governments, with the latter also taking a share for the benefit of its local government councils’. 

“The treatment and disbursement of judiciary funds vary from state to state. So do the welfare and funding of the judiciary. Each State branch should therefore meet with the State Government to tackle their peculiar problems, if any. Rather than denying them justice, let us call off this strike for the sake of the general public whom we are all employed to serve’, he added.

The Lagos Attorney-General said   Lagos  State is known  not only for supporting judicial autonomy, but also for consistently exceeding the national standards in terms of judges' welfare, remuneration and working conditions. 

‘It is therefore unfortunate that despite our unstinting efforts in this regard, we are caught up in industrial negotiations and a national strike of which we had no part’.