Lagos state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu has tasked the stakeholders in justice delivery system, more particularly the judiciary arm of government to work assiduously to engineer a legal process and system that could enhance stability and economic growth in the state.
Speaking at a well attended Lagos state Justice Reform Summit organised by the State ministry of justice, with the theme: “Enhancing the Administration of Justice for Economic Growth, Investment Protection and Security in Lagos State,” governor Sanwoolu said the time is now for the judges, lawyers, judiciary staff and others to do more to create a judicial system that works.
Expectations from the two-day engagement is for stakeholders to recommend equitable and fashionable ways and means to address delayed in justice delivery system.
The governor’s remarks was coming as the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Lawal Pedro, SAN, stated that justice sector can only be transformed if judges, lawyers, litigants and all those connected to justice system safeguard the rule of law and promote access to justice.
According to Pedro, SAN, it is the time when the administration of justice should be used for enhancement of economic growth, investment protection and security in the State and Nigeria in general.
According to the Attorney General: “It is my desire that civil cases in our trial courts should not last more than 18 months from date of commencement of an action and six months in cases of simple recovery of debt and there months in cases of recovery of arrears of rents and possession of premises.”
Added to this, Mr. Pedro, SAN informed that the State Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment just revealed that in the last one year the State government successfully attracted investment in both foreign and local direct investment. Therefore, in case of any dispute the investment should not be unduly tied down by protracted litigation.”
Declaring the event opened, Governor Sanwo-Olu painted the strides the state had made in the justice sector delivery.
The governor acknowledged that more work had to be done by the government and other stakeholders in the administration of both civil and criminal justice delivery system.
Sanwo-Olu reeled Lagos interventions as well as revealed that plans are underway to make Lagos an international financial centre, where Lagos can be a destination for investment, a safe haven for investment worldwide.
“We need a strong judicial system for that to exist. Because that will be one of the strongest points that anybody will be looking for.”
Highlighting this, ” That will be one of the strongest protection that will be required and will be needed. We know that people must have access to us. And so that’s why we must ensure that we have no barriers between ourselves.”
He informed that more judges would soon be appointed to the Lagos State Judiciary.
He said, the People have to “think out of the box, and do things quicker, faster, and smarter. We need to be able to do a lot more than where we are today.”
“We don’t have access to judicial system. We don’t have the real relevant things that can make us real champions in that space.”
“We are constricted and restricted by a bigger name called Nigeria. And so maybe we cannot fly as high as we want to. Maybe we cannot walk as fast as we want to.
“Maybe we cannot think as quick as we want to. But that cannot be an excuse for us. And that’s why when we come to summits like this, we need to ask ourselves, do we just want to make it a rhetoric or want to change the life and the opportunity God has given to us for the better? Leadership is all about what you put in your heart and the sense of purpose that you bring to it.”
“And by sheer coincidence, this government has given me the opportunity. In less than five years, I have appointed 24 new justices into the Lagos State Judiciary. The highest ever.
“And later in the week, we’re going to add additional 13 to it. From 63, we’re going to go to 76. It’s not the clap.
“It is how you utilize the opportunity that has been given to us. It’s how we bake the cake to be big enough for everyone to share. Of course there are challenges.
“Of course there are issues. But guess what? The man that we brought here to be the guest speaker has challenges. Singapore was just a fishing village.”
“So what was wrong with us? So maybe some people constricted us or reduced our level of growth. But that cannot be an excuse.
“That cannot be a reason for us not to be able to fly high, think out of the box, and do things quicker, faster, and smarter. The man left us with a few actions. He said to us that Singapore has one of the best judicial systems in the world.
“A tiny little country. They have one of the best local talent in the country. And they respect international issues around mediation and dispute resolutions.” He added.
He reiterated that they need to work hard to compete globally.
“We need to be able to think local but act global. The global space is available for us to pick. So my Lords, it’s not about excuses. It’s about what are the core things that we need to do here today.”
“It’s about the bench and the bar. How do we collaborate? How do we ensure that the opportunity that this space has given to us, all of us are using it to the best of our capacity? Because I’m not sure that we’re driving our capacity well enough. And it left off with some unique features.”
He submitted that there has to be collaboration with the government, “which is where I stand, the bench, the bar. It’s not by lip service. We need to understand that there’s a classification of power and responsibility.” He charged.
The Keynote Speaker, who spoke at length on how to create a smooth and enhanced justice system said, Singapore has always relied on the rule of law.
He highlighted this in his presentation of lessons Lagos can learn from the island country and city-state.
According to him, “The moment we know there is a trend changing in the world, we change and very forward looking, business centric outlook.”
He called on the government to allow international fellows to participate in arbitration processes as well as regularly updating legislation to work for business community.
Equally, he called for simplify processes and rules by leveraging on technology and strong partnerships.
Besides, he mentioned that transparency and accountability is critical to economic and judicial development, “where stakeholders, Viz a Viz, the Bench, Bar, institution of administration of justice work with unity of purposes and at accelerated speed.”
He cited link between access to justice and the rule of law economic outcomes about facts and figures and zero tolerance for corruption.
He mouthed that world class judiciary, strong local legal talent, supplemented by global talent, dispute resolution institutions with strong governance.
In his contribution, the state Chief Judge, Justice Kazeem Alogba has raised concerns about lack of courtrooms for Magistrates to conduct cases among other constrain hindering effective justice delivery.
Making the intervention, the Chief Judge said the plight of magistrates and judges, grappling with poor working conditions and inadequate welfare has become a concern to address ineffective justice delivery.
Justice Kazeem Alogba assures that proactive steps are being taken to resolve the difficulties and to improve the overall welfare of the judicial officers and staff of the courts.
The Chief judge also draw the attention of participants to key aspects and areas of substantive and procedural law, that will enable them to discharge their duties more effectively and efficiently.
