Ayodele Olalere
Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Saturday promised to collaborate with the state judiciary to improve infrastructure and renovates all dilapidated court buildings.
While on inspection tour of the Ikeja and Igbosere High Courts on Saturday, the governor, in company of the Chief Judge, Kazeem Alogba, said the executive and the judiciary would collaborate to ensure the court premises are conducive for judiciary staff.
“We started with the Lagos High Court Ikeja which is the headquarters,. We went round in some of the court rooms, now we are at Igbosere high court.
The whole objective of the whole exercise is really for all us to continue our collaboration understanding fully-well that we are all set up to serve our citizens and the only way we can serve is to ensure that all of us have the right ambience and have the right environment for that service to continue to happen,” he said.
“Lagos State judiciary is priced as the foremost jucidiary service in the country not only with the number of judges that we have but the number of caliber of our judges in lagos state. Beyond that is also to look at both the physical infrastructure and welfare of our judges.
As a government we felt beyond just sitting down and talk about separation of powers. We see ourselves as partners in the same delivery of service to our citizens either in judiciary, executive and legislature,” he added.
Sanwo-Olu further said extensive renovation of court buildings would commence in earnest.
“What we have done is to see for ourselves the state of physical infrastructure of our various court and I must say that indeed, we can do a better.
Coming out of this inspection is to see how we can work collaboratively with the Lagos State judiciary service led by the Chief Judge and see how we can set up the means in which we will begin extensive renovation of some of our court rooms, the infrastructure around the court premises, both at the high and magistrate courts.
It’s really part of whilst the government will provide schools, hospital, road, we also provide the responsibility to ensure that the arm of delivery judiciary is not left unturned.
“We all see the other time when we opened new courts but even the existing ones, when we need to improve on their current state and make them a lot better so that our judges can sit back and dispense off thier services under an ambience that is fit for purpose.
We have seen things by ourselves we are setting up a joint Committee between the judiciary and executive and they will start work almost immediately but we need to work around the logistics of how all of this will happen because there will be a bit of displacement, inconveniences, so we want to plead ahead, when both plaintiff and complainant come around the court premises, they need to understand that we are about to scalling up our physical infrastructure in most of our courts.
We will also be seeing a rebranded, renewed physical infrastructure in the Judiciary in the week, month and years ahead,” he added.
