Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday swore in 14 High Court judges. He urged them to dispense justice quickly and fairly, without fear or favour.

Of the 14 judges who took oath, nine were females.

The governor described the event as “building on a tradition of excellence which will increase our capacity to dispense justice, while also helping to raise a new generation of talents who will go on to do exploits in the highest courts of the land”.

Sanwo-Olu urged the judges to not only be efficient and fair, but be seen to be so. He promised that the government remains committed to ‘fully supporting the judiciary to achieve its purpose and also ensure they the judges are comfortable enough to perform optimally’.

“The judicial arm of government is an essential element for the proper and effective functioning of any democratic society. Without the honest interpretation and application of the laws of the land, society would be consigned to an existence of chaos and confusion.

“All eyes will be on you to dispense justice speedily, yet fairly and impartially. You will be expected to live and act above board in all circumstances. In your hands lies great power: the power to punish wrongdoers and free the innocent, the power to send a strong message to society about the primacy of the rule of law, and to contribute to the growing body of jurisprudence in the country.

“This power must be wielded with the utmost sense of care and responsibility. You must not only be efficient and fair, but you must also be seen to be efficient and fair by all. On our part, we remain committed to supporting the judiciary to fully discharge its constitutional functions and responsibilities.

“We are greatly fortunate to be inheritors of a great tradition of judicial reform and excellence in Lagos State.We have now commenced the full digitization of our courts’ system in Lagos State. The first phase, comprising 10 courtrooms, is nearing completion.

“This digitisation will help speed up court processes, enable the easy documentation and publication of accurate court transcripts, and also provide high-speed internet access for the use of judges and other judicial personnel,” he stated.

The Chief Judge, Justice Kazeem Alogba, noted that the swearing in of the 14 judges makes it a total of 70 judges to be sworn in from 2019 till present.

He hailed Governor Sanwo-Olu for not interfering in the appointment process and so making the process easier.

Justice Alogba also hailed the Nigerian Judicial Council (NJC) for trusting the Lagos judiciary enough to approve more judges than requested for, making it the first in history.

He described the Lagos judiciary as the bench of excellence in Nigeria.

The Chief Judge who welcomed the new judges to the ‘family of discipline and integrity’, admonished them not to disappoint.

The judges who took oath are Justices Olubusola Okunuga; Adenrera Adeyemi; Olufolake Oshin; Oluwatoyin Odusanya.

Others are Justices Omolade Awope, Akinkunmi Idowu, Olalekan Oresanya, Mujibat Oshodi, Ismail Ijelu, Mosunmola Balogun and Mathias Dawodu

(The Nation)

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