Akeredolu, Ezekwesili task stakeholders on justice delivery

The Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) has charged stakeholders in the judiciary to find a lasting solution to problems of justice delivery in the country.He said despite that there have been innovations to curb the malaise, the maxim that justice delayed is justice denied remained true till date. Akeredolu disclosed this in Lagos while delivering his welcome address at the unveiling of winners of the HiiL “Innovating Justice Challenge 2018” for West Africa, which was held at Landmark Event Centre.

He said that players in the justice sector have contributed to delay in justice delivery.“All the players in the justice sector have contributed to the delay in justice delivery. That is, lawyers, judges, clients and the court registry. For the Judges and court registry, the volume of cases that come before them is overwhelming, so their ability to be able to dispose of them timeously is hindered by the sheer volume.

“Moreso, the judges record court proceedings in long hand, considering that it would only take a little time of recording daily to exhaust the judge only a few cases would get a hearing where the lawyers are ready. The lawyers who are trying their best to have all issues relating to their client’s case heard, desire to take all the time to have every relevant and somewhat irrelevant issues tabled before the judge just so it may sway the case in favour of his client,” he said.

According to him, where a judge has identified that some issues seem irrelevant and attempts to prevent the presentation by counsel, the magic wand of fair hearing is waved before his face.

“This would off course force the hand of the judge to give the counsel more time. Sometimes it is the failure of the registry to timeously treat administrative issues concerning cases that leads to its delay. These problems have made justice inaccessible and complicated,” he declared.

He therefore called for processes that can tremendously improve accessibility to justice. Also, the Transparency International co-founder and Nigeria’s former Education Minister, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili opted for ‘judicial disruption’ instead of reforms as a way out of the myriad of challenges facing Africa’s justice sector. Ezekwesili said judicial reforms are seemingly unending and have assumed a pejorative meaning.

In her keynote address, she said the biggest problem of the country is inequality, noting that innovation is at the heart of disruption. She however suggested that stakeholders must begin to engage in “judicially specific innovation.”

On his part, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) opined that access to justice is hampered by poverty, traditional and cultural practices among others. Osinbajo, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Yemi Shipeolu stated that the Federal Government had set up an Advisory Group on Innovation & Creativity. He stressed that several APPs among others have been developed to deal with many public sector challenges while a Nigerian company had won the HiiL award for its innovation on access to justice.