Governor Kayode Fayemi's Speech at the swearing-in ceremony of Ekiti State Chief Judge.

1. AN ADDRESS BY THE EKITI STATE GOVERNOR,
DR. KAYODE FAYEMI AT THE SWERING IN CEREMONY
OF THE NEW CHIEF JUDGE OF THE STATE JUDICIARY HELD
IN ADO-EKITI ON MONDAY, 4TH JUNE 2012
PROTOCOLS
I am happy to welcome you all to this occasion of the swearing in of the
new Chief Judge of the State.
As you may be aware, the State Judiciary has been left without a
substantive head for the past six years. This, no doubt, is an albatross that
the State cannot afford to continue to bear. This event therefore is to
break the inglorious leadership jinx the judiciary has been subjected to and
make the institution take its rightful place.
I am confident to state that the judicial arm of government would now be
able to respond to its statutory responsibilities more aggressively and
satisfy the common man who constantly look up to it as the bastion of the
people. This is more so because of the commendable personality of Hon.
Justice A. S. Daramola who is a thoroughly sound legal mind. The State is
indeed lucky to have him at this time.
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2. This gathering marks the conclusion of the long process of addressing the
leadership gap of this all important arm of government. I like to thank the
National Judicial Commission for giving its nod to the choice of Hon. Justice
Daramola and the concurrence of the State House of Assembly in
confirming the appointment. The key interest of this administration in it all
is to have an independent judiciary which can stand tall in character,
credibility and credentials at all times. These ingredients must be available,
in the minimum, in the course of quality and fair administration of justice.
Good enough, Hon Daramola has all these in good measures.
My Lords, my administration recognizes that our people want a Justice
System that works in the interests of Justice. They rightly expect a system
of justice that gives every person fair and equal access to Justice and
guarantees the dignity, rights and security of every person and of all
communities regardless of gender, money or any other difference. It is for
this reason that my administration has prioritised the justice sector.
The ‘Ekiti State Justice Agenda’ published by this administration specifically
recognises the important role of the judiciary in achieving good governance
in Ekiti State. For avoidance of doubt we firmly believe that an independent
and effective Judiciary is vital to our quest for good governance and
economic development. The Judiciary reinforces checks and balances
between the other arms of government and by so doing, ensures
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3. constitutionalism. Also by arbitrating on disputes in our society and
upholding the rule of law and limitation of governmental power, the
Judiciary contributes to social order that is a foundation for social and
economic development.
The first challenge that we need to collectively face is how to make our
courts accessible to our people. Our legal system has been severally
described as intimidating. This is largely because it uses: Highly technical
processes, difficult and unfamiliar legal terminology. This means that many
of our people can seldom participate meaningfully in the legal process. An
immediate challenge therefore is how to simplify court language and
procedures so that people understand what is happening, and can
participate more meaningfully in the process.
The second challenge is the issue of delays in the delivery of justice. It is
trite knowledge that one of the challenges faced by our courts is that of a
significant backlog of undecided cases. This is more so with respect to
criminal matters. The resultant effect is that many of the inmates in our
prisons continue to spend an unreasonable period of time in prison waiting
for their day in court. In fact, according to the figures released recently by
the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), out of
50,601 in mates in the various prisons, 36,934 are awaiting trial. This,
simply said, means that 72% of inmates in the prisons are awaiting trial.
Painfully also in Ekiti State, out of the 268 inmates in Ekiti State Prison,
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4. there are 200 Awaiting Trial Detainees. I have been advised that the
reasons for delays are complex and all aspects of the criminal justice
system contribute to this state of affair. I am also advised that this is not
solely an Ekiti State problem but one of national dimension. I am
concerned about the situation in Ekiti State. The fact that the federal
government and other states are yet to find a sustainable solution to the
problem of remand persons should challenge us to lead the way. On our
part we have inaugurated the administration of justice sector reform
committee with a clear mandate to provide experts advise on achieving
efficiency in all parts of the justice sector in Ekiti State. It is my hope that
the judiciary in Ekiti State will provide the necessary leadership towards
achieving efficiency in the criminal justice sector.
The third challenge is the issue of access to justice. My Lords may agree
that access to justice is one of the fundamental freedoms of the individual.
In practice, however, social, economic and cultural limitations and
inequality repudiate equal access to justice by all our people. The effort of
my administration to support the justice sector is undertaken in the context
of many economic and human development challenges facing Ekiti State.
In addition to pursuing increased support for the justice sector,
government policy and public funds must target many other development
challenges such as education, housing, health care, social security.
Progress towards each of these many goals is necessary for fuller economic
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5. and human development of our state. Consequently funds allocated to the
Justice Sector will predictably remain inadequate to meet the nature of the
intervention that is required.
The task of decongesting the prison should be jointly undertaken with the
Judiciary taking the lead for the common good of the system. I hope that
the simple event of today would have a spiraling effect on a big clean up in
our judicial institution to satisfy our corporate yearnings.
This situation invokes a number of challenges prominent among which is
how we ensure that our people particularly the vulnerable are not left
behind. On our part we have proposed the establishment of the Ekiti State
Justice Centre to bring together governmental and non-governmental
resources and personnel. While this initiative will go a long way towards
achieving our goal it goes without saying that the active support of the
Ekiti State Judiciary will be required to achieve sustainability and
effectiveness.
My Lords, let me quickly add that my administration is not unmindful of the
needs of the judiciary in Ekiti State. Appropriate funding of capital projects
including physical structure of many of our courts, development of human
resources especially as it relates to the continuous learning of judicial
officers and all persons who work within the judiciary, the general
improvement in the conditions of service of judicial officers remain key
priority of my administration. It is also necessary to state here that I am
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6. committed to my earlier pledge to commence work on the new High Court
Complex in the State. Equally, we are committed to effect the
establishment of the Customary Court of Appeal this year.
This administration also appreciates the indispensability of an independent
judiciary to good governance, good neighbourliness and the protection of
the helpless. I have personal experiences on how it feels for one to have
justice having traversed the route severally with the recent judicial victory
that made this administration possible as the most dramatic and epochal. It
is no exaggeration to see it as a classic study in the sacredness of the truly
independent judicial system. It also speaks eloquently to the virtues of
judicial integrity and boldness which is expected of any judicial officer
privileged to serve on the bench. We are committed to promoting this level
of excellence always in Ekiti State. And I will stand up all days to see this
established in our State.
I solicit the support of all to bring our multi-faceted reforms of the
apparatuses of governance to bear in the overall interest of our people. I
charge you, my lord Chief Judge to hit the ground running immediately to
bring the judiciary on the fast track in the quick dispensation of justice.
After all justice delayed is justice denied.
In order to further enhance the status of our judges and make them more
comfortable in the discharge of their onerous responsibilities, let me now
use this occasion to formally present new Prado jeeps to all our High Court
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7. judges in fulfilment of my earlier promise to them.
It is now my honour and privilege to inaugurate the new Chief Judge of
Ekiti State to the glory of God and the cause of fair administration of
justice in the State. I wish you a successful tenure and I pray that, during
your tenure, the Ekiti State Judiciary will become a reference model for
best practices in Nigeria and globally.
Thank you and God bless.
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