Aregbesola Charges Judicial Officials On Fairness, Equity, Justices

——-As He Commissions Osun Judicial Research Centre

The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Wednesday charged the ‎stakeholders in the judiciary to champion fairness, equity and justice while discharging their constitutional responsibilities.

Governor Aregbesola Browses Through One Of The Computers After Commissioning The Judicial Research Center

Aregbesola said for Nigeria to grow and meet her aspirations, all hands must be on deck to ensure equity and justice in the national life of the citizenry.

Governor Aregbesola gave the charge while commissioning the Osun State Judicial Research Centre at the State High Court Complex, Osogbo.

Aregbesola who described Judiciary as sine qua non in the propagation of good governance and rule of law, said the failure of the sector will culminate failure for other arms of government, hence the need for it to be strengthened.

The state helmsman advocated for efficient and effective administration of justice system in the country, said nothing can be achieved in a country where justice is found wanting.

According to him, we must define our humanity by fairness, equity and justice as no iota of development could be achieved in a society where these virtues are missing.

“It is time for all especially those in the judicial system and administration of justice to do the needful at ensuring equity, fairness and justice in the judicial administration.

“We need to set a new face for our country. We need to rebuild the citizen’s confidence towards the administration and adjudication of justice as it remains the bedrock for national growth and development.

“Our economy as a people and nation cannot grow if thre is no equity, fairness and justice, thus calls for the need to inculcate the spirit of justice and equity in all. Our national daily life and activity “, he stressed.

While ‎assuring the determination of his administration to put the Centre in to good use, Aregbesola said “we will promote, popularise and give this centre a new face to make it the best in Nigeria and Africa.

Aregbesola pledged to device means that will support innovative ideas towards the advancement of the Centre, nothing that the facilities there-in will be enhanced to international standard for the betterment of the targeted beneficiaries and users.

“We will promote this Centre, popularise it and give it a new face for the betterment of the deserved users. We will do the needful to ensure that the Centre serves the purposes to which it was built through regular access of the Centre on justice administration to enhance both civil and criminal‎ justice adjudication”, Aregbesola added.

He therefore commended the donor for being supportive to the state through its kind gestures.

In his remarks, the Vocal Person of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, Justice Sakariyahu Falola said the centre will help at placing the state above its peers towards the advancement of judicial sector in the state.

According to him, “This opening ceremony of Osun State Judicial Research Centre (JRC) marks the climax of the five year (2012-2017) fruitful relationship between Osun State Juciary and the United Nations Office of Drgs and Crimes (UNODC) which relationship is geared towards the objective of strengthening the role of law through enhanced accountability, accessibility, transparency and fairness of justice system in this state and Nigeria at large.

“This multi-million naira project which was financed by the European Union (EU ) and executed by UNODC,ably supported by Federal Government of Nigeria, comprises 30 pieces of Computer, Scanning Machine, Photocopiers, cooling system, furniture, Internet facilities and other highly sophisticated equipment.

“The centre‎, would in time, be used to file court proceses, serve court processes and hearing notices and submit judgments delivered in this juridsdiction to the entire world.

“Cases would be tracked and vestiges of delay in justice delivery and corruption would be smashed with the aid of the centre. Other stakeholders in the Justice System including, officials of the Ministry of Justice, Private lawyers,the police, the prison and their service delivery.

“The centre has sufficient energy retention facility that makes it run 24 hours non stop, with or without public power supply.

“This centre is the only one of such in the entire six states that make up the southwest geopolitical zone. Although there are nine focal states and federal capital territory across Nigeria‎ in the programme,but not all these focal states have the judicial research centre.

He comended Governor Rauf Aregbesola for giving his commitment to support the Judiciary in ensuring that the centre is well maintained.

“I congratulate Mr Governor for scoring first one more time and for the partnership award given by our donors that is, UNODC and EU to the State Government in recognition of our active participation in, and suport for the programme.

Also, in her welcome address, the Chief Judge of Osun state, Justice Oyebola Adepele Ojo said the emergence of the centre will make the state to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other judiciaries when it comes to the digitilization of legal research.

She said the project is one of the interventionist programmesof foreign bodies and agencies to shore up, improve and bring justice in Nigeria to world standard.

Justice Ojo said the centre will serve as a veritable tool in the area of training and retraining of stakeholders of the justice sector.

“The UNODC, EU and UNICEF have indeed dispensed and are stil dispensing huge financial capital to training and legal research in the justice sector in Nigeria and the idea to establish the Judicial Research Centre is therefore their overall effort to deliver a home based continuous education and research avenue in all legal and justice issues.

“It is an aggregation centre for all that has been taught and learnt whereby those that have been taught and trained can continue to train others.

“This centre hs been put in place for research only in matters in pursuit ofjustice, that is matters having to do with the propagation of or leading to the attainment justice.

“The se are the court users like, both of the Higher and Lower Benches, Lawyers, the Police, Prison Officers, UN-unconnected Donor agencies, Social Workers, Litigants, Legislators, Law Students and al other stakeholders in the justice sector.

“In the centre we have 30 solid computers sets, decent raised floor, high grade server with world connected internet access, powerful printer and scanning machine, electritical installation af high grade and exotic materials, justice reform and research software, training facilities like the lecture board and maker for contibuous IT Education among others.

She promised to continuously do the best in the area of justice sector reform, assuring that very soon, the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Osun would be passed and shall immediately constitute the monitoring committee aimed at implementing that law.

She expressed optimism‎ that with the support of the state, the facility being provided would be highly secured and efficiently maintained and that necessary improvement and upgrading would be carried out on it from time to time.

While commending Governor for being passionate about the development and advancement of administration of justice in the state, Justice Ojo said the present administration has done excellently well towards ensuring efficient and effective justice delivery.

She therefore commended Governor Aregbesola for his unflinching commitment to the development and success of thejudiciaryas well as his consitent readiness on financial encouragement and enabling environment generally for the judiciary sector.

She described the success recorded towards the completion of the centre as another baby birthed of Governor Aregbesola, saying Mr Governor hasalready approved financial support to upgrade the building housing the facility.

‎In her remarks, the representative of the UNDOC in Nigeria, Mrs Christiana Albertin said the provision of the Centre is aimed to advance good governance and the total compliance to the rule of law.

Albertin ‎said the centre wil not only provide an enabling environment to ensure efficient and effective justice delivery, but also serves as a tool to develop legal professionalism.

She assured the state of further cooperation and collaboration, saying the agency would no relent in its effort to support anything capable of making the state free fromcrime and criminality.

She therefore urged the users of the Centre to put the newly provided facilities into good use so as to encourage further support.

In their separate goodwill messages, the Osun state Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of the State, Dr Bashir Ajibola, the Osun state Commisioer of Police, Mr Fimihan Adeoye, Osun state Comptroler of Prison, Mr Segun Isaac Oluwasemilore, Dean Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Professor Babafemi Odunsi and his counterpart in Osun state University, Diran Ayode, commended the good gestures of the UNDOC, EU and other international agencies on the provision of the Centre.