13th August, 2014
On Monday, the Lagos State House of Assembly confirmed Justice Olufunmilayo Olajumoke Atilade as the new Chief Judge of Lagos State following her nomination by Governor Babtunde Fashola. Her elevation comes on the heels of the retirement of Justice Ayotunde Philips from the service. Her Lordship’s appointment was confirmed after she held that office in acting capacity for a while.
During her screening by the Assembly, she expressed concerns about judges’ working environment and the vexed issue of prison congestion. She told the lawmakers that at least 100 judges are needed to cope with the volume of work to be done and right now, there are only 50 judges and the work load is too much for them, which means at least 50 more judges are needed to complement the efforts of the 50 existing judges.
It is heartwarming to note that the new CJ knows exactly where the problems lie and she has some plans to confront those challenges. We, however, think she can do more and quickly, too. As the most populated state in the country, Lagos plays host to all manner of people. As such, the infrastructure, one of which is the prisons, is over stretched. Public and private organizations, local and international, keep complaining about the fact that Nigerian prisons are heaving with inmates, many of whom are awaiting trial.
In some cases, these people are innocent of the allegations levelled against them. Some of these innocent citizens languish in prison merely because there aren’t enough judges to attend to their cases. It would be nice if the CJ takes measures to ameliorate the suffering of this set of people.
Apart from just recruiting more judges, ways must be found to speed up trial of detainees. The delay is orchestrated by the nation’s poor criminal justice system. Unwarranted adjournments, failure of prison officials to bring the accused to court based on flimsy excuses and the frivolous adjournments following lawyers’ requests must be checked. Justice Atilade must ensure that the rights of Nigerians awaiting trial are protected by speeding up the process of their trial and release, if they are found innocent.
In like manner, there should be an aggressive decongestion of prisons by freeing those kept in detention based on unfounded charges. A prison is a reform home, above anything else. The present unacceptable level of congestion defeats that purpose. Rather, it breeds criminals who will wreak havoc on the society whenever they manage to find their way out of the prisons.
Lagos deserves a very functional and efficient judiciary. The courts must work at optimum to ensure quick dispensation of justice. The new head of the Lagos State judiciary must sustain the transformation of the judiciary started years ago to a fully computerized system for a quick dispensation of justice. This should come with a functional website showing the number of cases handled by whom and the judgments passed. This is one of the ways an efficient judiciary works. Lagos must aspire to join the league of the best judicial systems across the world. We will hold Justice Atilade to her promise of building on the lofty legacies of her predecessor, Justice Ayotunde Philips.