8th March, 2017
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday charged the three newly sworn in judges in Lagos State to shun corruption and be men and women of integrity in the discharge of their responsibilities.
Ambode gave this charge at the swearing in of the judges at the State House, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.
The governor described the event as a milestone meant to enhance the quality of life of the people through delivering of fair justice.
He said over the years, the Lagos State judiciary had established a reputation for itself as the foremost judiciary in the country as a result of the series of reforms embarked upon by the state government.
According to Ambode, the reforms had not stopped as government recently held another reform recently to reposition the judiciary.
He stated that the recommendation from the recent reform would be used to drive the judiciary in a bid to enhance the vibrant of system in the 21st century, adding that with three judges being added to the system, it would further boost service delivery.
Ambode said with the new office, the judges were expected to display good conduct and courage as these virtues would be highly scrutinized by the public.
The governor added that what was required of the new judges was high professional competence and integrity.
Chief Judge of Lagos, Oluwafunmilayo Atilade said the new judges were carefully selected based on merit as they undergone intensive interview at the National Judicial Commission, NJC, in Abuja.
“We presented three candidates and the three were selected. The Chief Judge of the Federation commended Lagos State for its productivity,” she said.
The CJ appealed to the Chief Judge of the Federation to appoint more judges for Lagos as judges in the state were choked with series of cases to handle.
According to her, “each judge in Lagos has 500 cases to handle while in Ekiti the entire cases being handled by the judges are just 500,” while charging the judges to work hard and keep the flag flying.
State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem said the appointment of the new judges would enhance speedy dispensation of justice, saying that the new judges were people of impeccable character and well grounded in the laws of the state and the nation.
The newly sworn in judges are: Justice Elizabeth Alakija, Justice Emmanuel Ogundare and Justice Serifat Solebo.
Speaking on behalf of the judges, Justice Alakija promised that they would exercise their duty diligently without fear and favour, adding that “we will serve our purpose with the fear of God. We will abide by the law and conduct guiding us, we shall contribute diligently to moving the judiciary forward.”