CMC receives 4,000 complaints monthly - LASG

CMC 1

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Lagos State Citizens Mediation Centre, CMC, now receive 4,000 complaints monthly, the Lagos State Government has said.

Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem disclosed this at a two-day sensitisation walk to mark this year’s International Day of Tolerance organised by the CMC, in conjunction with the United Nations Information Centre.

The sensitisation walk was held in different parts of Badagry and Ojo Local Government Areas respectively.

Kazeem, who was represented by the Director of CMC, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Odusanya, commended the level of awareness of CMC activities among the populace, saying that the increased level of awareness was responsible for the rise in the numbers of complaints received by the Centre from 3,000 monthly complaints to about 4,000 now.

“The implication of the above is that the increase of complaints from 3,000  and 4,000 this year shows that people now trust the officials of the agencies and our various mediators. People now take us serious because we have earned their confidence over the years plus the fact that those who have approached the Centre in the past for mediation purposes attests to the respite which the Centre brought their way,” he said.

However, he said that the present situation of the polity made its compelling for individuals to be more tolerant of each other and continue to promote peaceful co-existence.

Kazeem said that the celebration was meant to bring to the attention of the populace on how intolerance could bring about increased litigation and unrest among members of the public.

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According to him, the fact that the state government did not want anything that threatened the peaceful environment of the State informed the establishment of the agency to explore alternative ways and mechanisms that would raise the tolerance level of Lagosians and improve harmonious living.

He said the choice of Badagry and Ojo as the centres for the awareness walk was to assure residents of the areas of the presence of the State government and also let them know that they were not left out in the delivery of justice across the state.

“We believe that Ojo and Badagry axis of the State are cosmopolitan in nature and Badagry specifically is a home to several tribes and people of different languages. Apart from this, we are also saying that regardless of where people reside in Lagos State, their location would not be a barrier to access justice  and that explains why we have CMC offices across all the Local Government and  council Development Areas including Badagry and Ojo.” Kazeem reaffirmed.

Also speaking at the Ojo centre during the Tolerance Walk, the  Director of United Nations Information Centre for Nigeria, Ronald Kayanja added that the judicial sector of the State should be more strengthened such that people would have trust in their judgement and won’t resolve to self help or conflict.

He described conflict as an indispensable feature in a cosmopolitan city like Lagos that housed different tribes, but added that the mechanism put in place to mediate between aggrieved parties showed the level of responsiveness by the concerned government institution.

He said that Lagosians now see CMC as an opportunity to confide in an established institution of government as against keeping quiet and allowing themselves to die in silence.

Kayanja, however, implored other states of the federation to emulate the Lagos model by establishing mediation centres to avail citizens access to prompt and free justice delivery.

 

 

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