‘In Oyo, judges have to ride buses with criminals’, NBA laments Governor Makinde’s poor funding of the judiciary

The Ibadan, Oyo State branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Saturday deplored what it said was poor funding of the judiciary, and non-functioning of the Chartered Courts and Customary Courts in the state.

The chairman of the branch, Mr Ibrahim Lawal, stated this while receiving executives of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Oyo State Council, who paid a courtesy visit to his office in Ibadan.

He lamented that “Some judges in the state do not have official vehicles. We have said this repeatedly and made several representations to the government to address this.

“It is unacceptable that a judge trying criminals should ride the same bus as the same people.

“What is equally disturbing is that a judge who does not have a private vehicle must accept a lift from someone who has a case in front of him.

“This endangers dignity and independence.

Lawal, who described the state of the judiciary in the state as unimpressive, said that NBA executives had several times asked Governor Seyi Makinde to address the challenges facing the judiciary in the state, especially the lower courts.

He said that the governor in the last seven years had failed to appoint Chairman of the Traditional Court Grace C, and emphasized that the court was a court that provided justice for the community at the grassroots.

Lawal said that Traditional Courts and Rent Courts were not yet functional in the country, adding that there would be no economic development without strengthening its judicial system.

According to him, the Grace C Customary Court was last operational during the administration of the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi and the NBA would be happy to see the state justice sector playing its role effectively.

“We use this opportunity to call on Governor Seyi Makinde to take immediate action and address this challenge before leaving office.

“The condition of our courts is also very worrying, especially in the Court of Appeal and Customary High Court.

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“Many of them are in poor conditions and there is no comfort for those who work there.

“These justice officials are our colleagues and deserve better treatment,” Lawal said.

The NBA chairman also said the electricity supply to the Customary Appellate Court was recently cut off by the IBEDC due to unpaid electricity bills.

This, he said, shows the level of negligence of the state judiciary.

Lawal further said that the situation at the State Ministry of Justice was equally disturbing and did not reflect the standards expected of the institution.

He said that staff at the Justice Ministry sometimes sought basic support from individuals to run the ministry.

“For example, the generator currently in use was donated by an individual and the law library, which was previously in a deplorable condition, was renovated through private intervention,” he said.

The chairman added that the level of neglect extends to various parts of the country’s judiciary.

According to him, conditions in courts outside Ibadan are even worse, with inadequate transportation allowances and reduced salaries of judicial staff.

He said Makinde may have performed well in other sectors in the state, but was clearly not prioritizing reforms in the state judiciary.

The Chairman said that the ongoing court construction project at the state High Court Complex, Ring Road, Ibadan, was still incomplete.

Lawal also said that the appointment of judges to the judiciary had slowed down because basic provisions such as official vehicles were often delayed.

“The court will continue to provide advocacy to judges and the public. Our goal is to strengthen the justice system and uphold the rule of law.

“We will continue to speak out because judges alone cannot. We remain committed to advocating for better justice and will continue to speak out until meaningful reform is achieved,” he said.

Lawal promised lawyers’ commitment to collaborating with the media in the field of training to better equip journalists covering legal issues to better understand court processes and terminology.

Previously, the Chair of the NUJ Correspondents’ Chapel, Yinka Adeniran, had requested the NBA’s assistance in training its members to increase their knowledge in reporting on judicial matters.