AS the Oyo state judiciary commenced its new legal year 2017/2018 on Monday, the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta Ladipo Abimbola has promised that the New Year will witness unprecedented that will not only speed up the period of trials but will also ensure that justice is accessible to all.
Justice Abimbola made this known while speaking after the new legal year service parade that came up after simultaneous thanksgiving service at the Saint James Cathedral and the Ojaoba Central mosque in Ibadan.
The Chief Judge who gave thanks to God for how far the judiciary in the state had gone, stated that with the present situation and the awareness on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), there will be speedy hearing of some matters.
According to him, the ADR is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism where we have the mediation, consolation, arbitration which can be used to get amicable resolution of disputes within a short time, adding that the family court system will also be strengthened in a way that the fundamental right of every individual will be upheld as provided by law.
The chief judge explained further that for the new legal year, the focus will be on completion of cases especially the criminal matters that are already before the court.
“This legal year, our focus will be on ensuring completion of matters before the courts; as you can see there are serious awareness on completion of cases particularly the criminal matters, so the Oyo State judiciary will put a lot of things in place, in fact, it is already in place, the criminal matters will be settled very expeditiously,” the Chief Judge stated.
In his sermon during the thanksgiving service at the church, the Bishop of Ibadan Diocese of the Anglican Communion, Most Rev Joseph Olatunji Akinfenwa, urged judges to place importance on the presence of God as that is what they need to sustain themselves at this period and urged them to avoid taking gratifications as this can cover their eyes from the course of real justice.
He asked judges to dispense justice in a way that will lighten the burden of the nation and urged them to look onto God for power to maintain their integrity and sincerity in all matters.
Bishop Akinfenwa urged the government to place premium on the security of judges to stop them from being endangered, adding that it is not enough to merely give them orderlies.
According to him, the coming year is one that will be filled with challenges for the judiciary as those that are ready for the journey will not wait until 2019 and this signifies hard work for the judiciary.
He stated that for a judge to dispense justice conscientiously, he needs to be diligent and uphold the tenets of righteousness while they also ask for strength from God.
The church service had in attendance the executive arm of government led by the Deputy Governor, Otunba Moses Adeyemo while the legislative arm was led by the Speaker, Michael Adeyemo. Also present was the Onpetu of Ijeru land, Oba Sunday Oladapo.
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