Sanwo-Olu harps on independent judicial system, swears-in new CJ, Alogba

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday stressed the need for an independent judicial system, saying the country cannot achieve much without a vibrant and independent judiciary.

Governor Sanwo-Olu said this at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja when he swore-in Hon. Justice Kazeem Olanrewaju Alogba as the 17th Chief Judge (CJ), of the state.

Alogba had served in an acting capacity for almost three months and was confirmed by the state Assembly on Tuesday.

The governor, who spoke after the oath-taking ceremony, said his assumption of office as the substantive CJ would bring a new and glorious chapter in the history of justice administration in Lagos State.

According to him, “it will further consolidate and advance the cause of justice delivery for the benefit of all.”

Sanwo-Olu assured the new CJ of the total support and cooperation of the executive because a greater Lagos which is the dream of his administration cannot be achieved without an important and independent judicial system.

“The task before us is to build on the achievements that have brought accolades to the states’ judicial system and I have no doubt that you have what it takes to move Lagos to the desired height,” the governor said.

“You are a very credible individual who has been part of the landmark reforms in the state judiciary and the goal is to ensure speedy delivery of justice and expansion of the judiciary; we must continue to pursue that objective because it is the only way of assuring the citizens of our desire to make life better for all,” he added.

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Sanwo-Olu assured the Chief Judge that he had taken note of all his request to put the judiciary in a better standing to deliver, promising that the request would be attended to within the available resources.

“The citizens are expecting so much from us and I believe Lagosians will get things that have never happened before because we are brand new,” Sanwo-Olu further said.

The governor assured that the three arms of government would work resolutely together and not shy away from delivering dividends of democracy to citizens, adding: “Lagosians, Nigerians and Africans will be better for it.”

In his vote of assurance earlier, Alogba thanked the governor saying, “I consider myself fortunate to be sworn-in by a brand new and quintessential governor and also screened by a veteran speaker and presented by a new Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.”

He promised to work relentlessly with others to ensure he provided world-class standard administration of justice system in the state and also work with the administration to ensure its goals were achieved to make Lagos greater.

The chief judge promised to pursue vigorously prison decongestion and ensure that inmates came out better and not worse.

Alogba promised to pursue zero tolerance on corruption by fighting corruption to the last.

“We will put necessary facilities in place for the administration of justice in the state, we also intend to improve on the administration of criminal justice and also take all steps to ensure that human rights as enshrined in the constitution are protected.

“I shall key-in to the aspiration and goals of the administration to ensure we have a smart judiciary by deploying information and technology facilities in rendering our services,” he said.

Alogba further promised better welfare for staff, vigorous pursuit of staff training and skills acquisition for all category of staff, saying an unhappy workforce cannot achieve anything and without training, nothing can be done.

He also solicited for more judges, saying the workload on the present few judges was too much and was responsible for a huge backlog of cases pending in the courts.

The new CJ appealed to the governor for assistance in addressing all the demands and all that he wanted to do to put the judiciary in better standing.