The Chief Judge of Kogi State, Hon. Justice Josiah Majebi, has poured encomiums on the Chairman of Ajaokuta Local Government Area of the state, Hon. Mustapha Akaaba, for identifying with the State Judiciary in the provision of Court facilities.
The CJ commended the Chairman at the headquarters of the State Judiciary in Lokoja today when he received him at his Chambers in a courtesy call.
The visit was a follow-up to an ongoing relationship established by virtue of the diligence of one of the Judges of the Lower courts posted to an Area Court Grade I in that part of the State, Hon. Sikiru Oba, who turned around the hitherto moribund Court facility into a functional one despite its dilapidated situation. The rejuvenated activities of the Court attracted the Local Government Chairman who in turn chose to contribute to the full resuscitation of the Court’s building.
Aside the renovation of the Area Court, Grade I located at Eganyi, the Chairman has offered to donate a newly built structure at Ebiya for a Court while an existing Staff quarters is to be also made available to Judiciary staff at Adogo, all in Ajaokuta LGA. While making the donation, the Chairman solicited for the new building to be used for an Upper Area Court taking into cognizance that the ongoing renovation of the High Court premises in the local government area had brought some form of hardship on people of the area, who travel as far as to either Upper Area Courts in Okene or Lokoja, to seek redress due to wider jurisdiction especially as the category of Court doesn’t exist in any part of his local government area.
Reiterating his earlier position that the presence of Court in any community is a sign of civilization, peace and prospect of development, the CJ maintained that steps taken by the local government Chairman was a welcomed development that point to the fact that governance is an all-encompassing endeavor that requires the input of both governmental and non-governmental entities to thrive. while recalling the saying that government doesn’t have to wait for people to get sick before hospitals are constructed, he said Courts, being the symbol of law and order in the society, do not have to await the commission of crimes before they are located in every part of the state.
Justice Majebi made these remarks in his response to an earlier account of an unexpected intervention by the local government Chairman to facelift the dilapidated Area Court, Grade I structure, which was constructed in the 1957, through massive renovation, and other promises made by the local government Chairman by Hon. Oba.
Complementarily too, Hon, Akaaba had told the CJ of his interest in revamping the renovated structure and was encouraged to do so when he noticed that it was being in use despite its poor state and even encouraged to make the donations as one of the stakeholders in law enforcement in the state.
In appreciating the gesture, the CJ said: “we thank you for the provision of these three buildings – the area court renovation, the staff accommodation and the new building. We appreciate individuals and local authorities that desire to do all of these you have chosen to do. As we lack requisite funds, and knowing government cannot do everything alone, we have given concession that if a community is ready to donate buildings or other facilities that will enable faster dispensation of justice in the state, we will go and inspect what is donated and the type of Court needed in that area and go ahead to establish the Court there with the help of that Community”.
He finally appreciated the Judge of the Area Court for the synergy being created by agents of law in the State in ensuring that the interior parts of the State do not only enjoy the presence of the State through establishment of courts but fundamentally taking justice delivery to the door steps of the citizens and residents of the state in general. He directed the relevant Directorates of the High Court of Justice to equally ensure the perfection of the outlook and acquisition of the structures with a view to inaugurating them by commissioning and deploring them to use within the shortest period of time.
