Speeches

Commissioning Of The J.I.C Taylor Court House, Igbosere, Lagos

Aug 11, 2010 - Your Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we gather together to fulfil a dream and a commitment that started in 1999 or thereabouts.

The dream was shared by many of us, who signed on to a common cause in pursuit of liberty, freedom and justice in a free society as championed by one man, my illustrious predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed," Tinubu, and pursued with resoluteness by another, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

It started with a clear understanding of the need and purpose for reform in the judiciary if democracy was to survive.

The infrastructural, procedural and welfare reforms that have taken place at the High Court level of the justice sector of Lagos, and the impact nationwide require no further repetition. That was the beginning of the revolution.

As successors to that administration, it was clear to us that those successes must never be thrown away. It was our welcome burden and immense privilege to build on it.

We recognised that as Africa's fastest growing mega-city, law and order were critical pillars for the sustenance of democratic life and that the magistracy was the most pivotal access point of contact for citizens with the justice system.

This is the level of judicial system that deals with housing especially landlords and tenants. It deals with road traffic offences, and many violations that were not of a felonious nature including sanitation, environmental issues and those everyday challenges that determine our human development index as a people.

I have been "extremely privileged to benefit from the service of my learned friend and brother silk, Mr. Supo Shasore, SAN who has pursued the completion of this court house and the commencement of others with a single mindedness and passion that can only be demonstrative of his clear appreciation of the need for an infrastructura!, human capacity and procedural reform in this most important justice sector

The building we gather today to hand over, the new Igbosere Magistrates' Court House, has twenty two (22) Court Rooms and Magistrates' Chambers. It is the largest purpose built court building in Nigeria, this Court House is equipped with modern verbatim court reporting facilities.

This is aimed at relieving Magistrates of the effort of the obsolete system of recording proceedings in long hand and ensuring that copies of court proceedings and records are available to parties in the shortest possible time. It is also targeted at achieving the required quality assurance deserving of the magistracy in the 21st Century.

I have also approved the engagement of the first thirty (30) Verbatim Reporters to serve in already designated offices in this building providing the valuable court records that will reduce the time spent on litigation in the Magistrates' Courts and the judiciary at large.

These 22 (twenty two) Court rooms are only the first batch of a total of 156 (One Hundred and Fifty Six) Court rooms contained in 9 (nine) court houses spread across Lagos.

As I speak, 8 other court buildings are under construction in different parts of the State. These are Ikorodu with 6 court rooms, Epe - 6 Court rooms, Ogba - 22 Court rooms, Ikeja, 6 court rooms, , Ajegunle- 22 Court rooms, Badagry- 6 court rooms, Igando - 22 Court rooms, Mushin- 22 Court rooms and Alimosho- also with 22 Court rooms. They are all at different stages of completion.

Upon completion, we would have delivered 156 Court rooms in Lagos State thereby making- it the single largest infrastructure intervention in the justice sector in Nigeria.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the infrastructure renewal is not the end of the journey. We have reformed the law and some of the procedures by enacting a new Magistracy Law to replace the one that we have used for about 38 years.

Some of the salient features of the new law is that for the first time in our history, Magistrates will now sit on Saturdays starting in this court house, in a manner and in rotation to be administratively determined, such that the liberty of the citizen is further secured.

This will hopefully put an end to the practice where citizens are detained in Police cells from Friday until Monday simply because there was no court that could admit them to bail. As we progress, we should explore overnight sittings to ensure that the constitutional provisions for securing the liberty of citizens are given the fullest expression in our State.

With a variety of new legislations to respond to issues like climate change, environmental protection, noise pollution, public health and safety, urban planning and building control, the new Magistracy Law and increased court room capacities puts us in a very gooq stead to take our rightful place in the global community as a City-State where law and order thrives and the rule of law is observed.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I could not conclude this speech, without sharing our proud history and heritage with the magistracy as an institution.

Lagos has had a long history of the magistracy as an institution. Between 1862 and 1905, there were seven (7) Chief Magistrates in the, colony of Lagos. Indeed as an institution, the magistracy predates the often called "higher bench" and until the opening of the Supreme Court in 1877, the head of the bench was designated the Chief Magistrate.

Many of our most celebrated jurists started their careers as Magistrates. From the Honourable Sir Olumuyiwa Jibowu, Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, S.O Lambo, J. A Adefarasin and G.O Sowemimo, the Magistracy gradually became a natural ground for the making of jurists of uncommon qualities.

But amongst all these great jurists who started from the magistracy, there was undoubtedly a first amongst these equals. He was Mr. Justice John Idowu Conrad Taylor.

JIC Taylor as he was fondly called, was an advocate of judicial rectitude. He had an engaging disposition to development of the law. He was upright, courageous and a brilliant judge.

JIC Taylor himself was appointed as temporary magistrate in 1947; he was subsequently appointed in 1956 a judge of the High Court of Western Region at the age of 39 and rose to become Justice of the Supreme Court. But more notably in 1964, he became the Chief Justice of Lagos, then a Federal Territory and later the first Chief Justice of Lagos State. Mr. Justice JIC Taylor was renowned for his courage, independence, judicial boldness and integrity.

It is in honour of his blessed memory and in recognition of his Spartan and unblemished service and contribution to the Lagos judiciary that I dedicate this 22 Court Room building to be known and called the "JIC Taylor Court House" as an inspiration to every lawyer and indeed non-lawyers alike as a demonstration of a grateful community to a life of incorruptible public service especially in the judiciary.

I congratulate My Lord, Hon. Justice Inumidun Akande, the Honourable, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Your Honours of the magistracy, members of the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission and the entire Lagos State judiciary on this significant stride to the restoration of the magistrates' courts to its rightful place in the hierarchy of courts and the delivery of quality justice in Lagos State.

I thank you for your attention.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State