Obaseki seeks strengthening of Edo judiciary

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has declared that no meaningful development can be achieved in the state without strengthening of the Judiciary System.

Obaseki stated this at a workshop on Judiciary, organised by the Edo state government on Friday.


The governor said, "Strengthening of our judiciary system is a sine qua non to economy development. We cannot pursue the goals we have set for ourselves without strengthening the administration of the judiciary.

"Repositioning Edo and making it an economic hub will be difficult if we do not have a legal system to protect property right and ensure contracts and all the things the law can do for us".

In addition, Governor Obaseki said the state would uphold the independence of the judiciary as evident in the increment of the sector in the 2017 budget by more than 600%.

On the importance of the workshop, he said that its essence was to acknowledge the challenges confronting the state judicial system, proffer solutions to them, and come up with a masterplan for the system.






Meanwhile, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana who spoke at the workshop, also advocated for proper remuneration of judicial workers as a way to build confidence in the nation's judicial system.

Falana (SAN) said that Justices of the various High Courts in the states should handle election petitions cases, adding that restricting the functions of the state chief judges to only administrative functions was unhealthy for the system.

This was as a former governor of the state; Prof. Osariemen Osunbor said there was need for the government to publicise the revised laws of the state.

Osunbor said it would ensure that the people were abreast with them.

The workshop, which was themed ‘The State of the Judiciary and the Administration of Justice in Edo State’, held from March 23 to 24 in Benin City.