Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has said that no arm of government or sector in the State has been treated poorly in terms of funds allocation and distribution of infrastructure.
The governor made the assertion at the flag-off of construction work on the Magistrate Court complex by the Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, in Port Harcourt, on Thursday.
Responding to an allusion made by one of the speakers at the event, who cited a question his friend asked him about so much attention paid to the judiciary, Governor Wike said that person must be a mischief-maker.
Wike said so much money has been spent in the health sector, which could not be compared to what has been spent in the judiciary.
He said the Magistrate Court complex, which he said would be complete in eight months is the last project his administration would execute for the judiciary before his tenure ends and assured that it would be completed within the next eight months.
The governor queried the state judiciary over the use of the capital budget released to them in the last six and half years, as he noted that magistrates and judges share courtrooms due to lack of space and courtrooms in the High Court premises.
According to him, they cannot receive such money and still wait for the government to provide offices for them, effect repairs on existing offices and also make the air conditional in the courtrooms functional.
“Let me say something I find very disturbing because it is self-indictment. You said that people sit in the morning, people sit in the afternoon because of no space.
“The question now becomes what has the judiciary been doing with their capital budget. Because I’m surprised. All these (projects) that are been done is done by the executive. We release your capital budget as at when due.
“Again, why do you recommend for the appointment of new magistrates when you know there is no court for them. Why? As I speak today, we are not owing the judiciary any dime.”
Wike stated that when the new Magistrate Court complex will be completed, it would be fitted with all modern facilities and will help decongest the State High Court.
Performing the flag-off, Governor Fayemi commended the governor for the transformational work in every sector in the State.
Fayemi observed that what is happening in the Rivers State magistrate and the ongoing construction of the campus of the Nigerian Law School in Port Harcourt, are worthy of commendation.
According to him, even if he is not a lawyer, he is educated enough to know the importance of this arm of government and particularly the importance of the magistracy to the administration of justice in the country and what Governor Wike has done is going to make a fundamental difference.
“From the statistics I’ve seen, 70 per cent of matters relating to criminal justice administration are handled at the magistracy. And that contributes immensely to addressing our long-standing problem of awaiting trial detainees in our prisons.
“So, if we provide a conducive environment for our magistrates to function, it goes without saying that they would deliver their responsibilities a lot more swiftly, and also cover a lot more grounds in order to address that challenge.”
Governor Fayemi said issues raised about the judiciary by Governor Wike are serious and said it was the aspiration of the federating states in the country to have a truly independent judiciary.
“What we look forward to as states is that time that we would also have state courts that are not just autonomous but that are wholly driven from the state, not ones driven from the national judicial council, that is the vision of state and that is what we look forward to.”
On his part, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, said the construction of the Magistrate courts complex has come at an auspicious time most desired.
According to him, it would decongest the State High Court complex where magistrate court is currently being housed.
In his address, the Rivers State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor, said the stability, peace and order of any society depend largely on the administration of justice.
The magistrates’ Courts, he noted, are the component of the court system that discharges crucial responsibility in upholding the sanctity of the law, particularly the criminal law and the magistrate courts handles over 70 per cent of criminal cases which make the project all so important.
Okey Wali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in his remarks stated that Wike has the hindsight of understanding the peculiar problems of the judiciary and is deliberately addressing them in order to also strengthen democracy.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Projects, George Kelly-Dax Alabo explained that the complex sits on 10.150 squares meters of land and contain 24 courts in two-storey of four buildings that would have six courts each.
