By Adeyinka Adeniran
Oyo State Chief Judge, Justice Iyabo Yerima has harped on the need for collaboration among the various arms of government for prompt and effective justice delivery in the state.
She said an effective case management system will foster better coordination and efficiency among the state judiciary, law enforcement agencies, and other justice.
She gave the charge in an address at the inauguration of Oyo State Project Advisory Committee for Court Administration and Case Management Project at the Conference room of the State High Court, Ringroad Ibadan.
The move is a collaborative effort between the state judiciary and the Public Private Development Centre.
The Oyo CJ explained that the project is a collective resolve of the affected arms of government to create a justice system that serves the society efficiently and effectively.
The newly inaugurated committee, according to her would address the capacity and infrastructure deficit the criminal justice institutions by providing modern tools, technology, and training to improve their operations.
Justice Yerima said, “Justice is more than a principle; it is the foundation and lifeblood of a society that aspires fairness, equity, and progress in a society”
“It will interest you to know that this initiative include Judges, Court Registrars, Secretaries, Investigators, Prosecutors, Private Lawyers, Correctional Institutions, the Police force and the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, among others.
“It will also deploy improved case management systems designed to foster better coordination and efficiency among the State Judiciary, Law Enforcement Agencies, and other Justice- Related Institutions.
“The International Narcotics and Law Enforcement programme are committed to advancing justice delivery which aligns with our shared objectives of a robust criminal justice system”
“The inauguration is not merely about the launch of a project, but a reinforcement of our pledge to uphold the rule of law.
“As we embark on this journey, we must remember that the strength of any justice system lies not only in its structures and processes but also in the dedication and integrity of the individuals, that is, judicial officers, law enforcement agencies, and the private sector who serve therein.
“I urge all stakeholders to embrace this initiative with a spirit of collaboration and commitment, working together to ensure its objectives are achieved”
Giving a brief of the Project, Lukman Adefolahan stated that there are four components of the project which includes, evidence management, digitalization of Court system, notification and rescheduling of court process and coordination with other Justice sectors.
He said, “The first component of the project, is evidence management by arranging number of case files and put them in modern filling facility. After that we are going to work closely with Litigation Department to set up what will call a platform that’s e_format whereby as cases are coming you will be able to directly plug in into that portal, and my Lord, anywhere in the world,
“Another component of the project is to dwell on digitalization of our Court system whereby we are going to install what we call Speech to Text facility.
“We want our Judges to stop writing. When we went to Nasarawa State, a Judge told us that are you sure this thing is going to work? We said My Lord it is going to work. The day we installed it, for my Lord in Nasarawa State, and also at the Court 2, of Nasarawa State, and we demonstrated it, my Lord Justice Aboki was surprised that during his time, he is going to witness this, that he saw last in UAE.
“The third component is going to do with notification and scheduling. We don’t want a situation whereby member of NBA will come to Court and say my Lord is not sitting. If a Court will not sit, they are going to link it at a process unit whereby they will notify parties that Court will not sit today, and that will help the Correction not to waste their resources that are not enough to bring somebody from Saki to Ibadan, for example, and they will say sorry, Court is not sitting, we are going to work around that.
“The fourth component is around coordination with other justice sector. We are going to set up virtual Court system at Correctional facilities, whereby my Lord can sit in her Court and link up at the cases at the Correctional facilities”
