Magistrates Bedrock Of Justice Delivery – Wike …Sues For Judicial Independence

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has described Magistrates as the bedrock of effective judicial system, as he sued for independence and transparency in justice delivery in the country.
He further called on all judicial officers and Magistrates to adhere to the tenets of judicial independence, impartiality and transparency in their dispensation of justice to the people.
Addressing the 2016 Annual General Conference of Magistrates Association of Nigeria in Port Harcourt on Monday, Wike urged judicial  officers to play by the rules so that they can address issues of low quality  and poor  output in the  system.
He noted, “As the Magistracy  continue to evolve in our nation, I subscribe to the view that the impetus for achieving effective  justice  delivery  must substantially be from within the court system itself.”
He called on the Magistrates  to use the annual  general  conference  for collective stocktaking, and retrospection with a view to finding common approaches to overcoming  the factors that delimit the magistracy in the country’s justice  delivery  system.
The governor said: “I commend you for sustaining this annual meeting in spite of the daunting organisational challenges.  I noticed that you have lined up a number  of  interesting  topics for discussion, including  on the one on practical  realities of the doctrine  of separation  of powers under a democratic  dispensation.
He said, “it is correct to assert that the quest for an efficient, effective and easily accessible trial and justice systems by any country is largely lost and won in the Magistrates’ Courts”
Declaring the annual general conference open, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, said the Magistracy was the entry point to the judiciary.
Represented by Justice Inyang Okoro, the chief justice of Nigeria, called on magistrates to  be competent and diligent as they discharge  their judicial  duties.
The Rivers State Chief Judge, Justice Adama Inyie Iyayi-Lamikanra, appealed to magistrates to always work hard to dispense justice to all manner of people.
The conference, which ends on Friday, is being attended by magistrates from the 36 states of the federation.