Ambode’s govt gave Lagosians greater access to justice – Kazeem SAN

The Attorney General of Lagos State and Commissioner for
Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem (SAN), says Lagosians, under the watch
of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, have had greater access to
justice.

The justice sector in the last four years, he said, had
witnessed the implementation of various programmes and initiatives
to ensure that residents, regardless of tribe, religion and
political affiliations, felt safe and secured to live and do their
businesses.

Kazeem said one of such initiatives was the expansion and
enhanced functionality of the mobile court, which was done in
conjunction with the judiciary in the state.

“Through the successful running of the mobile court system, we
have been able to reduce street trading, traffic congestion and
unethical/anti-social conducts on the roads as well as
environmental nuisances, thereby improving the socio-economic
well-being of residents of Lagos State,” the commissioner said at a
media briefing in Alausa, Ikeja, last week.

He listed the creation of the Lagos State Task Force on Land
Grabbers; the E-Real Estate Litigation Database; the Lagos Criminal
Information System or Criminal Case Tracking System; the DNA
Forensic Centre as some of the interventions of the Ambode
administration towards ensuring justice for residents.

“We were all witnesses to how the activities of land grabbers,
popularly known as Omo Onile, were almost completely stifling
commercial activities in the state before we came on board.

“In order to reduce to the barest minimum the activities of
those notorious persons, who use force and intimidation to
dispossess or prevent any person or entity from acquiring
legitimate interest in property, we created the Lagos State Task
Force on Land Grabbers, popularly known as ‘Omo Onile Task Force,’
with a mandate to rid the state of land grabbers.

“The task force has continued to receive petitions and several
criminal prosecution of cases against suspected land grabbers are
currently ongoing in different courts,” he said.

As a complement, Kazeem said the state launched the Electronic
Real Estate Litigation Database, through which prospective land
buyers in the state could check whether the land they are proposing
to invest in is a subject of litigation or not.

This was to stem the growing cases of land disputes being taken
to court, he said.

The commissioner said the DNA Forensic Centre, which he
described as world-class and first in Nigeria, had greatly enhanced
investigation and prosecution of crimes, while the Rapid Tax
Prosecution Unit created in the Ministry of Justice had enhanced
tax compliance among individuals and corporate bodies doing
business in the state.

Kazeem said apart from inaugurating courtrooms, including the
Olusola Thomas Combined Court Complex in Badagry; the Sikiru Adagun
Combined Court Complex in Ajegunle; and the Oshodi Mobile Court, to
ensure effective and quick dispensation of justice, the state also
provided free legal services to indigent residents.

“Through the Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership, we have
facilitated access to justice by firming out pro bono matters to
private chambers and legal practitioners, who, on behalf of the
Lagos State Government, defend or prosecute suits for the good of
the public, free of charge.

“We launched the plea bargain protocol in 2017 with a view to
driving quick and effective resolution of criminal cases and in
turn decongest the prisons and court dockets.

“As part of efforts to overcome prison congestion and ensure
accelerated hearing of cases of minor offenders, we facilitated
collaboration between the Ministry of Justice and Prison Fellowship
to explore the restorative justice measures as part of the
sentencing options for designated relevant offences.

“Working towards building a citizen-centric criminal justice
system, we published and distributed sentencing guidelines to
ensure uniformity of punishments imposed on convicts by all the
judges and magistrates handling criminal cases in the state,”
Kazeem said.

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