L-R: Senior Legal
Adviser, Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS, Mr. Yusuf Danmadami;
Chief Judge of Lagos State, Hon. Justice Kazeem Alogba;
representative of ECOWAS Community Court of Justice President and
Judge, Hon. Justice Dupe Atoki; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Deputy
Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Attorney General and Commissioner for
Justice, Mr. Moyo Onigbanjo, SAN and Executive Secretary, Judicial
Service Commission, Mrs. Bukola Salami and others during a courtesy
visit to the Governor by delegation of ECOWAS Community Court of
Justice at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, on Wednesday
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday
promised that his administration will uphold the principle of
separation of powers and support the judiciary in the State.
The Governor spoke while meeting with members of Community Court
of Justice (CCJ) of the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) led by the President, Justice Edward Asante.
Asante was, however, represented at the meeting by the Nigerian
representative at CCJ, Justice Modupe Atoki.
Sanwo-Olu reiterated that his government would continue to
assist the judiciary in the administration of justice in the State,
noting that administration would remain law-abiding and avoid
actions that may set the executive against the judicial arm.
He said: “As a government, we will continue to understand and
appreciate the principle of separation of powers enshrined in our
Constitution. We understand that an independent judiciary is
critical to maintaining peace and harmony. We will do all we can to
support administration of justice and ensure that the executive
respects the spirit of the law that brought us to power.”
The Governor charged judicial officers to discharge their duty
without bias or favour to any class of people, stressing that
courts must restore people’s confidence in judicial process to
promote peace in the society.
“The court must be the last hope of the common man. We want our
citizens to take the full advantage of the court services and
desist from taking laws into their hands. Through the office of the
Attorney-General, we will be informing our citizens of the services
of the court and continue to preach to them to be law-abiding. In
the event of human rights abuses, we should be able to show them
that the court is always available for redress,” Sanwo-Olu
said.
Justice Atoki said the visit was to promote improved access to
the court by person or group of persons whose rights are being
violated. She noted that the court was established in 1991 by
15-member state of ECOWAS and commenced full deliberations in
2001.
Atoki said Nigeria had a good compliance level with the ECOWAS
court, pointing out that about 11 of the 25 unfavourable decisions
pronounced by the court had been obeyed by the Federal
Government.
She said: “The court since 2001 has been impactful on the member
states and the essence of the visit is to inform the Lagos State’s
leadership and Nigeria on the need to access the ECOWAS court on
issues that affects human rights. Individual or governments can
seek a redress when rights are violated. We are here to say the
ECOWAS court still exists and has been impactful through judgments
that had been rendered across West Africa.”
Atoki, who described Sanwo-Olu as “a lucky choice” for Lagos,
said there would be further interactions with the leadership of the
State’s judiciary for partnership in administration of justice.
Top officials of the State at the meeting included the Deputy
Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Kazeem
Alogba, and Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Moyo
Onigbanjo.
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Grace Garba Becomes First Female Air Warrant
Officer
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has
approved the promotion of Master Warrant Officer (MWO) Grace Tabawa
Garba to the exalted rank of Air Warrant Officer (AWO). With the
promotion, MWO Garba becomes the first female Senior
Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) to be promoted to the highest rank
in the Non-Commissioned Officers’ cadre in the Armed Forces of
Nigeria. The SNCO, who has put in not less than 33 years of
outstanding meritorious service to the Nation, was found worthy to
be promoted to the rank of AWO for her exemplary leadership
qualities, hard work as well as her contributions to the Service
over the years.
The promotion demonstrates the commitment of the current NAF
leadership in paying adequate attention to the empowerment of
female personnel to realize their full potentials.
It would be recalled that one of the NAF’s female officers was
sent to the United States of America for training to become the
first female fighter pilot in the history of the NAF. Similarly,
for the first time in NAF history, another female pilot is on the
verge of completing training to become the first female helicopter
pilot in the Service. It is expected that the promotion of MWO
Garba to AWO would serve as a motivation and spur other airwomen in
the Service to strive for excellence and aspire for such rare
elevation.
Born on 14 February 1966 in Garkida, Gombi Local Government Area
of Adamawa State, MWO Grace Garba joined the NAF in 1986 as a
member of Basic Military Training Course (BMTC) 10. She holds a
Certificate in Nursing from School of Nursing, Maiduguri,
Certificate in Midwifery from Amhadu Bello University Teaching
Hospital, Zaria Kaduna State, Certificate in Public Health Nursing
from School of Health Technology, Kaduna and Advanced Diploma in
Public Administration at the Federal University of Technology,
Yola. She is currently the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) of the
NAF School of Medical Sciences and Aviation Medicine (NAFSMSAM),
Kaduna. She will be decorated with the new rank on 15 October
2019.
IBIKUNLE DARAMOLA
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Nigerian Air Force