Edo judicial reforms: A pathway to an orderly society

On July 4, 1776, on the occasion of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock is reported to have observed, “We must be unanimous; there must be no pulling different ways; we must all hang together.”

To this Benjamin Franklin responded: “Yes, we must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

That, in fact, is an apt initiating thought also for the analysis I intend to present in this article. Franklin was, of course, talking about the interdependence of the security of different groups of American revolutionaries, whereas I am going to talk about, the interdependence of different aspects of development that can be engendered by legal reforms in areas such as economic, social and political aspects of modern life.

It can be argued that if the different aspects of development are not simultaneously addressed and considered together for analysis and action, they may each end up “hanging separately.”

Governor Godwin Obaseki has in the last three years and eight months embarked on a journey to reform the judiciary, which is serving as a fulcrum for the growth currently being experienced in every sector of the state.

Understanding the interdependence of different aspect of development and upon his resumption as the governor of the state, Obaseki started to identify necessary key reforms capable of engendering sustainable economic growth and one of the reforms he took on frontally alongside others was the judicial reforms.

Judicial reform became imperative because justice is the quality of the law that we think of as “fairness.” Justice makes sure that the law is fair in the sense that it will apply equally, and in the same way, to everybody. Justice also makes the law fair in the sense that the benefits, protections, or consequences of the law are proportional to a person’s conduct.

For example, justice assures that damages for a breach of contract are rationally connected to the harm done; But perhaps the most important aspect of justice is its assurance of fair and predictable outcomes under the law. These are what Obaseki expects the judiciary to dispense at all times regardless of whose ox is gored.

However, he is not also oblivious of the fact that he who is to dispense justice must be in a perfect state of mind to do so without fear or favour. In view of this, Obaseki simultaneously embarked on the construction of Judges’ Quarters, a brand new mini-estate for judges as well as a brand new High Court complex.

He also went ahead to remodel the old High Court for it to retain its appeal. It is a common truism that our environment or home imparts on us positively or negatively. Imagine a judge after giving a landmark judgement on a controversial case, begins his/her journey home to a place far away from the town where there are no or less security or power supply.

Imagine a judge living in a run-down apartment. These are homes and locality not befitting of a judge and these discomforts have a way of affecting the quality of judgement they dispense. The governor has a befitting office and home, the legislators also have a befitting complex and homes why shouldn’t the judges have the same, Obaseki asked rather rhetorically.

It is this realisation that made Obaseki embarked on the audacious project of building an official residence for the Chief Judge of Edo State and the Judges’ Quarters in the heart of the city. The first phase of the quarters has since been completed. The second phase has also been completed with the building of the quarters for the senior judges while the third and last phase is currently in the works for junior judges.

Before now, some court houses lacked the basic amenities to operate optimally. In some of these instances, the litigants themselves may need to supply the tools and equipment for speeding up the litigation process because there was none available in the courthouse.

But the courthouses built by the governor have the basic equipment, which will in turn enhance the judgement of the judges. Court stenographers are being trained to operate new recording machines that have been installed in the newly built court rooms.

The governor also built a court complex and donated it to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, to set up in Benin City, the Edo State capital. The thinking is that with the vision of re-enacting the state as an industrial hub, there was need to create the right environment for the people to settle industrial disputes, so litigants won’t have to travel to neighbouring states to file cases.

Governor Obaseki has also started the process to domesticate the first line charge adopted for state legislature and judiciary by the Federal Government. The domestication of this law will engender a situation where the total sum, both capital and recurrent, approved in the annual budget of the state, be released monthly on a pro–rata basis by the Accountant General of the State, directly to the heads of the legislature and the judiciary, and heads of Judicial Service Commission.

The governor has touched on critical institutions of the judiciary in the state and intends to do more so that justice would not be denied the lowly in the society. These invariably would impact on other aspects of our democracy, which brings us back to my opening statement on the importance of interdependence of various aspects of the society to supports each other for sustainable development.

His plan here is to move us away from the old order and make us embrace the reality of a constantly changing world because the peace of a society is chiefly due to the laws interpreted by an independent and unencumbered judiciary system.

Obaseki, by this commitment to the rule of rule, has set the tune for a just and equitable society and the maintenance of checks and balance in society, a dominant system that can challenge the warlords who must be tamed for society to progress.

The clamour, therefore, by Edo people for the return of Obaseki is essentially for the sustainability of these reforms and the people have decided and committed to ensuring his re-election at the polls come September 19, 2020.