By Oyibo Salihu
Kogi state Governor, Captain Idris Wada, has called on stakeholders in the administration of justice in the country to strive hard to bring back sanity in the society.
Wada made the call at the weekend in Lokoja during the swearing-in of Alhaji Suleiman Baba Mohammed as Kadi of the state Sharia Court of Appeal.
He said in the last two years both official and unofficial crime statistics in the country “present a forensic picture of a serious crime, particularly the incessant bombings in the north eastern parts of the country” which he said had resulted in the “death of innocent Nigerians.”
The governor, who said the appointment of a new judge couldn’t have come at better time and , added that other crimes such as armed robbery, murder, assault, rape, kidnapping have also increased beyond imagination.
He pointed out that the trauma some people suffered on a daily basis as a result of “these heinous acts cannot be described,” calling on the critical stakeholders in the administration of justice to strive hard to bring back sanity to the society.
He said: “Judiciary is the only hope of the common man in the society; therefore, justice should always be as done. That is why in my humble opinion, the swearing-in of a new judge to boost service delivery could not have come at a better time now.”
He assured that his administration would continue to support and create enabling environment for the judges by facilitating and providing funding for prompt and maximal judicial service delivery in the state.
Earlier, the Chief Judge of the state, Hon. Justice Nasir Ajana, called on the relations of judges in the state to stay away from interfering with the activities of judges, saying that “every judge is under oath and should be allowed to perform their functions without fear or favour.”
Ajana further enjoined judges to maintain the qualities of discipline, fairness and integrity in the course of discharging their duties.