MAKINDE

CJN ON G5 GOVS: CONFUSION, AS VIDEO SURFACES (VIDEO)

A video now trending online has thrown spanner in the works of the statement by the Supreme Court that Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola (GCON) did not express happiness over membership of the “Integrity Group” by his Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde.

CITY LAWYER recalls that controversy has trailed the alleged comment by Justice Ariwoola that he was glad that Makinde is a member of the break-away group of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors spearheaded by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.

A statement by the Director of Information and Press, Supreme Court of Nigeria, Dr Festus Akande had dismissed the allegation as the handiwork of desperate politicians and mischief makers in the run-up to the 2023 General Elections.

According to the statement, “We can’t really pinpoint where such barefaced falsehood is coming from, and certainly, we don’t also know at what point the CJN said he was happy that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State was a member of the now christened “Integrity Group” or “G-5 Governors.”

Continuing, the statement added: “Similarly, he said he was very surprised to see the “G-5 Governors” (“Integrity Group Governors”), just as he equally expressed the same surprise when he saw them in Ibadan, Oyo State, during the reception organised in his honour by his state government in October 2022.
“His surprise particularly stemmed from the fact that he saw his own State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde (who incidentally is a member of the “G-5 Governors”) at the Port Harcourt occasion.”

However, the video obtained by CITY LAWYER shows that while the Chief Justice of Nigeria was clearly speaking jocularly about Makinde’s relationship with Wike, he stated that he was “happy that my own Governor is one (of the G5 Governors.”

His words: “I understand he (Governor Wike) will continue to commission projects till his last day in office. There are projects wide open all over the place.

“And that’s why we should not be scared to have these men of Integrity Group. And I am happy that my own Governor is one because, you know, he will try to imitate his friend and in-law because we came here to marry for my Governor.

“His Excellency, Governor Wike will always threaten that he will call back his sister if my Governor fails to play ball. And that’s why if you see him following His Excellency (laughs), my Governor is afraid of his wife being recalled.”

Meanwhile, a leading criminal trial lawyer, Mr. Ahmed Raji SAN has also dissociated Justice Ariwoola from the controversial statement, saying that the Chief Justice of Nigeria only joked about the closeness that existed between the Wike and Makinde.

According to Raji who is also the President of Oke-Ogun Development Consultative Forum (ODCF), the umbrella body of indigenes of Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, “I was at the said occasion at Port Harcourt and there was never a time the Chief Justice of the Federation said anything about being in support of the group of PDP five governors, he only made jokes about how the closeness between the Oyo State governor and governor Wike is strong which he attributed to the fact that governor Wike is the in-law of Seyi Makinde.

“For anybody to think the Chief Justice of the Federation will come down to such level as discussing party issues is ridiculous, I enjoin media organizations to please scrutinize information their reporters bring to them to avoid creating crisis and smear the images of people.”

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  • Feb 05, 2022
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  • Comments Off on OYO STATE COURTS: THE TASK BEFORE MAKINDE

OYO STATE COURTS: THE TASK BEFORE MAKINDE

In this article, MR. IBRAHIM LAWAL, Head of Chamber, Olujinmi & Akeredolu, decries the squalid state of infrastructure at the Oyo State High Court of Justice, Ring Road, Ibadan and urges Governor Seyi Makinde to replicate the revamp of his private residence around Kolapo Isola Estate with the court premises

The Oyo State High Court of Justice, Ring Road, Ibadan, is the seat of the judiciary, the third arm of government. Apart from the fact that it hosts more than fifteen Court Rooms, the office of the Chief Judge of the State is there. The Judicial Service Commission, a body saddled with the responsibility of taking care of the appointment and welfare of judicial officers, has its office within the premises. It also houses the Probate Registry as well as the Court Registry.

This complex, arising from its centrality to the filing of judicial processes and the nature of the services it renders to the members of the public, attracts a constant stream of vehicular and human traffic. It is patently unjust for the Government to leave the whole complex in its present squalid circumstances. It has become urgent for the managers of administrative affairs in the State to address this deplorable situation.

A new visitor to the Court premises may be compelled to believe that all is well, especially when he/she does not have any reason to move beyond the first Car Park. Any venture into the so called extension, the second car park, reveals putrescence. Nobody with a modicum of self-respect will attempt a revisit after the first experience. Cars, drivers, litigants and lawyers bear the unmistakable imprimatur of pervasive decadence, occasioned by perennial neglect. Construction site workers have better tales to tell. Visitors to the premises are most reluctant to repeat the unpleasant duty, if they are obliged to do so. Lawyers and litigants have sorry tales of embarrassing moments during their visits. The roads are simply impassable and messy. The Court Rooms need urgent attention. They are too hostile to the business of adjudication which requires deep intellection. They are repulsive to decency. It is unjust to have the courts in the erstwhile capital of the defunct Western Region, the most advanced in all ramifications, reduce to a huge joke.

May we appeal to the Executive arm of government to come to the aid of the judiciary as urgently as the current partisan consideration will permit. The current hardship can be mitigated by the Governor. He is a man of exquisite taste. The intervention of the State at his private residence around Kolapo Isola Estate is a pointer to the quality of job he can bring to existence. We will not be asking for too much if we demand that the Governor intervene to save the Judiciary from further mockery.

* Ibrahim Lawal is the Head of Chamber, Olujinmi & Akeredolu.

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