By BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE

Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, has said that the poor state of some parts of Lagos High Court, Igbosere, is due to failure of judicial independence.

Speaking with Vanguard Law and Human Right, the CJ said until the judiciary is allowed to manage its money, court infrastructure would continue to be in bad condition.

According to her: «This goes to autonomy of the court. If we manage our money by ourselves and we are able to do these things bourselves, we will have fewer problems for the infrastructure. In Lagos State, we are very glad to have a Governor who listens to us.»

Justice Phillips described the Igbosere Court as an artefact which would require those who built it to come and look at it, in order to ensure that the court is put in proper state.

She noted that she was aware of some leaking roofs in the court, “the Igbosere Court is an artefact. I am very aware that there are some leaking roofs. We are trying to get people who built that building to come and look at it, so we do not want to start building and have the same problem over and over again. That is why it is so.»

The CJ however pointed out that apart from leaking roofs problem in some courts, most of the courts in Lagos State had been renovated.

«But if you look round, most of the courts in Lagos State have been renovated. Even the Magistrate courts have been renovated. Justice Adebajo’s court is just one court that would soon be renovated too» she added.

It would be recalled that on May 15, the court of Justice Ebenezer Adebajo was flooded after a heavy rain,.while it was in session. The judge had to relocate to another court to continue proceedings.

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