Judiciary
THE National Judicial Council, (NJC), on Monday in Abuja, handed over a fully retrofitted court room to the Supreme Court of Nigeria as part of efforts to decongest the court and ensure quick delivery of justice to Nigerians.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that to retrofit is to add a component or accessory to something that did not have it when manufactured.
The retrofitted court room which is designed to ease the challenges militating against the speedy adjudication of cases in the country was commissioned by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
Handing over the court to the CJN, the Chairman, Judiciary Information Technology, Justice Kashim Zannah said that it was one of the nine recently completed technological enhanced courtrooms across the country.
According to Justice Zannah, who doubles as the Chief Judge of Borno, the court has been retrofitted with the latest cutting edge technology to enhance justice administration.
“This will provide Nigerians with fast, transparent and accessible justice system that they deserve.
“This is in furtherance of a key plank of the National Judicial Policy which creates for the judiciary a charter of commitment “to promote and ensure the highest possible standard of qualitative justice delivery,” he said.
Zannah said that the retrofitted court room was an initiative of the NJC towards standardisation of courtroom infrastructure nationwide.
“This is done by providing the latest audio-visual aids, recording and technological advanced system as obtainable in most western courts worldwide.
“This retrofitted court is a sharp departure from our regular courts in Nigeria where power cut is a common feature and the attendant sweltering heat; and in some cases, the bar and the bench will have to use flash light from their mobile devices to read when it’s dark!.
“The courts are adequately provided with power backup system such that you are unlikely to notice any power cut.
“We have a professional audio and video recording software solution that records from any type of source and enables full integration with court audio systems and court intranet.”
He said it was also flexible and scalable and equally reliable and robust just as it captures all activities in the courtroom, with capability for playback and direct reference to the recording by court officials, even remotely.
“This is protected by world class firewall and security system to avoid unwarranted access.
Justice Zannah further said the retrofitted court room would enable lawyers argue their cases from any part of the world without physical appearance as being done at the moment.
The Chief Judge expressed optimism that the new efforts would not only ensure speedy justice delivery but would go a long way in decongesting and reducing the piled up cases in courts.
He also said that similar court rooms had been provided for the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court and the National Industrial Court among others by the NJC.
He appealed to state governments to key into the new policy for the state judiciary to achieve the same results of speedy dispensation of justice and decongestion of courts.(NAN)
Tags: Justice Kashim Zannah Justice Olukayode Ariwoola National Judicial Council
