By joshua 
The Laudable contributions of Judges of Kogi State, who also constitute the state’s Council of Judges, have received a mention by the acting Chief Judge of the state, Hon. Justice Josiah Majebi. He gave the pass mark when he commissioned the coumputerization of the main library of the High Court at the Judiciary headquarters in Lokoja.
He commended the Judges whose roles he said have been noticeable in the process of restoring the integrity and dignity of the judiciary. They were as well credited with the commencement of the library computerization scheme. He said what has been achieved were owed to Kogi Judges’ dedication, tenacity and resoluteness towards attaining set out goals. This has made it possible for the Judiciary to gain a lot of grounds in the last few months according to the CJ.
He also evaluated that the institution had never witnessed the current synergy and systemic stability of the institution. These his remarks while reacting to the presentation by the Chairman of the subcommittee on ICT, Hon. Justice Alaba Omolaiye-Ajil eye. The committee undertook the processes that led to the installation of the set of computer devices at the central library of the court.
According to the CJ, the milestone was part of a major plan to generally digitize the Judiciary commencing with the library. He undertook to pursue the objective to its logical end.
He said the successful implementation of the first phase of the scheme shows that the target of the Council was being gradually attained.
The scheme, he pointed out, is in line with the Nigerian Judiciary Information Technology Policy (JITPO) which was initiated by the National Judicial Council (NJC). Hence, the Council of Judges’ decision to comprehensively computerize all administrative and court processes of the Judiciary.
Upon receiving
the subcommittee’s report and
installation of the desktop gadgets, the CJ said his priorities were to move the court forward with fairness to all her departments.
“My concern is for the system to be a system where everyone will be proud of. I thank God and thank my brother Judges that they are in agreement with me. The Lord has helped me so well that we are putting ideas together.
“I hear people’s comments that I have shared my powers but I am more focused on the positive responses to what we are doing. We have received commendations from quarters congratulating and encouraging us to keep up with what we are doing. Even requests are being made from us for knowledge and experience sharing. So, I appreciate members of the Council of Judges for this again.
He urged staff to be patience while assuring that they will all enjoy their rightful benefits alongside the institution running smoothly.
“I only appeal to all of us to be patient. On the issue of seniority in the Magistracy, I am only waiting for the report of the committee set up to look into it and I am sure that very soon all the Magistrates and everyone will be properly positioned.
“I am all out to see that the system works and all that is related to electronic communication will be taken with seriousness” he stressed.
He further disclosed that plans were already concluded to invite experts who would train and enlighten relevant staff and lawyers on e-filing, e-affidavit and other aspects of the ICT. He added that the Directorate of Personnel Management would be the next department to immediately benefit from the digitization process and directed the Deputy Chief Registrar in charge of the section to immediately commence preliminary work for staff data storage.
Earlier, Hon. Justice Alaba Omolaiye-Ajileye, Chairman of the subcommittee on ICT who was in the company of his other committee member, Hon. Justice Esther Haruna, gave a brief history of how the High Court has progressively invested in ICT. He noted that the eventual computerization of the library is a landslide achievement that follows the completion of the High Court ICT Centre under the late Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Nasiru Ajanah, CON.
Justice Ajileye said though the issue of computerisation had always been in the front burner since the inception of the Judiciary, a practical step towards it only manifested during the leadership of the late Chief Judge.
“When Justice Ajanah became CJ, the first thing he did was to buy the Judges iPad and took them to Abuja for training and adaptation with the technology, and that was the beginning. Now they are at another level and opened to the use of computer. And for this installation, everybody is free to come to the library to use it including legal practitioners..”
He appreciated the Chief Judge for his magnanimity, courage and determination for the growth and development of the Judiciary and disclosed that the CJ had promised to increase the number of the computer systems in the library within a short period of time in order to accommodate more users.
He emphasized that Kogi State Judiciary has taken the notch further with the computerization of the library.
Important components of the system is the ‘Law Pavilion’ which would be useful to both judges and lawyers and also make administration of justice faster. Other components of the facility adopt all court processes electronically and include e-library, e-affidavit, e- filing and lots more.