Oyo CJ laments shortage of judges in the state’s courts

The Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta Abimbola on Monday bemoaned inadequate number of judges in the state’s courts.

He said the situation had drastically affected the speed of judgment delivered by the state’s judiciary system.

Abimbola spoke to newsmen at the celebration of the 2019/2020 legal year in Ibadan, Oyo State.

He hinged his remarks on the statutory standard of the National Judicial Commission (NJC) as well as the volume of cases being handled by the available judges in the state.

According to him, despite the fact that the high court law as approved by the NJC requires the services of at least 40 judges, the state only has 26 judges.

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Abimbola said: “Necessarily that question is a little bit disturbing. If we consider the number of cases, we will say we don’t have enough. Even statutorily, in our high court law, what we are entitled to have is about 40 judges and above, but presently we are 26. Within that context, we do not have enough judges.

“The NJC had actually approved the appointment of three new judges for us and the governor; after approval, we will put the selection process in place and we will appoint more judges.”

Meanwhile, the state governor, Seyi Makinde, had promised to provide “ingredients that will enhance the performance of the judiciary”.

Governor Makinde spoke through his deputy, Rauf Olaniyan, at the event.

He added that he would not allow the judiciary to become handicapped and beg for their rights.

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