Judiciary must compete globally — Sanwo-Olu tells new appointees
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has urged the state judiciary to strive for excellence and compete favorably with its global counterparts.
He made this charge on Thursday while presenting certificates of appointment to 13 newly appointed judges in the state.
The governor emphasised the importance of fairness and upholding the rule of law, praising the state’s judiciary for its excellence and encouraging the new judges to build on its successes.
”The judicial service in Lagos is comparable to the judicial system in any part of the world. The justice system remains at the global level. We must try to compete globally by improving our judicial system,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu recalled that his administration had appointed 37 judges since he came on board in 2019, expressing his administration’s commitment to raise the bar of the judicial system in the state and equip it to meet the needs of the people of the state.
“There is something about the state, we must continue to raise the bar,” he said.
The Chief Judge of the state, Justice Kazeem Alogba, in his own remark, urged the newly appointed judges to distinguish themselves, saying that the new appointment they had taken demanded everything in them and from them.
“The office you have come to take demands everything in you, from you and you must be resilient. You must be ready to hit the ground running. All of you did exceedingly well that is why you are appointed. You must shun corruption like a plague.
“I will interfere in your affairs at all times. Be hardworking, be resilient, you have not learnt anything, you have just begun to learn. Petitions will come your way. The petition will be your baptism of fire,” he charged them.
Alogba appealed to friends and relatives to refrain from interfering in their work, emphasising that over 300 lawyers applied for 13 judge positions, and the chosen candidates were the best.
He also expressed gratitude to the Nigeria Judicial Council (NJC) for conducting the selection examination effectively.
One of the newly appointed judges, Simisola Augusta Azeez, took an oath on behalf of her peers, pledging to uphold the constitution and judicial oath, and promising not to disappoint the state government in their
