Save Lagos Group Says Lagos High Court New Fees Is Aberration
A Lagos group, Save Lagos Group(SLG) has strongly disagreed with the
State House of Assembly under the leadership of Mr. Mudasiru Obasa on
the proposed move to review the High Court of Lagos State fees,
advising all the relevant stakeholders including lovers of democracy,
litigants and Nigeria masses to rise up in rejecting the obnoxious,
tyrannical and draconian action of the Lagos State House of Assembly
in collaboration with State Judiciary.
The group stated that judiciary should not be used as catalyst to
generate revenue to government coffer because of its important in the
society as the last hope of common man on the street, describing the
Assembly step as aberration, anti-masses, anathema, undemocratic and
unjust.
It also supported the Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja
Branch, Prince Dele Oloke during the recent stakeholders gathering on
the subject matter, that “Yes, there is the need for us to collect
fees to generate revenue to the court but justice must not be
purchased.When the masses cannot access justice because of the
schedule of fees, society degenerates into anarchy”
It added that when the poor litigants could not access justice, the
jungle justice would be the order of the day, considering the
metropolitan nature of the State, adding the alleged robbery and
murder case always ended up in the High Court for the quality
dispensation of justice for the parties involved.
Last Friday, the House Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public
Petitions and LASIEC, Chaired by Mr. Tunde Braimoh organized a
stakeholders meeting on the subject matter which the invitation was
extended to the leadership of the group and as well participated fully
in the public hearing.
Reacting to the proposed review fees in the State through a signed
Press statement by the SLG Convener, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman
and copies were made available to newsmen on Sunday, he insisted that
the bill, if allowed to be passed by the Lagos Assembly would hinder
the justice dispensation in the State and justice would be for
highest bidders.
He alleged that the current State House of Assembly members which most
of them were re-elected were working towards prepare ground for the
incoming administration of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to generate more
revenue in every sector of the State as part of effort to fund the
2023 Presidential ambition of their political godfather, Senator Bola
Ahmed Tinubu.
He asked rhetorically, why the current Assembly was bringing this
proposed bill out at the few days to the end of Mr. Akinwumi Ambode’s
administration for the benefit of incoming government?, adding that
they should know that Lagossians were more wiser than before on the
governance of the State.
Comrade Sulaiman who maintained that the body language of the Assembly
Committee during the hearing of the proposed plan revealed that they
have primordial agenda to hatch which was not in the interest of
Lagossians, especially, poor litigants, adding that if the new fees
scale through, the poor litigants would not be able to access quality
dispensation of justice by congesting our three prison yards in the
State.
According to the statement, interest of the poor litigants should be
paramount to all the Lagos State Assembly members who are
representatives of the people in the law making arm of the State but
when they go contrary to the expectation of the masses that elected
them, it means they have become dishonourable representatives.
Sulaiman therefore urged the State Assembly to look for another means
to generate revenue to hatch their godfather 2023 Presidential
ambition.
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