Eight new High Court judges were sworn-in on Monday in Edo State by Governor Godwin Obaseki who urged them to carry on their duties without fear and favour and to be impartial in their dispensation of justice.
Obaseki said his administration this year will focus on rebuilding courts and judges’ quarters outside the state capital as he promised to hand over the newly built Judges Quarters to the Chief Judge following this week.
He said he would also extend support to federal judicial institutions in the state with the planned relocation of the Court of Appeal from its present location.
He said: “We are making history again in Edo State with the swearing in of eight new judges. This is part of our commitment as a government to strengthen the judiciary. As I have always said that for us to have a virile democracy, we must strengthen the rule of law which means making sure that the judiciary is if not one of the strongest arms of our democracy.
“I urge you to carry on your duties without fear or favour. This appointment is from God and not from any man
“We will continue as the executive to help invest in the required infrastructure. As we appoint judges, we have to also provide an environment for the judges to work efficiently.
“This year we will be fixing and rebuilding the judges’ quarters and courts outside of Benin City. We are also going to be working with the judiciary to deploy a lot more technology, particularly in our courtroom to ease the burden of work on our judges.
“We in the executive currently undergoing a major transformation by utilizing technology in all our work in government, with Covid-19. It is a bit difficult if not risky to have physical meetings as we used to have in the past and so we are using technology carry on government activities this we believe is the future and we want to encourage the judiciary to adopt the use of technology as much as it is possible in carrying out your activities.
Present at the ceremony held inside the New Festival Hall in the Government House with strict observance of the Covid-19 protocol was the first female chief judge of the state, Justice Constance Momoh.
