Justice Bayo Taiwo of an Ibadan, Oyo State High Court, has enjoined lawyers in the State to shun the act of seeking needless adjournments in court, as according to him, the practice has for long been responsible for delay in justice dispensation.
The Judge said this yesterday at the Faculty of Law Auditorium of the
Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, during the maiden edition of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyo Branch’s 2019 Public Lecture and Dinner. The lecture was themed: “Fair and speedy dispensation of justice, the role of the enforcement agencies, the Judiciary and legal practitioners”.
Many dignitaries in the legal profession and other walks of life graced the lecture, among them: the Oyo State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Abinbola Mukhtar, who was ably represented by Hon. Justice Iyabo Yerima, Dr. Olaniyi Olayinka who represented Prof. Elijah Adewale Taiwo, Hon. Justice Bayo Taiwo, the Attorney General of the State Mr Seun Abimbola who was represented by Alhaji Olawale of the State Department of Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), the Oyo, Ibadan and Ogbomoso Chairmen of NBA (Messrs
Olarewaju Okeyinka, Dr. Oluwole Akintayo and Mr. Abiodun Oyeyemi), Chairman of the planning committee of the program, Olawale Omoloye, as well as, the retired Arch Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ayo Ladigbolu among others.
In his lecture, Justice Taiwo noted that some lawyers were fond of indirectly increasing the suffering days of their clients in prison while filing application for bail in cases they know are not bailable, instead of allowing their clients to face the trial expeditiously and the case dispensed accordingly.
He said, “Why are you filling for bail of your client when you know that his case is not bailable? This only adds to his number of days of suffering inside the prison. Don’t file for unnecessary adjournments when you have a serious case at hand.
“Make sure you are smart and genuine in any tactics you are adopting while presenting your cases to the court of law. Always think of your clients and also use or adopt a tactic that will be faster or effective for your client to be out of court.
“As a lawyer, don’t be afraid to tell your client the truth of the matter: if you know that he is guilty, tell him, and also let him know the consequence of his offence so that it will give you ample opportunity to go directly to your case and stop running around for processes that you already know that will not work. If you follow the matter straight forward, this will help the Court to quickly see to the case and quickly attend to it, Justice Taiwo counseled.
Speaking on the series of factors that always hinder fair, speedy dispensation of justice, the Judge said, “the issue of lack of witnesses, congestion of cases, complaints from the law enforcement agencies about logistics during investigations and others, are also jeopardizing the speedy dispensation of justice. I therefore urge the State. And Ministry of Judiciary to employ more lawyers to their department so it will add to the effectiveness of the speedy justice”, the Judge said.
