Save Lagos Group Rejects Lagos High Court New Fees

AISHA ABUBAKAR

A Lagos group, Save Lagos Group (SLG), has strongly disagreed with the State House of Assembly under the leadership of Rt. Hon 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 the Nigerian 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 the judiciary should not be used as catalyst to
generate revenue to government coffers because of its importance in the society as the last hope of the common man on the street, describing the Assembly’s step as an 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 for 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 at the High Court for quality dispensation of justice for the parties involved.

Last Friday, the House Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions and LASIEC, Chaired by Hon. Tunde Braimoh, organised a stakeholders meeting on the subject matter and the invitation was extended to the leadership of the group which participated fully in the public hearing.

Reacting to the proposed review of fees in the State through a signed press statement by the SLG Convener, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, on Sunday, he insisted that the bill, if allowed to be passed by the Lagos Assembly, would hinder justice dispensation in the State and justice would be for the highest bidders.

He alleged that the current State House of Assembly members, most of whom were re-elected, were working towards preparing ground for the incoming administration of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to generate more revenue in every sector of the State as part of efforts to fund the 2023 Presidential ambition of their political godfather, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He asked rhetorically, “Why is the current Assembly bringing this proposed bill out few days to the end of Mr. Akinwumi Ambode’s administration for the benefit of incoming government?” He added that they should know that Lagosians are more wiser now 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 which was not in the interest of Lagosians, especially poor litigants, adding that if the new fees scales through, the poor litigants would not be able to access quality dispensation of justice by congesting the three prison yards in the State.

According to the statement, the 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’s 2023 Presidential ambition.