BY WARIYAI DANIEL, YENAGOA.
The need for state governments to take appropriate steps towards reviewing and expanding the jurisdiction of their various magistracies to improve justice delivery in the country has been stressed.
The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, stated this while delivering a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Magistrates’ Association of Nigeria (M.A.N) Conference in Yenagoa, the state capital.
Describing magistrate courts as the bedrock of the Nigerian Criminal justice system, he also called on the second tier of government to give magistrates a relatively better recognition as judicial officers like their senior counterparts on the higher bench.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr Doubara Atasi, the Deputy Governor noted that the role of magistrates was too crucial and indispensable in the administration of criminal justice to be left the way it is.
 To this end, he challenged state governments to look at extant laws with a view to expanding the scope and quality of judicial services being rendered by magistrates in the light of current realities in the country.
The Bayelsa number two man, who also made a strong case for community service as an option in the country’s criminal laws, stressed that hearing of cases should not be unnecessarily protracted over time.
He said the State Government was making concerted efforts towards the improvement of the quality of the welfare of magistrates and related issues in the state.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo, therefore, assured the Bayelsa chapter of the Magistrates’ Association of Nigeria that government would complete the magistrates court complex in Yenagoa, to enhance the speedy dispensation of justice in the state.
His words, “The magistrates are actually the bedrock of the criminal justice system in Nigeria. Your role is not only crucial, but also very indispensable.
“I want to first talk about the issue of welfare. As a government, we are taking every step and making concerted efforts, to ensure that we improve on the quality of magistrates — their welfare — and other issues in Bayelsa State.
“I feel that all state judiciaries should take steps to recognize magistrates as judicial officers. Let us look at our laws that empower us to set up the state judicial committees, to empower us do something about the recognition of these people that are dispensing justice at the first instance.”
“Government will complete the the Magistrate Court building to decongest the courts and speedy justice dispensation in the state.”
Also speaking at the ceremony, the State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Kate Abiri, applauded the state chapter of the Association for sparing no efforts in putting the conference together.
The Chief Judge, who was represented by Justice Matilda Ayemieye, while commending the Bayelsa State Government for doing well for judicial officers in the state, requested for the completion of Magistrates Court Complex.
In his remarks, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Biriyai Dambo (SAN), described the Magistracy as an integral part of the judiciary that holds the fabric of society together, and urged the participants to draw optimally from the conference.
In his welcome address, Mr. Obiri Florizel Esq., the Chairman of MAN, Bayelsa State chapter, called for better welfare and working environment for Magistrates’ in view of the bulk of criminal and civil matters they handle, saying that most litigations begin at the magistrate courts.
Describing the Senator Douye Diri-led Administration as judiciary friendly, Mr Obiri, however, appealed to the State Government to complete the magistrates Court building close to the Multi Door Court Complex in Yenagoa to address the infrastructural deficit challenge of the Association.
Representatives of the Magistrates’ Association of Nigeria from Rivers, Delta and Imo states also delivered goodwill messages at the two-day conference with the theme: Improving the Quality of the Administration of Justice in Magistrate Courts.