In a bid to tackle cross border crimes and bring justice closer to the people, the Ekiti State Judiciary has inaugurated a new Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ogotun Ekiti.
Ogotun town, which is located in Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area, is situated on the boundary with neighbouring Osun State.
Suspected gunmen had killed a soldier in the community in October 2018 while some individuals including an officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps were kidnapped the previous year.
Performing the inauguration of the new court, the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ayodeji Daramola described the project as “another fulfillment of the policy of the Dr Kayode Fayemi administration in bringing justice nearer to the people.”
Daramola said having the court in the border town between Ekiti and Osun was strategic to tackling incidents of rampant cross border crimes in the area
The Chief Judge explained that the establishment of the court would serve as a “strategic warning signal to criminals both within and outside the border that the days of reckoning are at hand.”
With the commissioning of the project, Daramola said the number of Chief Magistrate Courts in the state has risen to 22.
Speaking at the event, the Ologotun of Ogotun Ekiti, Oba Samuel Oyebade expressed joy at the inauguration of the new court in his domain.
The monarch noted that the new court would save litigants the stress of going to the state capital and other nearby towns to seek justice.
Oba Oyebade added that the opportunity of access to justice would help his subjects seek redress in a legitimate way rather than resorting to self-help.
While pointing out that he was not advocating that every dispute must end in court, the royal father stressed that Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism should also be encouraged.
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