By: Kayode Adeoti
…we take shelter inside the car whenever it rains: judges, lawyers
At the heart of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, lies Ipata/Oloje Market, an ancient and bustling hub for trading vehicle spare parts and automotive services.
For decades, this marketplace has thrived as a sought-after destination for vehicular needs and mechanical services such as panel beating, rewiring and many more, serving both the denizens of Ilorin township and its surrounding communities.
However, one striking thing about this hustle and bustle market is that it is situated cheek-by-jowl with the Upper Area Court II. This spatial arrangement has ignited criticism due to its discordance with the principles of serene legal proceedings.
The courtrooms find themselves in the midst of an unbridled environment, where the sounds from the mechanics, panel beaters, and painters’ workshops intermingle with the solemnity of the court.
Kwara State judicial officers and lawyers navigate to perform their duties amidst the clatter of spanners and the buzz of rewiring, thereby leaving the sanctity of the courtroom vulnerable to disruptions.
Remarkably, there is no discernible boundary that separates the market from the court premises, creating an uneasy union of commerce and jurisprudence.
No one could differentiate the judges and lawyers’ cars from those of the artisans or their customers. The whole place is jumbled up with reverberation coming from panel beaters adjusting boots, re-wirers calling for size 12 spanner to lose dashboard and lawyers trying to move the court in order to grant his client bail on self-recognition.
Driving either in or out of these premises and getting a parking space is one hurdle hard to cross considering how the whole environment is usually crammed up before 9 a.m., when the court actually starts sitting.
A recent visit to the place revealed a sombre scene. The single apartment building where the courtrooms sit stands vulnerable, with its roof torn apart, exposing the jurists and litigants to the capricious elements.
Weeds and rodents have found refuge in abandoned offices, painting a distressing tableau of neglect. Embarrassingly, the presiding Judge, Justice Ajibade, along with his colleague, sits directly under two brownish ceilings that have opened up, with very archaic wooden table chairs.
The ceilings which have lost their firmness due to years of neglect have become scrawny facing the possibility of falling off anytime soon while the windows and the walls are bearing witness to rain penetration into the court.
Legal practitioners recount instances of courtroom chaos, where sudden downpours force a hasty retreat to the shelter of parked cars. The dignity of legal proceedings, once held in hallowed halls, now contends with nature.
When the court was created
This medium reliably gathered that the court is one of the earliest in the state created in 1977 by the then Governor George Ini alongside several others to aid the Justice system in Kwara State.
Since its creation, it was learnt that no renovation whatsoever has been carried out on the structure, and the court has remained one of the most patronised, populated with an appellate jurisdiction attending to all manners of capital offence cases.
Lawyers’ Reactions
The chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ilorin branch, while reacting to the development said the bar is not comfortable with the situation, further lamenting that the place is not qualified to be called a court anymore.
“How can we be comfortable in such a place? In fact, that place shouldn’t be called a court; grass grows up there with an open roof, and even without rain, it is not habitable for any reasonable human being, we have been crying all this while so that the authority concern can come to the rescue.
“We call on the Kwara State Government to come to our aid, though we thank the government for fixing Upper Area Court I, centre Igboro and the like. Such a court like Oloje is not adding any value to legal business. Without issuing any statement that should be boycotted, some lawyers are not going there again. The odour coming from that court is unbearable and quite offensive,” he said.
Also lending a voice to the issue, Barrister Ahmed Abaya, called for government intervention to prevent the court from total collapse.
“The dilapidated structures in Oloje which ordinarily meant for Magistrate court and Upper Area Court are overdue for renovations. The state of the court is worrisome and that was the reason why the magistrate court was moved from the place to Pake.
“The Upper Area Court that is currently in that place cannot be called a court. Whenever it’s raining, the court cannot sit as everywhere will be filled with water. When this administration came in 2019, we thought a Messiah has come particularly with the renovation of Sango and Centre Igboro courts, but alas! The governor has refused to take any proactive steps to ensure other Courts are put in shapes.”
“The Kwara State revenue from the judiciary has increased tremendously when fees payable were increased by 250%. Why is it now difficult for the government to do what is needed? An individual renovated two of our high courts and the state government is not doing anything,” he stressed.
