Fashola: No Development without Law and Order
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola has wa
rned that it would be
difficult for any nation to attain meaningful develop
ment with the absence of law
and order in the society.
According to him, law and order remained the most impo
rtant agenda any nation
could pursue, pointing out that without it, nothing
could be achieved.
Specifically, he was of the opinion that Nigeria will b
e a better place if things are
always done in accordance with the rule of law.
His words: “Law and order remains the most single impor
tant agenda that I think
any nation can really pursue. A nation that pursues la
w and order will achieve
everything. And no matter the buildings we build, the
roads, if we choose to live
outside of the law, our society will not progress.
“So it is important to pay attention to those who wil
l have the responsibility to
enforce the law and those who have the responsibility to
administer laws.
Because the greatest civilisations have been those founde
d and nurtured on the
basis of law and order”, he added.
The governor who spoke while inaugurating a 22-room m
agistrate court in Ogba
area of the state said the delivery of the court was a de
monstration of the
government’s commitment to deepen the rule of law and
widen access to justice.
The court was named after retired Justice Samuel Ilori,
a former Chief Judge of
the state.
He expressed the belief that the new court would not o
nly help to enhance justice
dispensation, but would also maintain order through con
flict resolution.
The governor said his administration had built some new
courts across the state
to enhance justice delivery and a number of others were
at different stages of
completion. Fashola praised the state’s judiciary for i
ts role in promoting
development, saying the strides of his administration coul
d not be divorced from
the great work of that arm of government and urged th
e judiciary to continue to
justify the confidence reposed in it through efficient ser
vice delivery and
promotion of democracy.
“I want to express my gratitude to the state’s Chief Jud
ge, the judges of the
Lagos High Court and the entire officers and men and w
omen of the state’s
judiciary for the support given to my administration. Ou
r time is winding down,
but the challenge of running Lagos continues and I can o
nly appeal to you to give
the same massive support to the next administration”. On
the naming of the court
after Ilori, Fashola said the gesture was in recognit
ion of his contributions to the
state’s judiciary.
He said similar courts had been named after illustriou
s legal practitioners in the
state to inspire others to contribute to the state’s devel
opment. The governor said
the task of promoting the state’s development rested on
the shoulders of
everyone and urged all residents to contribute their qu
ota to it. Mr. Ade Ipaye
,Commissioner for Justice, said that the new courthouse wo
uld promote law and
order like similar ones built in Epe, Ikeja, Ikorodu and
Lagos Island.
He said all the courts were fitted with the right equ
ipment and facilities to ease
delivery of justice. Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, Chief
Judge of the State,
thanked Fashola for his massive investment in the judiciary.
She said that his
interventions had helped to strengthen the arm of gover
nment adding that the
provision of the latest court and the others already p
rovided would help boost
access to justice
