Gov. Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has said that it is the responsibility of the government to provide a reliable and credible judicial system as well as a qualitative justice administration.
Chime made the statement in Enugu on Thursday while declaring open a two-day retreat for law officers in the Enugu State Ministry of Justice.
He explained that the credibility of the judiciary was a duty which directly impacted on the fabric of social peace, cohesion and order.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Mr Sunday Onyebuchi, said the retreat with the theme `Ownership, Transparency and Performance for Institutional Advancement’ would help to re-orientate law officers to apply due diligence in their duties.
The Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of the state, Mr Anthony Ani, said the essence of the retreat was to assess the general attitude of lawyers to work.
“I want to get the lawyers to love what they do. We want to look at their general attitude to work and see if we can get them to approach their work with all commitment,’’ he said.
The Enugu State Chief Judge, Mr Justice Innocent Umezurike, stressed the need for the ministry of justice, the police and the judiciary to collaborate for the success of the criminal justice administration in the country.
Umezurike said legal practice had become more competitive and sophisticated than ever before in the history of the country, adding that there was no room for laxity and laziness.
He advocated a reward system for dedicated and resourceful law officers in the ministry.
“The reward for resourceful law officers can come in the way of harmonisation of salaries with those of magistrates and appointment of officers in the ministry as judges,’’ the chief judge said.
He called for more retreats to empower lawyers in the state. (NAN)