The Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice Ayodeji Daramola has stressed the need to beef up security in courts across the country to ward-off attack by insurgents and hoodlums.
This came as the Police Commissioner in the state, Mr Wilson Inalegwu called on security agencies, the judicial officers and other stakeholders to brainstorm and fashion out security model that could protect court against terrorist attacks and other security threats.
The Justice Daramola who stated this in Ado Ekiti, the state capital yesterday during the police Commissioner’s courtesy visit to his office said there is the need for police, Prison officers and and other security agents to put in place water tight security whenever hardened criminals are being brought to court.
The synergy, according to him, was necessary because the Prison officers lack capacity to effectively secure the Prison without the assistance of the police, leading to cases of jail break.
“The recent experiences in Imo and Kogi States made us to solicit for your cooperation by improving the police protection of courts.
“We really need Police protection. Please help us in this regard. It is not only the police that criminals look at with disdain. They also look at us with disdain as well.
“Things have not been thesame between the police and the Prison authority since they started carrying arms. The Prison people must allow the police to assist them,” he said.
In his remarks, Mr Inalegwu said the importance of cordial relationship between the police and the judiciary cannot be overemphasised in the administration of justice.
” If the police arrest, they cannot keep suspect for too long. They need the judiciary to prosecute the suspects. So Judiciary is not only the hope of the common man, but the hope of the police.
“When I arrived Ekiti State, I was briefed about the number of conviction that the police has secured. I was very impressed about it your Lord Shipping.
“We usually asked the Prison people to alert us when they are talking hardened criminals to the court, but we don’t get to know about it. We have written to the Comptroller of Prison about this.
“We are going to look at the operations of our Judges Protection Unit and do something about it if we discovered that there are. My OC legal and DCP Admin are here they will take a look at it.
“With the activities of the Boko Haram, the attacks on courts, there is need for all the stakeholders in the security sector to brainstorm with judicial officers and fashion an enduring security model that could protect the courts “.
