Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) of Lagos State, today insisted that continued epileptic supply of electricity in the Lagos State High Courts has contributed to the delay in the administration of justice in the state.

The governor also revealed that an investigation embarked upon by him between 1997 and 2000 shows that some lawyers and litigants connived with PHCN officials to cause power outage in the courts in other to delay proceedings.

Speaking at a one-day conference on "Delay in Justice Administration-Beyond The Rules and The Law," organised by the state Ministry of Justice in conjunction with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in the four divisions of the state judiciary, the governor argued that lawyers are trained to assist their clients, with a further position that those in legal practice should be honest enough to restrain their clients from going to court.

Fashola who questioned that, "What is the value in a judge sitting for hours over a matter that is not actionable only for the lawyer to be filing frivolous applications,"? noted that the architectural designs of the court rooms have also constituted delays in administration of justice.

The governor said, "In the old court rooms, there was cross ventilation and day light in the court rooms. So there was  no disruption of proceeding as a result of power outage. I think we should start looking into designing courtrooms that would have cross ventilation and day lights."

The state Attorney  General (AG) and Justice Commissioner, Ade Ipaye stated that lawyers and litigants are key players that can either speed up or slow down the process of adjudication. Other factors noted by Ipaye includes: judges, court buildings and equipment, court rules of procedure, court staff and registry, enforcement and custodial facilities among others, with an addition that all these factors determine the quality and pace of adjudication.

In order to reduce trial period, Ipaye maintained that the state established the Multidoor Courthouse and the inclusion of Alternate Dispute Resolution(ADR) in the rules of Civil Procedure. The commissioner also stated that frontlaoding also stemmed the influx of frivolous cases, saying that in recent times, cases filed at the High Court of Lagos State has reduced gradually from 6,696 in 2011 to 6,584 in 2012 and to 6,043 in 2013.

He said that the number of cases which now achieve early settlement has increased due to ADR and the establishment of fast track courts.

Earlier in his address of welcome, the state Solicitor General, Lawal Pedro (SAN) pointed out that the mischief of delay in justice administration will be better appreciated when the advantages gained by the society is considered. Pedro stated further that  litigation precludes resort to violence and circumvention for self-help.