The Chief Judge of Kogi State, Justice Josiah Majebi, has said that the first step to delivering justice in a society is the ability to prevent the commission of any form of crime that would be harmful to the people.

Justice Majebi stated this at the commencement of the training of selected staff of the state’s High Court of Justice on intelligence and surveillance by the state’s police command. The selected staff constitutes a newly established unit in the High Court named the Intelligence and Surveillance Unit.

The Chief Judge said considering the importance of securing the courts, staffers and litigants, it was necessary to take the notch higher with the establishment of the unit which he said would better perform its duties when it synergizes with the Nigeria Police. “This fusion would be sustained after the training program through the participants when performing their duties in their respective courts”, he added.

The CJ who was represented by the Chief Registrar of the High Court, Oladimeji Ibrahim, at the raining, the Mopol 37 Squadron premises in Lokoja, the state capital, averred that the new security outfit in the High Court became necessary with the pressing need for an institutional collaboration towards tackling issues of security in the courts and their environs.

The selected workers of the court, whom he said were picked based on pedigree, were being trained by the police in a civil and knowledge-based manner in order to fully prepare them for the task ahead of them.

He added that the state and the society would be better served if crimes could be effectively prevented by lending support to the state and security agencies. “It has particularly become important to protect our manpower, our infrastructure and properties in order to maximize the effect of the resources available to the courts.

“Addressing insecurity shouldn’t be left for government alone, but with the little we can do, we have taken cognisance of the sensitive nature of administering justice and have chosen to find ways of doing that with the safety of staff and litigants uppermost in our minds” he disclosed as he appreciated the CP for approving the two weeks training program.

In his address, Kogi State Commissioner of Police, CP Miller Dantawaye, noted that though the Nigerian Police had the capacity and preparedness for best practices in policing, it was important that individuals and organisations give security of lives and property appropriate attention stressing that the society was evolving with equal sophistication in crime.

“This is the very first time we are having this from the judiciary. At the inception, the idea is when do they see likely troublesome people or people lurking around the courts aimlessly; how do they tell and what level of intelligence do they have to gather to help further secure the courts?

These were what the CJ said and we thought it is worth giving our efforts”, the CP said. While assuring participants of acquiring the necessary skills that would help them in discharging their responsibilities at the end of the training, the CP urged them to be good ambassadors of the judiciary by applying the knowledge gained productively.