For the umpteenth time, judges and magistrates were in Lagos on Monday urged to raise the bar of administration of justice through renewed dedication and impartiality as officers of the bench.

Diocesan Bishop of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Reverend Adebola Ademowo made the appeal on Monday at a church service to kick off the 2017/2018 legal year.

Ademowo, in a sermon anchored on the Holy Bible (the Book of Amos 5: 24), told the judicial officers:“But let justice rule like a river and righteousness like an unfailing stream…..”

“Justice and righteousness are interwoven and they go hand in hand.

“The appointment of justices is traceable to God Himself as in the Book of Judges, we find judges like Deborah, Gideon and others, who were appointed by God to administer justice.”

The cleric said as appointees of God, judges and magistrates should carry out their duties without let, fear or favour and “to the glory of God alone”.

He noted that the primary duty of judges was to discover the truth and act on it, adding“ judges must seek to emulate good virtues of epitomes like Lord Denning, Lord Atkin and other erudite justices of the English Bench”.

Recalling one of the famous dictums of the late Justice Kayode Eso of the Supreme Court, Ademowo said : “Judges must not be over sensitive to remarks made about them in the course of their duties.

“Lawyers must be uncompromisingly independent and fair in the discharge of their duties.”

Ademowo, therefore, admonished them not to pervert justice but show partiality to the poor and judge people fairly.

According to him, when justice is done, it brings succour to the downtrodden.

Quoting from the Book of Philippians, the bishop said: “Whatsoever that is good, whatsoever that is pure, and whatsoever that is holy, if there be any virtue in these, think of these things.”

Ademowo also commended the Acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Opeyemi Oke, for his contributions to the judicial system since she joined the bench.

He declared: “Lagos State is second to none among the states of the federation and it has recorded remarkable progress in all its ramification.

“We extend our felicitation to the acting chief judge for her immense services to the judiciary; from opinion polls, I have been able to deduce that she is committed and fearless.

“We wish her a fruitful and monumental success during her tenure.”

The bishop also used the occasion to comment on indiscriminate use of siren by government officials and described the ban on use of siren in Lagos State as a welcome development.

“It has been an instrument of oppression of the poor masses in the past.”

On drunk-driving, Ademowo called for the prosecution of drunk-drivers with heavy penalties to rid the roads of their menace and the danger they posed to lives.

He noted that innocent lives had been lost to dangerous driving induced by alcoholism.

On corruption, the cleric said the society was full of corrupt and dishonorable people, who were responsible for slowing down the nation’s progress, stressing “there is need for a spiritual and physical cleansing of the country as well as a change of attitude to work by Nigerians.”

Ademowo also called on judges to help decongest the nation’s prisons by fast-tracking the criminal justice system.

“I pray that God gives you the grace to live a dedicated life and to look up to Him even for the minutest details of your lives.”

The first Bible reading was taken by the acting chief judge from the first chapter of the first Book of Timothy.