Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ibadan branch, has described the death of Justice Adegboye Gbolagunte of Oyo State High Court as a rude shock to its members.
Chairman of the branch, Mr Ibrahim Lawal, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Ibadan.
NAN reports that Gbolagunte, a senior judge in the state judiciary, died on Monday at the age of 64, after a protracted illness.
The NBA chairman said that with Gbolagunte’s death, the state judiciary had indeed lost a courteous judge.
“Lawyers who appeared before my lord always have good reports about his reverence for the bar. We pray the Almighty to repose his soul,” he said.
Lawal said that the death of the judge was a reflection of the kind of difficult terrains judges were passing through in rendering their services to the country.
According to him, judges have so much to contend with, saying the cases an average judge in Oyo state has to adjudicate upon at every given time are too many due to inadequate number of judges.
“In Oyo state, we are supposed to have 40 judges to man our courts but in the last four years, we have only 21 judges, and with the demise of Justice Gbolagunte, we now have 20.
“Imagine the pressure on those judges to discharge their duties faithfully and speedily,” he said.
The NBA chairman, therefore, renewed the call for appointment of more judges and improvement in the conditions of service of the serving ones.
“This is not limited to judges; our Magistrates and President of Grade A Customary Courts too should not be left out. There should be proper funding of the judiciary, going forward,” Lawal stated.
Also, a former NBA Chairman, Ibadan branch, Mrs Folasade Aladeniyi, described the late Gbolagunte as a brilliant and astute jurist.
“As a judge, he extended professional courtesies to all legal practitioners who came before him.
“Before he took ill, his lordship was a very diligent judge, who sat early and went through his case list, dispensing justice without fear or favour.
“He demonstrated the right candour, while litigants leave his court with the satisfaction that justice had been done in their cases.
“May the soul of the well-respected jurist rest in peace,” Aladeniyi prayed.
Similarly, a former Publicity Secretary of the branch, Mr Tobi Fatoki,
said the late judge always ensured that justice was done to the cases brought before him.
“His death came to me as a rude shock; he really battled with the illness that led to his death.
“However, he left a legacy behind as an erudite judge, who did his best on the bench.
“His records are there; he delivered sound judgments which would forever speak for him. His death is indeed a great loss to the bench and the bar” he said.
Fatoki prayed God to uphold the family, the judiciary, the bar and the well-wishers left behind by the deceased. (NAN).
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