A former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Wole Olanipekun, on Thursday bemoaned the pitiable state of many courts across the country, which he said were not befitting of a temple of justice.

Olanipekun appealed to governments at all levels and well-meaning Nigerians “that we have to pay attention to the deteriorating state of courtrooms, court facilities, and fixtures in most parts of the country.”

The lawyer, who spoke at Ikere Ekiti during the inauguration of the High Court, Ikere Ekiti Division complex that he built and donated to the Ekiti State Judiciary, said, “A good courtroom with up-to-date facilities will attract confidence in our judicial system. If we continue to fail, refuse, and neglect to maintain justice, justice, in turn, may refuse to regulate us and eventually desert us.”

The new high court complex, according to him, has facilities including two standard courtrooms, equipped with facilities for conducive discharge of judicial activities; two judges’ chambers with modern facilities; a 120KVA generator; a functional borehole; a conference room; a meeting room; two pre-trial rooms; two exhibit rooms; and two holding cells, among others.

While bemoaning the state of many courts nationwide, Olanipekun said, “The walls and roofs of a good number of our courtrooms are collapsing and caving in. Basic facilities such as toilets are not available in a good number of courts all over the country. Water and electricity are lacking. In most instances, functional libraries are not available.”

He said, “The ambience of a typical or average courtroom should reflect an atmosphere of learning that judges and lawyers subscribe to, and are known for, rather than representing, both from within and without, a rough, untidy, unclean, and unkept theatre,” hence his decision to build and donate the complex to the judiciary in his home town.

Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, who lauded Olanipekun and the family for the donation of the High Court, Ikere Division, said the gesture was yet another demonstration of the legal luminary’s commitment to giving back to the law profession, where he had made his mark as a distinguished member of the Bar and the Bench.