ABEOKUTA – Ogun State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Modupe Dipeolu, has announced the establishment of a functioning Archives Section in the Ogun State Judiciary, which has preserved over 3,000 record books dating back to 1920.
The Encounter News reports that, the archives section was set up in 2021, and the chief judge personally supervised the project, which involved rebounding, repairing, and preserving old record books, as well as setting up a scanning unit for digital access.
She stated this during a training program organized for Ogun State Judiciary Staff on Archiving and Management of Court Records, held at the Judiciary Complex, Kobape Road, Abeokuta.
The chief judge emphasized the importance of court records, stating they are “silent witnesses to the administration of justice” and evidence of the judiciary’s work.
According to her, the records, if not managed properly, can make justice become susceptible to distortion, history becomes uncertain, and accountability becomes impossible.
Dipeolu maintained that court records are also evidence that show the day to day work of judges, magistrates, and other stakeholders in the justice delivery system.
She also highlighted the need for proper record management, saying it is crucial for accountability and preventing distortion of justice.
She maintained that the archives section has received training, and a 5-day training programme is underway for staff from High Courts and Magistrates Courts across the three senatorial districts in Ogun State.
She posited that, the training aims to equip staff with modern techniques in record keeping, digitization, and management of court records.
The CJ said, “About 4 years ago in year 2021, I had the idea of creation of the Archives Section of the Ogun State Judiciary. We now have a functioning archive section where over 3000 record books are well stored and preserved. I personally supervised the project and I can tell you for free that we have in our archives, record books dating back to the pre-colonial period as far back as 1920.
“Old and worn out record books were neatly rebounded, repaired and preserved making them look like newer record books. To complement this, a scanning unit was also set up where record books are digitally scanned into computer systems thereby making it possible to access our court record books not just manually but also digitally.”
The chief judge who was represented Justice Olarenwaju Mabekoje, in her keynote address explained that the training was essential to enable staff of the state judiciary learn not only new methods on classification, labeling and indexing of records but, also on management of court records and documents in line with global best practices.
In her welcome address, Justice Mabekoje, who doubles as the chairman of the training committee, explained that the training is precursor of the four-week exercise aimed at restructuring of the archives section of the state judiciary.
