Chief Judge of Kwara State, Justice Ayinla Bamigbola, has called for empowerment of the country's judiciary.

Bamigbola, who spoke to our correspondent on Tuesday in Ilorin, said empowering the judiciary would hasten justice delivery and help to decongest the nation's prisons.

He added that the provision of sufficient judicial work force and courts as well as other logistics would boost service delivery of the judiciary.

He said, "For the judiciary to be in the position to do its work of listening to grievances, complaints and trying criminal cases, making all the accused persons go through the due process of trial, and ensuring speedy trial, there should be enough manpower and infrastructural facilities in place. That will boost judicial service delivery.

"We know that fire brigade approach cannot be the solution to decongestion of prisons. The solution is that the judiciary must be empowered. Empowering the judiciary in that respect means that you have enough and adequate manpower; ensuring that the magistrates, the area courts are in sufficient numbers and people who are ready to work are employed into judicial service.

"We should have enough rooms and suitable accommodation for the judiciary officers at that level. The environment is also very important to productivity to any workforce."

Bamgbola also commended the state government for its efforts in providing more enabling environment for judicial workers in the state.

He said, "Kwara State Government is doing a lot. Just a few weeks ago, all the allowances and salaries due to the magistrates were paid. All the same there is still room for improvement."