Fire Guts Kwara State High Court for the Second Time in Seven Months, Destroys Documents

Date: 2024-10-01

News from Daily Trust reveals that the Kwara State High Court has been engulfed by fire, destroying important documents and other valuables in the process.

This latest incident, which occurred shortly after 8 pm on Sunday, completely gutted a judge's chambers, housing courtroom 10. The judiciary worker who spoke to the correspondent revealed that the court had not fully recovered from a similar fire incident in February, which destroyed over 200 case files and other critical office equipment. Renovation works on the litigation office, damaged during the previous fire, were still ongoing before this recent blaze.

The incident, it was learnt, had raised concerns in the justice sector in the state.

The Kwara State Fire Service which confirmed the incident, said it was caused by a power surge.

The rubbles from the items destroyed in the fire included two air conditioners, a plasma television, a fan, documents, and furniture.

A statement by the service spokesman, Hassan Adekunle, said the quick response of the fire service personnel prevented further damage to the complex, which houses several courtrooms.

“Investigations revealed that the fire originated from a standing air conditioner due to a power surge,” the statement said.

City & Crime recalled that the first incident was also attributed to a power surge by the fire service.

During an inspection of the facility then, our correspondent observed that several files of concluded and ongoing cases including those since the inception of the court were burnt.

The Chief Registrar, Magistrate Ibironke Olawoyin, had described the burnt section as the engine room of the high court.

She said, “That section is the engine room of the high court. This is not about 100 or 200 cases. Our appeal cases, ongoing cases and processes that are being filed including some coming up this week. Not a single file was saved; everything was completely burnt.

“If not for the way the structure of the building was built and that most of the offices were departmentalised, it would have been more colossal.”

Former Ilorin NBA chairman, Kamaldeen Gambari, in a telephone chat with City & Crime, advised that serious steps should be taken to forestall a recurrence.

“The judiciary has not told us the files that were affected and how important they are. It is only when the burnt files are identified before we know the implications on the litigants.

“Going forward, the judiciary is an arm of government and it will not be out of place if a segment of the fire service is located within the high court premises. Also, the idea of keeping files physically by the judiciary should not be continued.

“If those files burnt now are in soft copies, nothing would have been lost, we would have just retrieved them. But as it is now, we have lost those files,” he added.

 

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Memunat Monsuma     Toyosi Thomas     Tuesday Assayomo     Lawal Olohungbebe     Yomi Ogunsola     Kabir Shagaya     Alliance For Democracy     Special Adviser On Digital Innovation     Surajudeen Akanbi     Bisi Oyeleke     Lithium     Imodoye Writer’s Enclave     Ogidi-Oloje     Oke-Odo     Olaoye B. Felix     Mohammed Lawal Bagega     Baboko     Suleiman Mora Omar     Harmony Holdings     Aisha Abodunrin Ibrahim     Dogara     S.O. Opowoye     Unilorin FM     Babaita     Bola Ahmed Tinubu     Ella Supreme Tissue Paper     Gbemi Saraki     Mohammed Abdulahi     Volunteers Of Ilorin Community And The Emirate     Oni Adebayo     Overland     Ali Ahmad     Lola Ashiru     Kunle Akogun     Akume     Farouk Salim     Isaac Gbenle     Shade Omoniyi     Akorede     Otoge     Oyedun Juliana Funke     Ajibike Katibi     Kannike     Yakub Ali-Agan     Jamiu Oyawoye     Summit University     Sa\'adu Gambari     VADA     Cornelius Adebayo     Medview Airlines     Goodluck Jonathan     Olupako     Trader Moni     Lucky Omoluwa     Moses Rahman Popoola     Toyin Sanusi     Abdulkadir Orire     Abdulazeez Arowona     TETFUND     UTME     Abubakar Baba     Simeon Sule Ajibola     Kwara Liberation Group     Nigerian Medical Association     Emmanuel Bello     Government Girls’ Day Secondary School Pakata     Ekiti     MATTA Girls Foundation     Ibrahim Taiwo     Bamidele Aluko     Saidu Kawu     Aliyu Kora Sabi     New Nigeria People’s Party     Toun Okewale-Sonaiya     Face Masks     Folorunsho Alao     Abdulmumini AbdulRazaq    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Samuel Adedoyin     Ahmad Uthman     REO CAKES     Ubandoma     Alfa Modibo Belgore     ITP     Lola Ashiru     Agbarigidoma     IQRA College     ITEM 7     Oko Erin     Kwara NIPR     Federal Polytechnic Offa     Alaaya     Oba Of Jebba     Idris Amosa Saidu     Zaratu Umar     Shehu Salau     Benin Republic     Overland     Trade Lenda SME Fair     11th Galadima     James Ayeni     Garba Ado Sanni     Aliyu Alhassan     JSSCE     Muhammadu Buhari     Elerin Of Adanla     Bio Ibrahim     Idiagbon     Tunji Oyawoye     Oyun     Gbadeyan Gbadura Yomi     Oluwatoyin Lukman     General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport     Ashiru     CACOVID Palliatives     Kayode Laro     Najim Yaasin     Hassan Saliu     Yemi Sanni     Ayodele Shittu     Oloyede     NNPP     Aisha Gobir     Abdul Jimoh Mohammed     Amos Bajeh     Titus Ashaolu     Bola Iyabo Ibiyeye Adisa     Roheemat Hammed     Maryam A. Garuba     KWTV     Ilorin East     Maigida Soludero Transit     Innocent Okoye     Offa Descendants Union     Vasolar     Sarakite     Ramadhan     Olabode George Towoju     Adamu Ibrahim Sabi     Asiwaju Bola Tinubu     Ibrahim Labaika     Ahmed Dankaya     Moses Afolayan     Ridwan Agboola     David Oyepinola Adedumoye     Revenue Court     JAMB     Zubair Folorunsho Erubu     General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport Ilorin     Ganiyu Abolarin     Otunba Taiwo Joseph     20 Billion Bond     Waziri Yakubu Gobir     Sobi FM     Aminu Adisa Logun