Chinelo Obogo
After 18 years, the Lagos State House of Assembly is set to pass a law to review the State High Court fees.
A one-day stakeholders meeting on ‘A Bill for a Law to amend High Court fees in Lagos State’ was held in the Lateef Jakande hall of the Assembly yesterday for a review of the fees being collected by the State High Court.
The chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petition and LASIEC, Tunde Braimoh, revealed that the last time the bill was reviewed by the Assembly was in 2001. He also explained that the proposed bill has 30 sections and two schedules, initiated by the judiciary and brought to the State Assembly for approval.
“The bill will discourage speculations and enhance the use of alternate dispute in conflict resolution. It will bring contending parties together and promote reconciliation, that is why we believe this amendment is necessary. The last time the bill was passed was in 2001, which is 18 years ago and the reality of the economy necessitates a review,” Braimoh said.
However, the Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) disagreed with the Chief Registrar of the State High Court over the increase in fees.
The NBA chairman, Dele Oroke, said the association, which is made up of 6,500 lawyers, is opposed to an increase in court fees, saying, it will negatively affect citizens who cannot afford to pay.
“The fees have been adjusted for the past three years by the court without bothering to consult the NBA to know our opinion. This schedule of fees has been paid in Lagos State since 2016 against our wishes. We attend to the public and many of us take up many pro bono cases wh ere people can’t afford these increased fees,” Oroke said.
The Registrar of the High Court of Lagos State, Mrs Taiwo Olatokun said the new fees were not exorbitant as alleged by the NBA and that poor litigants had the opportunity of going through the Multi-Door Courthouse to get justice.
She said the fees were in tune with current economic realities and to also discourage frivolous claims by some claimants.