Prof. Ademola Popoola of the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has called for adequate and unencumbered access to justice for all through judicial activism.

Popoola made the call on Thursday while delivering a keynote address at the opening ceremony of an international conference organised by the Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, in conjunction with Global South Network.

The conference was themed: “Law, Society and Academia in the Global South: Challenges and Prospects for Nigeria”.

The don described judicial activism as the surest way of perpetuating the prevalence of peace, progress and stability in a given society.

Popoola added that it is only when access to justice can be taken for granted by all and sundry that the justice sector would be seen to be truly people-centred.

He submitted that promotion of access to justice would ultimately bring about a just, peaceful and inclusive society.

“Justice is the ligament, which joins different segments of a given society together and that nothing must be done in a way that access to justice would be hindered for such a society to remain stable.

“Every litigant, notwithstanding his socio-economic background and wherewithal, must be assured of equal access to justice,” he said.

He asserted that equal access to justice can be achieved by ensuring that the cost of pursuing justice is affordable to all.

The expert on Law also urged stakeholders in the justice sector to ensure unhindered access to information.

He added that when every individual is granted access to required information, the cause of justice would be adequately protected.

He also encouraged stakeholders to promote what he called horizontal accountability where everyone would ensure accountability and not just accountability from those holding one position or the other.

He urged the nation’s judiciary to remain impartial in order to ensure that justice is done at all times and on all issues.

Popoola said that everything worth doing must be done to ensure that the people do not lose respect for the judiciary.

He added that the loss of confidence in the judiciary is an indirect invitation to anarchy and instability, stressing that it is only an independent, well staffed and adequately funded judiciary that can check the abuse of power.

Earlier, Prof. Nimah AbdulRaheem, the Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, explained that the realisation of the fact that the law of any society is not static informed the organisation of the conference.

She underscored the need for constant interaction among stakeholders, and urged participants to take advantage of the conference to unveil their perspectives on the subject-matter.

Earlier, the Chairman of the event and Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, said that the conference would no doubt help the country in several ways.

Ariwoola, who was represented by the Presiding Judge of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, explained that all hands must be on deck to promote greater access to justice for all manners of people.

He added that Nigeria must remain a model in democracy and that an efficient judiciary is the hallmark of good governance, which democracy is all about.