The Chief Judge of Ogun State, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu, revealed on Monday that the state judiciary has digitally stored and preserved more than 3,000 court record books, some dating as far back as 1914, from the pre-colonial era.
She noted that poorly managed records can distort justice, create gaps in historical documentation, and weaken accountability within the justice system. According to her, court records also serve as vital evidence of the daily work carried out by judges, magistrates, and other justice sector stakeholders.
Justice Dipeolu made these remarks during a training programme on Archiving and Management of Court Records for Ogun State Judiciary staff, held at the Judiciary Complex on Kobape Road, Abeokuta.
The Chief Judge, represented by Justice Olarenwaju Mabekoje, said the idea of establishing a dedicated Archives Section began in 2021. “Today, we have a fully functional archive where more than 3,000 record books are properly stored and preserved,” she said. “I personally supervised the project, and I can confirm that our collection includes books dating back to 1914. Old and damaged books have been rebound and restored, making them almost as good as new. We also created a scanning unit to digitize these records so they can be accessed both manually and electronically.”
ICYMI
In her keynote address, Justice Mabekoje explained that the training would equip judiciary staff with modern skills for classifying, labeling, indexing, and managing court documents in line with global standards.
In her welcome remarks as chair of the training committee, she noted that the programme marks the beginning of a four-week exercise aimed at restructuring the judiciary’s archives.
Ogun Today reports that participants were drawn not only from the archives unit but also from high courts and selected magistrate courts across the three senatorial districts of Ogun State.
