My attention has been drawn to some online news publications purporting to provide reasons for my resignation from the Ogun State Government as the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.
While it is true that on 8 November 2021, I formally notified His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun, MFR, the Governor of the State, of my decision to resign from the cabinet, I must state that contrary to the online news publications, my reasons for resigning are purely personal. I am not aware of any “massive corruption” in the Administration and I am indeed very proud of what we have been able to achieve in the administration of justice over the past two years, including:
· Improved accessibility of justice for the average citizen through the Ogun Public Interest Law Partnership which matches indigent clients with pro bono lawyers;
· Protection of the rights of suspects in detention through regular inspections by duty solicitors engaged under the Police Duty Solicitor Scheme;
· Use of technology to monitor the plight of pre-trial detainees with the Corrections Information Management System and Justice Clock;
· Gradual introduction of forensics into policing;
· Introduction of the Case Management and Scheduling System in conjunction with the Ogun State Judiciary;
· And many other reform initiatives in the justice sector.
I want to assure His Excellency, the Governor and all my colleagues in the Executive Council of the State of my continued support. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with such an amazing group of administrators, technocrats and experts in various fields of endeavour. I have learnt a lot from you all and pray that God will continue to use you to improve on the lives of the good people of Ogun State.
Akingbolahan Adeniran
