The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN has asserted that the launch of Q-Soft Denovo Court Recording System (CRS) will in no doubt enhance Delivery of Justice in Nigeria by reducing delay tactics by lawyers, improve court output, reduce travelling of court witnesses and reduce cost deployment.
The HAGF made the assertion at the launch of Q-Soft Denovo Court Recording System (CRS) in his Conference room on Monday 26th July, 2021.
He explained that the Q-Soft Denovo Court Recording System (CRS), a technology based audio-visual recording and reporting technology is aimed at improving the speed and accuracy of court proceedings. According to him, “a major challenge to the Nigerian Court system and processes was taking of notes manually which has led to slow dispensation of justice. This phenomenon has further engendered a plethora of issues such as backlog of cases, loss of investment and dwindling confidence of Nigerians in the judiciary” ….
He revealed that it was against this background that “the Federal Ministry of Justice is collaborating with Funmilayo A. Quadri & Co. to launch the Q-Soft Denovo CRS”.
The HAGF further explained that “some of the key features of the Q-Soft Denovo Court Recording System include but not limited to audio video, real time Registrar and Judges Annotations, multiple microphones and cameras, customisable reports, analysis and performance evaluation based on key performance indicators and in real-time converts speech to text with 90% accuracy amongst other notable effective features tailored specifically for the Nigerian court system and processes”.
He used the opportunity of the launch to assure the public of his dedication towards strengthening the Nigerian Court System.
The brain behind the technology, Mrs. Funmilayo A. Quadri SAN, explained that the intention of her team was to help the judiciary and judges to do a better job of dispensation of justice. She mentioned Malaysia, South Africa, United States of America, United Kingdom and Thailand as some of the countries her team visited to understudy the technology in use in those places. However, the systems in use in those countries could not be replicated because it was very expensive, the system could not be adaptable to Nigeria, complication in maintenance and technicality required and lack of understanding of how the judiciary works.
She highlighted some of the advantages of Q-soft Denovo to include but not limited to 100% proudly Nigerian Solution, Doubling of the number of cases heard in court, reducing deliberate delay tactics by lawyers, easy to maintain, Does not require foreign exchange, reduced cost of deployment and reduced travelling of witnesses.
In her remarks the Hon. President, Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Monica B. Dongban-Mensem, JP stated that the launching of the Q- SOFT DE NOVO COURT RECORDING SYSTEM, would speed up dispensation of justice, bolsters public confidence in the institutions of state and makes citizen more law-abiding, knowing that justice will be quick. Thus, driving a harmonious legal relation that helps enforce law and order.
She explained that, before now, writing in longhand was not only acceptable, but was the most effective method of recording court proceedings. She attributed fewer crime rates at the time to a good dispensation of justice. Hence, crimes were lower and fewer people resorted to litigation, allowing for the effectiveness of the justice system. However, she opined that with the rise in litigation, increase in population, election petition and related matters, higher occurrence of commercial transactions and increased patronage of the judiciary had resulted in an increased crime rate.
She stated that the introduction of the Q-soft Denovo Court Recording System will among others make Nigeria more disposed to a positive inflow of Foreign Direct Investment, Job Creation and Economic Development.
While giving a user’s testimony, Justice Y. Halilu urged all judicial officers to record proceedings using the device, saying that leveraging on it would bring about seamless proceedings.
In his goodwill message, the President of the Nigeria Bar association, Mr. Olumide Akpata, who was represented by Barrister Abubakar Aliyu, said that though the development may be coming a little late, it was better late than never. While soliciting for the support of all stakeholders to ensure the success of the technology, Akpata promised the total support of the Nigeria Bar Association.
The Controller General of Nigeria Correctional Services, Mr. Haliru Nababa, represented by Assistant Controller-General, Mr. Usendiah Joseph, on his part stated that the introduction of the technology would go a long way to assist them in their work. He pledged readiness of the Service to deploy the system for the improvement of the justice system in Nigeria.
In his closing remarks the Acting Solicitor General/Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Justice Estu Umar Mohammed stated that the introduction of Q- SOFT DENOVO COURT RECORDING SYSTEM was indeed a welcome development which will facilitate the administration of justice system in Nigeria. He said he was confident that it would boost the confidence of the populace and hoped that courts across the nation would utilize the innovative technology which he maintained has been tried, tested and tailored specifically for the Nigeria system.
The hallmark of the event was the unveiling and testing of the devices to the admiration of stakeholders present at the ceremony.
odupe Ogundoro
Deputy Director
