In order to further strengthen the justice delivery system in Oyo state in line with international best practices, community service officers and court registrars working with the Oyo state judiciary were on Thursday trained on data banking and information management system at a one-day consultative technical session.
The training, which took place in Ibadan, was aimed at teaching community service officers how to manage and consolidate data of offenders serving community service in lieu of jail terms under their watch in a way that will create synergy and cohesion among all arms of the judiciary system within the state.
The technical session which was a collaborative effort between the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) of the Ibadan Catholic Diocese and the Oyo State Judiciary aimed at curbing the lack of data base which bedevil almost all sectors in the country and create a workable system that will create a true picture of the community service arm of the judiciary.
The training is expected to enhance the ability of the officers to qualitative service delivery and also create a system that allows for monitoring and assessment of every officer irrespective of where he is based within the state.
In his opening remarks, Rev. Fr. Ezekiel Ade Owoeye, the Director of JDPC, represented by Mrs Adenike Ibitara stated that the program was the commission’s contribution in support of the community scheme and the judiciary in the state adding that, the JDPC advocated for the scheme and it will continue to work with the judiciary.
“The community service punishment law provides for the establishment of a data base for offenders which is to be managed by community service officers. This training is to expose those officers to the process of data collection and management.
“We are in constant communication with the judiciary on emerging areas to review the scheme and seek ways of improvement and how to tackle emerging issues. It is a continuous process and we will always collaborate with the judiciary to improve the system,” she stated.
Speaking during the session, Mrs Olumide Ogunrin, the Deputy Chief Registrar, Probate and Community Service, Oyo State Judiciary, stated that court registrars have a role to play in the success or otherwise of the court, adding that when a registrar is up to task, the court will make a long way.
According to her, the community service scheme cannot succeed without the collaborative effort of court registrars and community service officers and they need to have data on all community cases.
Participants at the session were trained to understand the role of court registrars in community service scheme, need for collaboration between court registrars and community service officers, challenges of community service scheme and how to tackle them, how to keep comprehensive and concise data and use of data bank in community service among other issues of importance.
