The day a defendant brought his own gavel to my courtroom

Back in 2019, before all this Chief Registrar work, I was still sitting as a magistrate in one of the Ikeja courts. We had a land matter that had dragged for almost two years. The defendant, one elderly man from Ikorodu, kept adjourning the case. Every sitting, new excuse. His lawyer was tired of him.

Then one Thursday morning, this man walks in carrying a small bag. He sits down quietly. When I called the case, he stood up, opened the bag, and brought out his own gavel. Wooden. Small. He placed it on the desk in front of him.

The whole court went silent. Even the clerk stopped writing.

I asked him, "Sir, what is that for?"

He said, "My Lord, I have been coming to this court for two years. I want to help you finish this matter today. I brought my own gavel so we can both rule."

Ah! The courtroom scattered with laughter. Even the opposing counsel was laughing. But I did not laugh. I looked at that man and I saw something else. Frustration. Two years of adjournments. Two years of coming from Ikorodu to Ikeja. Transport money. Time. Hope.

I adjourned the case one last time. But that same week, I sat with the registrar and we cleared the backlog. That matter was heard and judgment delivered within one month.

That man taught me something. When people feel the system is not moving, they will do anything to move it themselves. The law is not slow. We are the ones who make it slow. Since that day, I have never allowed a simple land matter to pass one year in my court. Not on my watch.