From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
Kebbi State Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has said that the quick dispensation of cases and free access to justice in the state have reduced the level of crimes.
Bagudu stated this while addressing members of the Muslim Lawyers Association (MULAN) and other state judiciary staff during the association symposium in Birnin Kebbi.
The governor explained that some his colleagues from other states used to ask him,why the state appear to be better in term of security.
According to him, “I told them that our access to justice is among the best in the country. And that was tested when we have challenges in Zuru Emirate,Judiciary and Kebbi State Nigeria Bar Association rose to the occasion. I remember that NBA came to me that they are going to boycott Courts until the security restored in the area.
“That shows how much synergy we have in our state. Access to justice is a fundamental to human civilisation,” he said.
Bagudu noted that,society should be designed to cater for the people whom economy could not be care for so as to ease insecurity and stress on legal system.
“if that is not the case,we would create more pressure on legal system and we would be spending more time on punishment, rather than prevention,” he said.
Bagudu who commended the state judiciary and NBA over some of her members who have been elevated to the higher position in the judiciary in the state and at the national level,said that his administration would addressed the issue of judges security and other issues affecting the welfare of the judiciary staff.
In his remark,the Chief Justice of Kebbi State, Justice Suleiman Muhammed Ambursa,disclosed that,as a result of quick dispensation of cases in the state,the state judiciary was ranked 2nd in the country.
He said that,many of his colleagues and famous Lawyers have been making efforts to relocate to the state for practising,stressed that,that was made possible because of synergy between the state government and the judiciary.
Ambursa added that,the state government had provided conducive environment for the judiciary to discharge their duties as expected and charged the newly appointed judges to discharge their duties accordingly.
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Earlier, the state Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Equity Chamber, Lawal Hudu-Garba, advocated the use of modern methods and techniques such as DNA, fingerprints and installation of CCTV cameras, among others.
“This will easily detect crimes. In fact, resort to forensic investigations can go along way to reverse the trend whereby hardened criminal get scot- free,” he advocated.
Hudu-Garba also advocated that well equipped forensic laboratories should be established in every local government areas.
Also speaking, the state Chairman, Muslim Lawyers Association (MULAN), Yusuf Hamza, expressed gratitude to the governor the various assistance he had been rendering to so many Islamic Organisations in the state.
“We in Mulan wish to humbly request for a bus to assist us in travelling to national conferences and Da’awah activities,” he said.
On his part, the state Chairman of Law Officers Association of Nigeria (LOAN), Ahmad Rufai-Aminu, thanked the governor for the increment of monthly cash allocation of the ministry, payment of annual bar practicing fees as at when due, among others.
He urged the governor to lift the embargo to allow employment of more counsel in the ministry, saying that many of their members had been elevated to the bench or deployed to other places and their number dwindled down.
“In as much as the association is suffering from the setback I’m dwindling number of its members, we must also at the same time celebrate the progression of our esteemed members,” Rufai-Aminu said.