The Bauchi branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has said that it would no longer accept a situation whereby people awaiting trial would continue to languish in jail.
“This will no longer be acceptable to the NBA, We will engage the authorities of the Ministry of Justice and the Police to address the issues”, it further stated.
The newly elected chairman of the association, Barrister Mohammed Alhassan who said this? shortly after he was sworn in, revealed that he had compiled a list of pending cases, and that the matter would be discussed at the next meeting of the association to further determine the way forward.
Alhassan appealed to the Police and the Ministry of Justice to look into the lingering cases of people arraigned in Magistrate courts for many years without proper arraignment in courts of competent jurisdiction. The Chairman stated, “It is not unusual to hear our colleagues in the Ministry of Justice complain about their failure to obtain case diaries from the Police in open court while adjournments are being perpetually sought in these cases”.
Alhassan said the NBA had also noticed a drift in respect for basic human rights of the people particularly in areas of prosecution of offenders that were on remand.
“I have had cause to personally file cases that sought to enforce the fundamental human right of inmates”, he said, and expressed regret that some of the inmates had been in jail for many years.
He therefore commended the Bauchi state Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Zango for his recent intervention into the issue of inmates by discharging many of them, saying the association acknowledged his humane disposition as it pledged to encourage him to maintain the gesture.
He described the Legal profession as one profession built on integrity, respect and goodwill which, he said, the Association would strive to enhance as a code among its members.
Alhassan also called on the State Commissioner of Police to take measures that would enhance the security of judicial officers and court premises, taking into cognisance the spate of violence that Bauchi state had witnessed in recent times.
He further stated, “The guarantee of their security is the minimum compensation we will expect for the sacrifice the judicial officers were making in the discharge of their duties”.
The Bauchi NBA also urged the state government to reconsider its practice of engaging the services of counsel outside the association to handle state matters.
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