Charles Onuchukwu, chairman, Aba branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), in this interview with GODFREY OFURUM, said that inadequate Judges, lack of court rooms were hampering quick dispensation of cases in the state. He also spoke on other issues. Excerpts:
There have been numerous complaints of abuse of human rights by security agents in Aba. Do you have a plan to stop the trend?
The current Commissioner for Police is a gentleman who is doing a lot on that aspect, so I wouldn’t say he is not doing anything about it. However, I believe he needs to step up the efforts on that aspect to ensure that cases of harassment and molestation is reduced to the barest minimum. This issue of extortion is one of the issues we discussed with the Commander of the Army in Ohafia on July 1, 2024. He assured us that they were addressing the issue and called for the cooperation of the public in the area of useful information to help apprehend those involved in such accts.
Although we have not discussed with the Commissioner of Police (CP), we will soon do that. He is a polished gentleman and will help us to achieve a lot in that angle. In the area of the operational style of our police officers, I’ll suggest to the CP that we should often have periodic seminars with police officers, to put them through on some legal issues for the purpose of some of them, who may not know the position of the law in certain issues.
When we have seminar with them, we would educate them properly. Even today, I can tell you that today, most of the criminal matters that failed are because of the nonchalant attitude of the police in doing thorough investigation. I have seen cases where an investigation police officer (IPO), handling a case messed the entire thing up with haphazard report.
So, we will do our best to ensure that issues of criminal justice are done properly, so that police will not use their errors to continue to let suspected criminals off the hook. Most of the problems associated with failures in prosecution comes when the police or the IPO, who is supposed to do a thorough investigation on a matter, by touching the necessary angles needed to close a case properly, ends up messing things up. I have seen some of them, who do thorough watertight investigations, but majority of them need to improve, so that they can be in control of cases.
When we meet the Commissioner of Police, we will talk. We are ready to have a seminar with them. When they invite us, we will come. Police is a law enforcement agency and all we want is for a society that is guided, by law, where those who commit crime should not be let off the hook and those who are innocent should be free to move. If we have a society, where those who commit crime are free to move about, because of the issues we are talking about, it will not go well in the society, because other people would see the law, as nothing and may be encouraged to go into crime.
What is NBA’s stand on the recent spate of insecurity in Aba?
It is disheartening that insecurity is raising its head again in this city. We have seen the recent incidents and it’s disturbing to see how our people are losing their lives. I want to say that the government is trying, but they need to step up their efforts.
“There is need to do a proper intelligence gathering from the angle of the police, because if they are still doing that, all these criminal activities will not be happening without arrest of the culprits. If you consider the gap between the attack on police officers at Opobo Junction and the recent one at Ngwa Road, by Mosque Street, you will notice that people may be living in fear with the belief that the whole city is unsecured.
So, government needs to step up their game, by voting more money into security. I have looked around and I can tell you that police here do not have functional operational vehicles. I know that police lack maintenance culture, but even at that, I don’t think the government should sit and watch the police suffer lack on logistics needed to secure lives and property.
So, we should look away from their lack of maintenance culture and support them to secure us. Again, let me tell us this, as the current government is busy opening up the city, by reconstructing dilapidated roads, it will be used by both the good and the bad. The new routes could be used by criminals, as entrance and exist routes, as well in as much as it was done for the good of people here. The police need to have enough functional vehicles and the necessary materials needed to end this situation. My appeal to Governor Alex Otti is that he should try and have a better synergy with all the law enforcement agencies in the state, know their needs, support them to make this place safe and combat the crimes that are spreading.
With the way and manner this criminal activities are spreading, it looks as if we’re having a recreation of the Osisikankwu era between 2009-2010, when everybody was running out of town. However, I have the confidence that we have a governor that will not allow Aba to get back to such ugly era and I pray this city will remain peaceful and secured for all of us.
How active is the Aba NBA’s Human Rights Committee?
By the virtue of the NBA constitution, the bylaw makes it automatic that the Vice Chairman of every NBA branch is automatically the Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of that branch. Our current Vice Chairman, Dim Oriaku Esther is the chairman of the human rights committee, although I’ve not constituted it, but that would be done in our next meeting. She has served in that committee for two terms and so, she’s well experienced.
So, it will not be a difficult task for her to continue with what she’s already used to. It’ll be a smooth sail for the committee, hence handling of human rights violation is concerned. Even now at this early stage prior to the inauguration, human rights related calls have been coming and she has been going to police stations to handle issues like that and trying to handle pro bono matters for the indigent people and secure the release of some other person’s that are being held unlawfully.
They’ve been doing that. We intend to organise a town hall meeting before the end of this (2024) year, where we will invite certain persons to interact and educate the public on issues, as it concerns their rights. The essence of the town hall meeting will be to educate our people on their rights and when to invite a lawyer.
If our people are aware of their rights and abide according to the stipulations of the constitution, the police will not intimidate them. Nobody will carelessly go about intimidating a citizen that knows his rights, that’s difficult to see. So, it’s important that the citizens are properly educated just as the police are equally and properly educated.
What is NBA doing to reduce cases of awaiting trial?
Let me use Abia State as a case study here, although the situation may not be limited to Abia. I’m sure you are aware that since 2021 there has not been appointment of judges, because a certain person filed a suit against the appointment of judges.
The last screening exercise that took place in Abia State was in 2022. In fact, the National Judicial Council (NJC) was on the verge of announcing the appointment of Judges in Abia, before some persons filed a suit against the NJC, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), the Chief Judge, and the Attorney General of the State.
So, the NJC’s policy is that hence there’s any suit, it becomes a subjudice. They cannot do anything about it. Other states like Imo have had about two different appointments of judges, swearing in not less than 10 or 15 judges since our problem in the state started.
The judges that are retired in Abia, their spaces have not even been filled since their retirement. That case filled on the appointment of judges is on appeal right now and NJC insists that they must finish whatever matters in court before anything will take place.
There are proliferation of cases, many people have gone to file one suit or the other. What is even saving Abia State right now is because there was an extension in the retirement age of judges. If that extension was not done, it would have been embarrassing to hear that we have only about five or three judges in Abia State.
So, when you talk about the delay in criminal trials, one of the problems they’re having is the court not sitting, due to one reason or the other. You go to the entire Obingwa today, they have only one high court. When you get to the course list of a judge, a judge will have over 30-40 cases. He’ll not kill himself. We can only handle, but a few of those overstretched list.
The days they are giving now is December date. The judge will not kill himself. In places like Osisoma-Ngwa, where they are supposed to have more three courts, you have only two that cover Osisioma combined with Ugwunagbo.
Since the other Judge retired in 2021, there has been no replacement. How can you have only two courts sitting in Osisoma-Ngwa and Ugwunagbo, handling matters from such a large area? We have the same problem in Ukwa East and Ukwa West Local Government Areas, where we have one court for the two local governments and one Judge handling cases there. So, if there are enough courts and Judges matters would be heard quickly and the fate of those involved can be decided fast.
In the case of the magistrate courts, their biggest challenge is that there are no enough court rooms to operate from. Some magistrate courts here sit in the afternoon. You’ll come to court and they’ll tell you that it is an afternoon court. Some courts now alternate- one will sit two days in a week, the other will take over or one sits in the morning.
So, we are going to meet the governor on this, although he has made some statements about it, I think when we had our annual general meeting (AGM) recently and the Attorney General spoke about it that this is the first time the judiciary is considered in the budget, where courts will be built.
However, we have not seen that yet and we are hopeful that it will be actualised. So, the challenge of our High Courts is not having enough Judges, while our Magistrate Courts lack court rooms. This is caused by the suits pending in different courts on the appointment of Judges.
Is there any move by NBA to end the delay?
I have had discussions with my co-chairmen over this matter, and what we are waiting for is for the Umuahia chapter of the NBA to conclude their election. After that, we will discuss and take a standpoint on what we can do- those to meet and even those involved in the matters that are preventing the appointment of Judges.
We can see how the courts in other States are functioning, but over here it is a different case, where people will file suits simply, because they were not favoured according to their expectations.
So, everybody is suffering it right now and it should not be so. If matters are not held expeditiously, you go to court, pay your lawyer, he takes date and such scenario continues until people get frustrated, as a result of adjustment of dates.
The situation has made many citizens see lawyers as trying to extort them, while the problem is because we lack Judges.
