Katsina State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ahmed el-Marzuq, on Thursday, advised lawyers in the state against providing legal representation for armed bandits.
el-Marzuq told the lawyers to be cautious of who and what case they provide legal representation for.
He spoke during the 2019 Law Week with the theme: ‘The rule of law, National Security: Challenges and Prospects,’ organised by Katsina State branch of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
According to el-Marzuq, “We implore all of you to give us (Katsina State government) the maximum support even if it means denying the bandits legal representation.
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“There are certain cases that I think every lawyer should be careful in handling. “Everybody has the right to be represented and given fair hearing but there are certain issues that I think we should tread with some caution.
“We should be more mindful of the kind of representation we give to a kind of person that has committed a crime.
“We are not denying anybody fair hearing or right to life or right to freedom but we should be cautious in making those representations.”
Earlier, Chairman of Katsina State branch of NBA, Ahmad Gaffar, said, “Effort of the Katsina State government in the recent time is commendable, as efforts of the governor to personally and directly hear the grievances of the repentant bandits will go a long way to put to rest the ongoing waste of lives and property of innocent citizens.
“What is disturbing is the allegations of complacent of some security personnel in this state of affairs, and more worrisome is the fact that, an in-depth investigation has not been ordered nor conducted to weed out such officials, who are giving the law enforcement agencies the unbefitting bad name.”