Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa
Bayelsa state governor , Senator Douye Diri decries injustice in Nigeria, says lack of equity has made Nigeria a breeding ground for injustice over the years.
Governor Diri who inaugurated the state’s Administration of Criminal Justice Interim Monitoring Committee in Yenagoa to ensure speedy trial of cases in the state Tuesday further decried that the Nigerian society has always put justice first instead of equity.
Inaugurating the ten man committee headed by the state Chief Judge, Justice Kate Abiiri to ensure speedy dispensation of Justice in Bayelsa state, Senator noted that the committee would also ensure the speedy trial of criminal cases in courts as it will decongest prisons filled with several adjourned cases .
Represented at the event by his Deputy, Mr. Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, governor Diri emphasized that there was a compelling and urgent need to do what he described as ‘critical self-examination’ to get it right with the administration of the criminal justice system.
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Re-echoing the need for Justice in all spheres of life, the governor who noted that equity held the key to a peaceful and virtually crime-free society where no one is denied their rightful benefits and entitlements as law-abiding citizens stressed that the lack of equity in the Nigerian society had over the years provided the breeding ground for the emergence of criminals and criminality in every part of the country.
“Let us talk more about equity because I believe most of the crimes being committed in our society is as a result of lack of equity. A man who is into oil bunkering feels that his country is producing the crude oil from his backyard and he is not getting a fair reward from it.
“And so, he feels that the only way for him to get the national cake is to go for illegal refining. We arrest and criminalize them. But the question is: if there is equity, will he still go and break the pipelines?
“I’m not trying to be a lawyer or solicitor on their behalf. But I also think there is the need for equity. More often than not what we have done in our society is to put justice first instead of equity.
“Equity is the bedrock of every system. Justice is a remedy for injury. But when we talk about equity, it means you are giving to me what what is rightly due me.”
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Further taking a cursory look at the justice system in Nigeria, senator Diri noted in pains that the country had not fully attained its goals in the dispensation of justice because the justice system had been compromised, adding that the Police, the Correctional Centres and the Judiciary should effectively play their constitutional roles to achieve seamless delivery of justice.
While calling for the establishment of mobile courts in the rural areas to handle criminal cases, he opined that magistrates should make unscheduled visits to police stations in the various local government areas to examine files of detainees, some of whom are being illegally detained.
Applauding inauguration of the committee in her remarks, Chairman of the committee, Justice Kate Abiri,Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, who explained that the need for the implementation of the the Administration of Criminal Justice Law justified the inauguration of the committee in the state assured that the state’s judiciary as critical institution in the administration of criminal justice sector would continue to play its role to complement the work of the State Implementation Committee.
Criminal trials in courts of the state’s extraction would be speeded up when the committee was operational, as it would eliminate most of the delays currently being experienced.
Others members of the committee include a Senior Magistrate, Mariam Pere and Mr Charlie Ebinyon will serve as secretary and assistant secretary of the committee respectively . Also in the committee are the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Biriyai Dambo (SAN), the state Commissioner of Police, CP Ben Okolo and the state Comptroller of the Nigerian Correctional Services, Mr Seth Edoughotu are members.The Chairman Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Yenagoa Branch, Mr Ukunbiriowei Saiyou; the State Coordinator of the Legal Aid Council, Mr Eddy Inemo Yabo; representative of civil society, Mr Godson Jim-Dorgu and the state Coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission, Mr Eugene Baidom, are members.
