Lawyers’ Forum To Tackle Insecurity

The Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Eastern Bar Forum, says the forum will examine the legal impediments to security in the country and suggest the way forward.

Wodu said this while speaking on some resolutions taken at the forum’s meeting in Nnewi, Anambra, recently.

The Eastern Bar Forum is made up of representatives from nine states within the former Eastern region.

The states include Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and Rivers states.

“So what we have decide to do is to organise an elaborate conference on the legal constricts to the security of Nigeria.

“Lawyers, security experts would be brought to examine the laws that relates to our security or regulate our security to know whether there are laws that impede provision of security for Nigeria as a country. Or whether we don’t have sufficient laws or whether laws have to be made. We have to holistically examine those issues and then take decisions on them and forward them to appropriate authorities.

“And in this conference, we hope to involve people even from the federal level; it has to be done by people who are in-charge of security.’’

Wodu said that having considered the delays in cases filed at the courts of appeal within the region, the forum had concluded that most of the justices at the courts were over-burdened.

“We call on the National Assembly to amend the law establishing the Court of Appeal. There is also the need to send more Justices to the courts of appeal in Enugu, Port Harcourt, Calabar and Owerri.’’

On the recent Judicial Reform by the Chief Justice of the Federation, Wodu noted: “It is a welcomed idea’’.

He added that the reform would help facilitate “the quality and the speed in justice delivery in the country’’.