92 % Prison Inmates Awaiting Trial In Anambra

The Anambra Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice,
Justice Peter Afuba, says 92 per cent of inmates of the three federal prisons
in the state are awaiting trial.

Afuba said this at a special court session held at the state
judiciary headquarters in Awka to mark the commencement of the 2012/2013 legal
year.

The commissioner said that congesting prisons with inmates,
who had yet to be tried, should not be tolerated in any civilised society,
noting that it was unacceptable to the government that out of 1,379 inmates in
the federal prisons, only 109 were convicts and the rest 1,270 were awaiting
trial.

Afuba also said that the total staff strength of 56 law
officers in the Anambra State Ministry of Justice is grossly inadequate to meet
the mounting number of cases pending in courts, saying “there is the urgent
need for the employment of law officers of various cadres to deal with the
increasing number of both criminal and civil matters in our courts.”

Afuba urged the courts to make full use of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2010, which contains ample provisions
that could address the observed anomalies.

“I have instructed the Director of Public Prosecutions that
henceforth, delays will no longer be tolerated in the writing of legal opinions
and filing of information.”

In his address, the Chief Judge, Justice Peter Umeadi, said
that Governor Peter Obi had approved the appointment of 10 high court judges
and two Customary Court of Appeal judges.

“The addition of judges would not only scratch the surface
of affording speedy trials for teeming litigants, but would be a good start,”
Umeadi said and commended the hard work of men and women of the Justice
Ministry, who had contributed in building a new judiciary in the state.

The chief judge said arrangements had been made to hold
workshops on the implementation of the Child Rights Law, which he said, would
bring the law into the court room and allow the law to begin to protect the
lives of children in the state.

Umeadi thanked the governor for the support being given to
the judiciary, especially in the areas of funding and appointment of judicial
officers.