Justice Dispensation: Lawyer Seeks Vebatim Recorders In Courts

A Port Harcourt-
based legal practitioner, Barr Endurance Akpelu has called for the introduction of Verbatim recorders in the Rivers State Judiciary to facilitate the dispensation of justice in the state.
Barr Akpelu who stated this while speaking with The Tide in Port Harcourt at the weekend, said it was not proper for cases to stay up to ten years.
He said the front loading system would work better if the judges used the Verbatim recorders to record their cases.
The Port Harcourt lawyer blamed his learned colleagues for using delay tactics to do their matter. According to him, “some lawyers are always in the habit of asking for adjournment on the flimsiest excuses.”
He noted that the judicial system in the Nigeria Federation ought to be overhauled for easy dispensation of justice. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” the lawyer pointed out.
Barr Akpelu said there was a glut of cases in the courts as a result of having a system that did not really work.
He said in developed countries the dispensation of justice was faster because they were using the verbatim recorder.
The lawyer said the manual way of recording proceeding in courts had become obsolete and ought to be thrown over board for the verbatim recorder.
Again, the lawyer noted that innovations were important in whatever sphere of human endeavour that one engaged in.
Barr Akpelu called on the authorities of the State Judiciary to look beyond the shores of Nigeria in order to import new and better ways of justice dispensation.
The legal practitioner also noted that some of our archaic lawyers were actually demanding a review.
He urged all and sundry to support better and faster justice dispensation, and prayed the state government to specialise the courts.
According to him, “there should be courts for criminal, civil and commercial matters among others to facilitate justice dispensation.

John Enyie

R-L: Nigerian Defence Attache To Sudan, Maj.-Gen. Suleiman Aliyu, Senior Adviser, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Kjell Hodnebo, IGP, Mohammed Abubakar and Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Rolf Ree, during a tactical demonstration by a Nigeria Police Unit in preparation for peace keeping to Liberia and Sudan in Abuja ‘yesterday.
Photo: NAN