Counsel Warns On Charging Accused To Wrong Courts

A Port Harcourt
based legal practitioner and human rights advocate Barr. Jackson Assor, has criticised the police for charging accused persons to courts without jurisdiction with the intention to punish the accused persons.
Barr. Assor, who stated this while chatting with The Tide in Port Harcourt at the weekend described it as a rape of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
He explained that by the provisions of the said constitution, an accused person was presumed innocent until proved otherwise by court of competent jurisdiction.
According to him, “giving the background of the presumption of innocence in favour of the accused person, it will be wrong to allow him to suffer unjustly.”
The Port Harcourt lawyer said members of the police force ought to have elementary knowledge of law in order to know the court with the right jurisdiction in a particular matter.
He described as unwholesome the attitude of the police in charging all criminal matters to magistrate courts.
Barr. Assor said jurisdiction was very important in adjudication of a matter as court without the proper jurisdiction cannot entertain a matter.
He said holding charge,” a situation where an accused person is charged to court without jurisdiction with hope of transferring it to proper court, as a breach of the rule of law and a travesty of justice.
The counsel lamented some accused person had languished in custody as a result of ‘holding charge.”
Bar. Assor explained that “holding charge” and “rule of law,” were strange bedfellows.
He expressed surprise that the legal system had turned a blind eye on it.

New Rivers State Commission of Police, Mr Tunde Ogunshaki (right), during his maiden news conference in Port Harcourt recently. With him are Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr Fimihan Adeoye (middle) and Assistant Commissioner of Police Jo Amadi