NBA Chairman Laments Rising Political Cases In Courts

The Chairman of the
Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Enugu, Dr Osita Nnamani, has appealed to politicians to explore alternative dispute resolution mechanism rather than flood the courts with their crises.
Speaking with newsmen in Enugu, Nnamani said the appeal was in line with the many litigations arising from the conduct of party primary elections.
He said that political cases seemed to have overshadowed criminal and other civil matters, particularly those involving awaiting trial inmates languishing in detention.
“The political cases are not the most important cases the courts should handle but you see that the politicians have flooded the courts with their internal problems.
“The politicians will always pervert the electoral process and party guidelines and then head to the courts for what they call redress.
“Their cases now dominate our courts. What about the innocent people who are languishing in prison for no good cause,” he said.
Nnamani said that political cases needed to be given limited attention while other matters relating to human rights abuse and criminal cases needed to be top priority.
He called on political parties to uphold a robust internal democracy mechanism, rather than pull down the electoral process.
The NBA chairman said the courts lacked the capacity to entertain the number of political cases before them alongside other matters.
Nnamani regretted that the judiciary had been hampered by a series of industrial actions in recent times.
“There have been lots of strikes in our country and it does not portend good for the nation.
“The strikes have affected our productivity in many ways. Labour unions should also seek alternative means of resolving their disputes with the government,” he said.
Nnamani also said that the government needed to be touched by the plights of the people to reduce incessant face-offs.