‘High Litigation Cost, No Barrier To Access Justice’

A Port Harcourt-based legal practitioner, Barr. Isaiah Yellow, has said that despite the rising cost of litigation, the common people can still have access to justice.
Barr. Yellow, who stated this while speaking with The Tide in Port Harcourt last Monday, explained that the indigent could get access to justice through the Legal Aid Council, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and legal practitioners that do pro Bono (free of charge matters) to help the poor.
He also said there were a plethora of human rights organisations that take people briefs from the common who cannot foot the bills for litigation.
Barr. Yellow also noted that although the state of the economy was discouraging, there were still influx of cases in the judiciary across the nation.
He said in Rivers State in particular, most of the courts still have a glut of cases.
On the independence of the judiciary, he said, it was a vehicle to fast-track our democratic experience.
He said independence of the judiciary was key to the procurement of unbiased judgements and urged both the Federal and State Governments to grant independence to the judiciary.

Celestine Hope Ibekwe