Magistrate Courts Should Be Allowed To Handle Criminal Cases, Rivers CJ Pleads

The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simon Amadi, has made a case for the review of the Rivers Anti-Cultism Law to allow Magistrate Courts handle criminal cases.
Justice Amadi made the appeal, yesterday, when the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Judiciary paid him a courtesy visit at the state Judiciary Complex, Port Harcourt.
The CJ said the move would aid in the decongestion of the correctional centres by reducing the number of persons on the awaiting trial list.
He also called for the “activation of multi courthouse law” to give special powers to the courts in order to reduce the number of cases being handled by judges.
The CJ further explained that “most of the cases being filed at the high court do not find their way there” and as such suggested that the magistrate court should be able to handle most of those cases.
Also speaking, the leader of the delegation, Solomon Sokola, who is the chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, assured of the readiness of the house to amend the anti-cultism law to allow the trial of criminal cases by the Magistrate Courts.