The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) said it has set up an adjudicative review committee to look into conflicting judgments from judges.
It said the committee would try to identify where the courts got it wrong and suggested a position that best reflects the position of the law, reports The Nation.
National President of NBA, Afam Osigwe, stated this at the opening ceremony of the NBA NEC meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Osigwe stated that academics and lawyers were also encouraged to write reviews of such judgments and publish them to draw attention to them.
On prison congestion, the NBA President said the body’s Human Rights Committee has been mandated to work with Chief Judges of states to ensure that they do prison visits as well as give directives to all magistrates to release suspects where the Prosecution failed to file charges.
“They are to ensure that the courts, in line with provisions of the Police Act and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, visit detention facilities, whether of the police, of the army, of the DSS, of the NDLEA to check the length of time people have been detained there, to order that they be released on bail, to order that they charge them to court, or release them entirely.
“The bar is getting this engagement to ensure that people who have no reason to be in detention are released and that people do not spend a long time in detention without a charge being filed against them.
“We are doing advocacy, we are engaging to ensure that we comply with the provisions of the law to avoid this ugly situation being the dominant thing, being the reason why people are in various detention facilities.”
Ondo Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Kayode Ajulo, said Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa remained steadfast in his dedication to fortifying the legal and judicial framework within the state.
Ajulo said the state Ministry of Justice has embarked on transformative reforms aimed at enhancing access to justice, expediting case resolutions, and ensuring that every citizen of the state benefits from the law.
He listed the reforms to include the implementation of digital case management systems in select courts to boost efficiency, expansion of legal aid services to guarantee that underprivileged individuals have access to competent legal representation, and collaborations with the private sector to promote Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms.
Others were legislation against land grabbing by land speculators and interlopers, mandatory Frankin,g and documentation of all land transactions by legal practitioners amongst others.
