Dearth Of Lawyers Affecting Criminal Prosecution In Nasarawa State – AGF
BY BABA AHMED, LAFIA – Apparently due to the shortage of manpower, the Nasarawa State
Ministry of Justice is prosecuting 707 criminal cases across the state High courts with 29 lawyers.
The number might be higher as the 707 criminal cases are those recorded in October 2018 which ranges from murder, armed robbery and rape and are at various stages of trial.
Available records show that High court (2), Lafia has the highest number of criminal cases with (238) cases including rape.
Similarly, High court 1, Lafia presided over by the State Chief Judge, Justice Umaru Dikko has 47 cases while High court (1) Keffi has the lowest record with just 12 cases.
A closer look shows that High court 4, Lafia has 45 criminal cases undergoing trials, while High court 5,
Lafia has 68 cases just as High court 2, Keffi has 70, with Akwanga High court and Nasarawa Local Government Areas having 97 and 37 cases respectively.
Also Mararaba High Court 1, 2 and 3, have 25, 27 and 16 criminal cases respectively while High Court Karu has 27 cases.
The State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Abdulkarim Kana, who confirmed that the state presently has 29 lawyers, said that the process of recruiting 20 additional Lawyers has
reached an advanced stage.
Kana said that the state government has carried out many more interventions to ensure speedy dispensation of justice in the state.
He further said; “The recruitment of 20 additional lawyers is in the process. Over 300 lawyers applied for the 20 vacant position approved.”
The Attorney General explained that some of the interventions include the construction of new high court headquarters in Lafia, which has five court halls and the refurbishing of the Keffi High court in conjunction with the state judiciary.
He added that the state government has also built two new high court complex in Mararaba area of Karu Local Government adding that the ministry is hosting a web site to upload all its activities.
