Courts
By Lydia Ngwakwe
Lagos, May 24, 2018 (NAN) Anti-Corruption and Research Based Data Initiative (ARDI), an NGO, has urged the Federal Government to equip courts with audio facilities to aid judges in recording procedures electronically.
Mr Denis Aghanya, the Executive Secretary of ARDI, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday that when the courts were fully equipped, hearing of cases would be fast-tracked and judges would not be over-stressed.
Aghanya added that the issue of poor representation and prosecution of cases would not come up.
According to him, it will also bring success to the fight against corruption in the country.
“It will be wonderful if government should take further initiative to equip our courts with audio facilities to help judges in recording court procedures in electronic formats so that more cases can be heard in a day and the judges are not over stressed.
“There is no doubt that there is much delay in our justice system; however, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is taking bold steps in various areas to improve on the current situation.
“With the registration of Nigeria as the 70th member of the Global Open Government Partnership (OGP), it will be unfair by anyone to insinuate that the present administration is not going to the extreme to ensure that corruption is eradicated.
“The EFCC administrative headquarters was commissioned last week in Abuja; also sometime last year, the Federal Government constituted the Obla Special Presidential Panel on the Recovery of Public Property.
“This is to facilitate the apprehension and prosecution of public property looters; these are all steps by this administration to ensure quick dispensation of justice,’’ he said.
Aghanya said that the Federal Government had further demonstrated its willingness to hasten court processes by indicating interest to establish Special Courts to try corrupt persons.
He urged federal and state governments to see the need to train police prosecutors, saying that training them on the act of prosecution would not muddle up their presentation of cases in court leading to dismissal of such cases for lack of merit.
He also suggested that more courts be built and more judges appointed. (NAN)
LED/CHOM/GY
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Edited by Chioma Ugboma/Grace Yussuf