Gombe State Government has accused personnel of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) and Nigeria Police Force (NPF) of indulging in activities inimical to justice delivery in the state.
The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Zubairu Umar, told newsmen yesterday that aside from the High Court, other courts in the state were an eyesore.
He said: “We have some challenges with the (correctional services) such that sometimes, you will discover that suspects are not taken to court at a good time or at all.”
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Aside the correctional officers, Umar also accused the police of frustrating justice delivery in the state.
“Sometimes, the police in Gombe metropolis thwart our efforts because of our decision in the Ministry of Justice to take over the prosecution of cases before magistrate courts in the township. Some officers of the police are not happy with that and decided to create some hurdles on our path. But we will soon get over them.”
Speaking over the poor condition of over 100 area courts in the state, he said each of the neglected courts could be renovated and furnished with as little as N1 million.
“Nobody will visit any of our courts aside from High Court and have respect for us or the state.”
“If they had shown concern, we wouldn’t be where we are now. If they had taken on at least two courts a year, all our courts would have been in better shape.
“Go and see for yourself; in fact, if I knew this parley would touch it, I would have asked somebody to get photographs of some courts for you to see the deplorable condition of our courts in Gombe,” he stated.
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Umar, however, disclosed that Governor Muhammad Yahaya had discussed with the Acting Chief Judge to present him with a template of ideal court premises.
“Though the state does not have the financial muscle to build new courts, the governor had asked the Acting Chief Judge to come up with a template of a good court premise.
“He has agreed that quarterly, if not yearly, the state will be attending to at least three area courts’ renovation.”
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