Edo State Government is to set up a Public Defender Unit to provide free legal aid to victims of human rights abuses.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole who stated this yesterday at the unveiling of Edo State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules said too many people are being victimised and intimidated but are unable to fight for their rights.
According to the governor “just recently, the police in the state arrested an innocent man and charged him for murder without any convincing evidence. I have now decided to set up a public defender unit that will provide free legal aid to all those who are victims of police abuse of power or by any functionary of the state.
“Government may not be able to deliver food to all the citizens but government must not tamper with the citizens’ right. I have directed the Ministry of Justice not to assist the police to detain innocent citizens. My task in Edo State is not only to build roads, hospitals and other physical infrastructure but also have the responsibility to ensure that the freedom and rights of citizens are not trampled upon.”
He noted that “everybody is equal before eyes of God and everybody is special in the eyes of God. That one is richer than the other cannot be a yardstick to think that one is more special than the other. The attitude of the court should be that before the law all men are equal.
“In the past, many Nigerians used to believe that those who are powerful are above the law.”
He lamented that a man was convicted and sent to prison for years for stealing a rabbit while those who embezzle public funds running into billions of naira are left off the hook.
He urged the Bar to take special interest in gross abuse of judicial powers, adding that the court should not aid and abet the security agencies when they go about victimizing innocent citizens.
On his part, the chairman of the occasion and first executive of Edo State, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun said the legal Profession is one of the most conservative professions, adding that the system is in dire need of modernization.
Chief Oyegun noted “our judicial system in Nigeria is under pressure a lot still needs to be done’’. As of today, most of the institutions of the state have been undermined and the judiciary is the last hope of the common man’’, he said.
In a address of welcome, the Chief Judge of Edo State, Hon Justice Cromwell Idahosa said the review of the rules have become imperative because over the years the rules had become obsolete.
