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| MOHAMMED ADOKE |
The Nigerian Bar Association has thrown its weight
behind the plan of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Bello
Adoke, to remove prosecution powers from the Nigeria Police Force.
The NBA President, Okey Wali (SAN), told SUNDAY PUNCH that stopping non-lawyers from handling the prosecution of criminal cases was long overdue.
He stated that the move was in the interest of the country and would help improve dispensation of justice.
He said, “We have been saying it that the police
should allow lawyers to handle prosecution. The issue is not about
removing the police power to prosecute, it is about not leaving the
prosecution of criminal cases in the hands of non-lawyers.
“Most times, the police prosecutor does not fully
understand court proceedings. Sometimes, when they appear before the
magistrate, they are unprepared and might not know what to say. They
might not know when to raise objections in court and that is because
their knowledge of law is limited.”
Wali refuted claims that the NBA was pushing for the
removal of police prosecution powers in order to open up more
opportunities for its members.
He said the association’s stance was based on the need to prosecute criminal cases to logical conclusions.
He insisted that police prosecutors lacked the
competence to win cases against defence counsels, which may include
senior advocates.
“This is not about creating more jobs for lawyers. It
is a clear fact that the police prosecutors lose cases they should have
won because they are not competent to handle those cases. There is no
way we can have justice if that continues,” Wali said
Adoke, who spoke at a national dialogue on torture,
extra-judicial killings and national security, with the theme, ‘Human
Rights Implications’, organised by the National Human Rights Commission,
on December 9, 2012, said his office planned to withdraw police power
to prosecute criminal suspects in courts.
Adoke said the police was peopled by laymen who could not tackle defendants’ counsel in the court.
In the AGF’s plan, the police would focus only on
investigations of criminal acts of suspects, and engage the services of
legal practitioners to handle the prosecution of offenders, on behalf of
the state.
He, however, noted that the general state of helplessness and need
for victims of crime to get justice had led to a culture of self-help.PUNCH
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