A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, Alhaji Azeez Adebayo, has called on the federal government to appoint more judges to facilitate the speedy trial of criminal cases, thereby solving the insecurity challenges ravaging Nigeria.
The octogenarian said cases within the nation’s judiciary which ought to ordinarily last six months, are now lasting six years, contributing to the insecurity in Nigeria.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the state capital, Adebayo explained that the agelong delay of court cases and prolonged detention of awaiting trial suspects in prison custody has primarily made many people find ways to avoid taking their cases to court.
“These days people commit crimes and go scot-free because of the fear of endless court adjustments which caused some cases to last many years before final judgment. The federal and state governments should appoint more judges and magistrates across the board to facilitate quick dispensation of justice in Nigeria,” he said.
Adebayo, who with nostalgic feelings recalled his case some years back that lasted seven years before final judgement was given, said he wouldn’t have wished any of his enemies to pass through that experience again.
The APC chieftain also said there are some bad eggs among the nation’s judges, urging the National Judicial Council to sanitise the judiciary.
“Some judges, by conduct and characters, don’t have integrity, and they, therefore, give others bad names. Despite the huge amount being paid the judges by the federal government because of the nature of their work, the humongous wealth some of them are acquiring which far outweigh their take home should be a serious concern and be investigated,” he said.
Worried about the rising cases of insecurity across the country, the octogenarian asked the federal government to mop up illegal arms and ammunition that were in private hands, giving deadlines with which to voluntarily surrender them to the police and afterwards arrest anyone caught using such for kidnapping and other vices.
He said if kidnapping and other vices are not frontally tackled, very soon kidnappings would be occurring almost everywhere, as people would be freely fleeced of their hard-earned money while the authorities would not be able to do anything about it.
Adebayo, an industrialist who is the Chairman of Haaz group of Companies, also urged the federal government to fix the dilapidated infrastructures in critical areas of the country in order to attract foreign investors, thereby tackling the problem of unemployment and bad economy.
He blamed labour leaders for the current increase in food prices due to inflation because of the persistent struggles for minimum wages over the years.
“The labour leaders ought to be fighting for improved economy and regulations of prices of foods in the markets instead of asking for the increment of salaries all the time. The truth is that those not working with the government will indirectly take out of the minimum wage, and the implication is what we are currently experiencing by increased prices of foods in our markets,” he said.