By Francis Sadhere
As part of efforts to strengthen the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act in Nigeria, the Police Area Commander in charge of Warri Area Command, ACP Mohammed Garba, weekend called for synergy between the police and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
Garba who spoke to news men in his office in Warri while playing host to the Executive members of the Nigeria Bar Association, Delta chapter, said the police and lawyers in the country need to work together if they must succeed.
“I have also let them (lawyers) know that the police under the administration of the present Inspector General of Police, IGP, Adamu Muhammad , will not condone any form of human rights voilation. I have said it before and I am repeating it again.
“I believe the police and lawyers must work hand in hand as a team. Without the lawyers the police will not succeed, so also without the police the lawyers will not succeed. This was the essence of this meeting,” ACP Garba said.
On his part, the Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Warri Chapter, Michael Asugo, told Journalists that they had to pay the new Warri Area Commander a courtesy visit because the NBA believed that the police has a major role to play in the administration of the criminal Justice system.
He said, “There are issues in the administration of criminal Justice in Delta State. If you look at that law, there is a lot of work placed on the shoulders of the police. Some of us have discussed the matter at the level of the Commissioner of police. There are issues of funding involved because there is lack of funding from the government.
“How do we come together to find a way round it because if the law said you must do this and you are not doing it, the lawyer may want to come and say he will file the case to court. It should not be like that.
“There are times that the police see lawyers as threat. This should not be the case because lawyers are not threats. When they come to the police station the police should welcome them as partners in progress.
Asugo said the meeting with the Warri Area Commander was a sign that they were ready to carry out the administration of criminal Justice in Delta state adding that the next meeting would be an elaborate one where they would have to sit with all the DPOs in the command.
“This is just a first step. The next step is going to be more elaborate than this. All the DPOs covering this command will be involved in the next visit. Then we are going to go into the nitty gritty of what we are supposed to do to enhance our synergy to better the administration of Justice in Delta State.
