The Lagos State government has reiterated its commitment to deal with land grabbers, known as omo oniles, causing unrest in the State.
The Lagos Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Mr. Adeniji Kazeem addressing the press at the 2016 Annual Ministerial Press Briefing of his Ministry disclosed that the State Government has set up a task force on the prohibition of land grabbers.
He said the State would no longer tolerate the illegal activities of land grabbers, as anyone found using such to disturb public peace and illegally disposes people of their property would be prosecuted in accordance with relevant criminal laws.
The Lagos HAG noted that the need to protect investors and maintain Law and Order led to the setting up of this Body which by implication will encourage litigation to ventilate legal claims rather than resorting to violence.
Speaking on the establishment Special Offences Court, the HAG said the State inaugurated the Special Offences (Mobile) Courts to deal with growing cases of traffic and environmental abuses, with a view to bringing sanity and civility in the conduct of residents.
He said the Mobile Court has prosecuted 1,107 traffic and environmental offenders arrested by the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit (Task Force) since inception in February, 2016.
Kazeem added that the operation of these Mobile Courts have reduced the commission of these offences.
Giving other statistics, Kazeem said that 2,073 offenders have been sentenced to community service for various offences in the last one year. He said the offenders got non-custodial punishments such as cleaning public buildings and sweeping, among others.
‘In addition, it allows offenders to service their sentences in the community and out of jail or prisons, andthis was part of the strategies to decongest the prisons’, he noted.
Lagos HAG added that the Community service is already having a positive impact on the issue of overcrowding in our courts and prisons.
“I am pleased to inform you that the programme has continued to wax stronger in demonstration of the fact that criminal justice system does not need to incarcerate offenders in order to be effective’.
“With the community service option available to judges and magistrates, convicted offenders do not need to be sent to prison for every minor infraction of the law.”
In the area of Public Prosecution, the commissioner said that in the last one year, out of the 1,209 police investigation files sent to the Director of Public Prosecution’s office for legal advice, the unit completed work on 940. He said the rest were still being processed, as many required additional information or further investigation by the Police or other relevant agencies.
“During the same period, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions is engaged in the prosecution of 1,536 criminal cases in all courts. This figure includes the 1,375 cases which are currently being prosecuted at the Federal and the State High Courts as well as 122 and 38 respectively at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court’.
Kazeem said that the Office of Public Defender, the agency saddled with responsibility of providing legal aid services to indigent citizens, handled over 5,322 matters on behalf of indigent Lagosians at no cost.
These matters, according to him, cut across labour cases, civil matters, criminal cases, coroner’s inquests and fundamental rights cases. OPD also facilitated the collection of over N98m as compensation on behalf of complainants in the last one year.
Kazeem highlighted that the Directorate for Citizens’ Rights, responsible for championing the fundamental rights of Lagosians has successfully treated 1,965 Human Rights cases and also recovered the total sum of N16, 248,400.00 on behalf of numerous complainants.
Speaking on the Citizen Mediation Center, Kazeem noted that 36,105 cases were received from the 14 Centres, and a total N783, 310, 670 debt was recovered by the Centre on behalf of parties.
Lagos HAG promised to ensure that every citizen of Lagos State has access to justice and also sustain the working partnership with stakeholders in the justice sector in order to ensure that Lagos State remains a haven of safety and security for every resident.
BOLA AKINGBADE
DDPA Justice
13/05/2016
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