NSCDC Decries Incessant Loss Of Cases In Courts

Lawyers handling cases for NSCDC have been told to be very thorough in their investigations to avoid incessant losses in the courts.

The Commandant General of the corps, Dr Ade Abolurin, made the appeal at a one day workshop on Effective Prosecution organised for the lawyers on Saturday in Owerri.

Represented by Assistant Commandant General of NSCDC, Mr Godwin Agim, Abolurin said, “a lot of our cases have been struck off in courts.

“It is very discouraging, especially when you consider that operatives often risk their lives to arrest criminals and hand them over for prosecution.’’

He appealed to lawyers to strive to secure judgments in some of the cases through proper investigations.

He also urged them to shun gratifications from families and friends of suspects in order to curb the high rate of crime in the country.

“Do not approach this job from a selfish angle or compromise your cases for financial gains; make your mark first and gratification will follow.

“Strive to secure judgments even if you do not have a conviction by ensuring that the cases are properly investigated and not struck out for flimsy reasons”, he emphasised.

Abolurin decried the incessant striking out of its cases filed in some courts across the country, adding that it was difficult for the NSCDC to secure convictions of cases in spite of the hazards faced in doing their jobs.

“Our goal is to secure convictions in most of the cases we prosecute and put criminals behind bars’’, he said.

A resource person, Mr Kalio Ibigoni, said most cases were struck off due to hurried arraignment of suspects without proper investigations.

According to him, investigations should not be hurried and should be allowed to follow leads so as to see them to a logical end before matters are taken to court.

“This should be done to avoid cases being thrown out in courts.’’

The Assistant Commandant General in charge of NSCDC Zone ‘E’ Owerri, Mr Mohammed Lapai, said the essence of the workshop was to correct lapses in the corps’ performance especially in securing convictions.

He said achieving this would not only run vandals out of business but would increase revenue for the government.

The workshop was organised by the NSCDC Zone ‘E’ Owerri for its law practitioners in the seven states of the zone.

It also featured discussions on vetting of case files and legal advice, ethics of the legal practice, preparation and filing of charges and no case submission. (NAN)

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