State Judiciaries Practicing Selective Administration Of Justice — Fmr. NBA Ikorodu Branch Chair, Bayo Akinlade
*Demands Justice ENDSARS Detainees
Former chairman of the NBA Ikorodu branch, Bayo Akinlade Esq and Human Rights Activist, Bayo Akinlade Esq, has lamented what can be described as the selective disposition of the administration of justice in Nigeria.
He said this in reference to the abandonment of the trial of ENDSARS detainees two years after their arrest, and the seemingly fast tracking of the trial of the cop who allegedly killed a lawyer, Omobolanle Raheem in Lagos last Christmas.
The Rights Activist said, “When it becomes obvious that the instrumentality of the State and Courts have become a tool in the hands of the few it becomes another sound from the broken record when we say that the ‘courts are the last hope of the common man’ or how do we explain the fact that the arrest, arraignment and trial of the killer cop in late Bolanle Raheem’s case has started within 2 weeks of the crime YET #ENDSARS Detainees wallow in Prison waiting for their trials to begin or concluded?”.
He added, “3 months ago, many couldn’t believe that these Detainees from over 2 years ago were still in jail yet to be convicted of any crime, some have no legal representation, while some where so unfortunate that they can’t even be located anymore.”
He complained that these #EndSARS detainees have no influential families nor the publicity value to attract the intervention of the Nigerian Bar Association, but asked, “are they HUMAN BEINGS? … Yes they are but who cares?”
He wondered why the Ministry of Justice is silent on the #ENDSARS prosecution, and why there are several other criminal charges yet to be assigned to Judges after years of detaining the accused.
“Why is the Ministry of Justice silent on the #ENDSARS prosecution? Why are there many pending criminal information filed but not assigned to Judges to hear these cases?
As I write this, I have no answers. I have asked the questions, I have made inquiries but I figure that I deserve no answers just as the detainees deserve no justice.
The Oyo9 finally got justice when the then Chief Judge just last week released them but what most don’t know is the great travail and hardship those detainees and their families went through.
What will the speedy prosecution and trial of the killer cop amount to? What is #Justice4Bolanle going to achieve in the face 100s of others seeking justice but irrelevant in the eyes of those whose duty is to DO JUSTICE?”
