By Steve Oko

Abia State has hinted of plans to establish sexual offenders’ register to help checkmate incidents of sexual harassments in the state.

Permanent Secretary Ministry of Justice, Mrs Chibuzo Ehiemere, who disclosed this during a workshop by Centre for Transparency Advocacy, CTA, on the provisions of Abia State Criminal Justice Law, ACJL, 2017, said efforts , in collaboration with the Anti-Corruption Programme, RoLAC, were on-going to get the centre established.

The register, according to her, will serve as a deterrent to sexual abuse in the state.

She also hinted of plans by the state to establish witness support unit to provide transport assistance to witnesses who do not have means of transporting themselves to court.

The Permanent Secretary noted with delight that there had been a remarkable improvement in criminal justice administration in the state since the enactment of the ACJL law in 2017.

In a remark, the Executive Director of CTA, Faith Nwadishi, said the workshop was aimed at sensitizing civil society organizations, the media and critical stakeholders on the provisions of ACJL to increase citizens’ access to justice.

According to her, efficient and equitable administration of criminal justice is central to upholding fundamental human rights of citizens.

She noted that the primary goal of the ACJL “is to speed up trial processes, improve case management and protect society from crime.”

Nwadishi, therefore, challenged CSOs, religious bodies, youth organizations and other groups in attendance at the workshop to help in amplifying the provisions of the ACJL to increase citizens’ awareness.

She further stressed the need for collaboration among the critical stakeholders to ensure compliance of the necessary authorities including security personnel and judicial officers with the provisions of the ACJL.

Dissecting the provisions of the ACJL law, a legal practitioner and facilitator of the workshop, Chiemezielam Kelechi Oluoha-Steve, said that it allows women to take suspects on bail.

She also said that the law has zero tolerance for frivolous court adjournments, adding that a suspect must be informed of his offense before being arrested.

According to her, a suspect has the right not to be handcuffed except if the suspect was violent at the point of arrest.

She also stressed that the ACJL prohibited arrest of relations in lieu of suspects.

The legal practitioner regretted that law enforcement agents as well as judicial officers  abuse  the provisions of ACJL due to high level of ignorance among citizens.

One of the participants, Sir Godswill Nwankwonta representing the Anglican communication, lamented the ordeals of pastors and church leaders in the hands of security agencies when they go to bail their arrested members.

He narrated a recent incident at Anglican church Olokoro where the police had allegedly stormed the church and arrested the Assistant Pastor because they could not find the suspect, a member of the church they had come to arrest.

According to him, most of the suspects in police detention are members of various churches, and when pastors come to bail their members, their experiences with the police are usually not palatable.

Speaking at the event, the National President of Ibeku Egwuasa Youth Association, Comrade Martins Nwosu, regretted incessant human rights abuses by security personnel.

He attributed the ugly development to the recruitment of suspicious characters into the security agencies.

Nwosu advocated the involvement of the leadership of community youth associations during recruitments by security agencies to avoid recruiting people with criminal tendencies into the system.

Participants at the workshop drawn from civil society organizations, community associations, persons living with disabilities, and the media, expressed commitment in increasing awareness on the provisions of the ACJL to help checkmate abuses by various authorities.

The workshop was sponsored by the European Union through International IDEA.