Nigerians are not lawless — Sokoto Attorney-General

The Sokoto State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Hon. Nasiru Mohammed Binji, says Nigerians are not lawless as perceived in some quarters, stating that few individuals’ pockets of lawlessness should not be interpreted as lawlessness.

Binji said this in an interview with journalists.

Binji, who was reacting to the question on the impact of law on good governance of the nation, said Nigeria has very good laws, laws that could compete favourably with laws in other jurisdictions, particularly in the Commonwealth.

He said the problem was the lack of enforcement, saying that it was a significant problem due to several factors.

He listed impunity, and delay in court proceedings as factors contributing to the challenges of law enforcement.

“We are not lacking in laws, we have good and adequate laws to guide the conduct of our leaders, allow me to shock you, Nigerians are not that lawless.

“Yes, we are not lawless, there might be instances of lawlessness, like maybe the banditry in the North West, the insurgency in the North East and other forms of crisis in the South-South and elsewhere in Nigeria. 

“But these instances are not overwhelming, because Nigerians are governed by laws, we are not lawless, as some people would think; to the contrary, we are very law-abiding citizens.”  

He said he was certain for example that an estimated over seven million population in Sokoto state are not lawless people.

“In  Sokoto state, maybe we have about 400 criminal cases in our High Courts and other courts, for a state of about  seven million people with just about 400 cases, you will certainly agree with me that we are not lawless.”

He insisted that Nigeria was not a lawless society and that people had high regard for laws.

He said that given the law-abiding disposition of citizens in the state, the Judges are not overworked with cases.

“I want to agree with you that they are not overworked not just because the people are law-abiding but because we have 24 judges in Sokoto State High Court, the number helps to ensure that the judges are not overwhelmed with cases. 

 He said there were five divisions, and about 40 magistrates and many Judges of the Sharia Courts performing their duties in the state as expected. 

“They are significantly up to the task, it is just that they are not overwhelmed by the number of cases assigned to their respective courts. 

He, however, said laws are constantly changing because society is changing, saying that the county via its relevant institution, must amend the laws to bring them into conformity with the realities of the day.

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