Lagos set to prosecute suspected kidnappers, decongest prisons

THE Lagos State government is ready to prosecute the first set of kidnappers arrested in its domain.

The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, who made this known Thursday during the monthly media briefing of his ministry on criminal justice administration in the state, said the suspected kidnappers would face criminal trial in court on May 16, 2013.

He said he would personally take charge of the prosecution of the suspects because of the concern the government has for the security of lives of the people resident in Lagos. He declined to name the victims for security reasons and because they would be appearing in court as witnesses.

Ipaye further noted that the state Security Council meeting, which held on Wednesday, lamented the increase in kidnap cases but expressed happiness that they are being arrested in Lagos.

According to him, there is need for people to be careful of who they associate with, stressing that investigations revealed that most victims were given away by those who are close to them.

“I want to assure the public that Lagos State is one place where kidnappers are actually being arrested. We are giving the police and all the other security agencies full support and this is yielding results. In the next few days, you will see me in court with the first set of persons accused of kidnapping and this will be a continuous exercise,” he assured.

Ipaye said the state government is sustaining its effort on prison decongestion by avoiding delay of trials, which he noted, is caused by the delay in issuing legal advise and deciding whether or not there is enough evidence to commence prosecution.

He stated that the government is seeking to advance the prison decongestion through monitoring of its community service unit, adding that in April, a total of 202 community service cases were completed. This, he said, brought the total number of completed community service cases from inception to 1,356.

The commissioner disclosed that the office of Director for Public Prosecutions (DPP) concluded and obtained judgment in 13 cases between January and March this year. He said the court sentenced two of the defendants to death; five were discharged and acquitted while the remaining six defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging between five and 25 years.

Ipaye said that in furtherance of the commitment of the government to promotion of law and order, the Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Citizens’ Mediation Centre (CMC), Directorate for Citizens’ Right (DCR) and Public Advice Centre (PAC) have continued to offer free and qualitative legal service to the people of the state.

He noted that these have helped to avoid and resolve conflicts, as well as strengthen relationship between the public and the government.