By Chimezie Godfrey
CLEEN Foundation and stakeholders in the justice sector, have called for the categorization of lawyers as essential workers, should there be a second phase of lockdown in Ekiti.
The group made this disclosure in a communique issued at the “Ekiti State Administration of Criminal Justice Law Bi-monthly meeting,” held on Friday, at the Aare Afebabalola Bar Centre, High Court Premises, Ado-Ekiti.
CLEEN Foundation with the support from MacArthur Foundation is implementing in Ekiti State the Project, “Promoting Accountability and Transparency in the Administration of Criminal Justice System in Nigeria.
As part of the project activities, CLEEN Foundation has set up a State Working Group to monitor the effective implementation of Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) in Ekiti State.
The group commended the security agencies particularly the Police and the NSCDC for ensuring compliance with the COVID-19 directives as Ekiti State did not record any case of extra judicial killing as witnessed in some States.
According to the group, the use of the military for the enforcement of the COVID-19 directives be discouraged as they are not trained to manage cases like these owing to the fact that most cases of human rights violation reported were against the military personnel.
They also disclosed that alleged violators of the COVID-19 directives were not allowed access to justice by being represented by defense counsel of their choice as provided under the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended).
The group therefore called for the categorization of lawyers as essential workers among other recommendations in order to tackle challenges of human rights violations.
“Lawyers should be categorized as essential workers should there be a second phase of the COVID-19 lockdown.
“The security agents should be trained on the need for an improved enforcement procedure of the COVID-19 directives.
“The use of the military for the enforcement of the COVID-19 directives should be discouraged as they are not trained to manage cases like these,” the group stated.
The group equally proposed a training session for security agencies particularly the police.
The working group which is coordinated in Ekiti State by Gender Relevance Initiative Promotion (GRIP) had the following partners in attendance at the meeting, Ekiti State Judiciary, Police, NSCDC, FIDA, NYSC, and Ministry of Justice.
Others are NBA, Office of the Public Defender, Legal Aid, Correctional Centre, and CLEEN Foundation Data Collectors.
