Abia State Governor, Alex Otti has lamented that many innocent people who are in detention have remained in the place without getting justice because of lack of money to get an attorney.
Governor Otti, who said this in Umuahia during an opening ceremony of a training program by Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (NICARAB), said it was a pity that a lot of people were in detention without having the opportunity to visit the courtroom.
The Governor, represented by his Deputy, Ikechuckwu Emetu, said the training was necessary for everyone to make sure that those who were supposed to get justice got it in Abia.
He pointed out that lawyers should have empathy to defend innocent people who could not finance their ways to the courtroom, saying that there was a need for all stakeholders to promote the rule of law in democracy.
Otti used the opportunity to say that his administration inherited over 193 billion naira in debt from the immediate past administration
He advised lawyers to utilize the gains of the training in rescuing innocent persons languishing in various detention centres.
Earlier in her speech, the registrar and chief executive officer of NICARB, Mrs Shola Osodu John stated that the training was aimed at building up the capacity of the judiciary and helping the ministry of justice at ensuring smooth arbitration, among other related issues.
Earlier in her address, the SSA to the governor on legal matters, Mrs Cleopatra Nkolika Ubani stated that the 4-day training was aimed at building and enhancing the capacity of legal officers and judges in alternative dispute resolution as effective and more efficient avenue of decongesting the court and detention centres.
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