The Nigerian Bar Association, Akure Branch, has called on the Ondo State Government to second more lawyers from the Ministry of Justice to the state’s Security Network Agency, known as the Amotekun Corps, to strengthen legal scrutiny of charges and court processes.
The branch said the move would help ensure that cases filed by the corps complied with legal requirements and that the rights of suspects were protected.
The NBA made the call in a communiqué issued after its monthly meeting at the Aare Afe Babalola Bar Centre in Akure.
The statement was signed by the branch chairman, Mr Oju Kekemeke, and its secretary, Oluwanike Omotayo, and made available on Tuesday.
The association said, “The branch resolved to advocate the secondment of additional legal practitioners from the Ondo State Ministry of Justice to the Ondo State Security Network Agency, otherwise known as the Amotekun Corps.
“The proposed deployment is intended to strengthen the legal scrutiny of proposed charges and other court processes before cases are brought before the courts, with a view to promoting compliance with applicable legal requirements and safeguarding the rights of all persons concerned.”
The Amotekun Corps was established in January 2020 by the six South-West states — Ondo, Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Oyo — as a regional security outfit to complement conventional security agencies in tackling kidnapping, banditry and other crimes.
Its establishment followed concerns over rising insecurity in the region and the passage of enabling laws by the respective state Houses of Assembly.
The NBA also criticised the state judiciary’s electronic filing system, describing it as a process that still required lawyers to submit physical copies of documents after uploading them and making payments online.
It called for a fully electronic filing system, recommending that court registries generate physical copies from uploaded documents where necessary.
“Where physical copies are required for the court’s records or for service, such copies should be generated by the registry from the uploaded documents,” the communiqué stated.
The branch also called for urgent ex parte applications to be exempted from mandatory e-filing, adding that it would seek a meeting with the Chief Judge, senior members of the Bar and former branch chairmen to discuss the concerns.