A Prisoner Has Rights – Human Rights Lawyer … Says Poverty Can Engender Jungle Justice


By UbongAbasi Ise

The Coordinator of Akwa Ibom State Human Rights Community, Barr. Clifford Thomas, while condemning the spate of mob justice perpetrated by the indigenes of the state, says the accused persons do enjoy rights to fair hearing, adding that even those in the prison custody, still have certain rights that should be protected by law.

At a Passion FM morning programme yesterday, Barr. Thomas said a person is innocent until proven guilty, while blaming jungle justice on lack of confidence in the judiciary system and delays commonly experienced in the process of dispensing justice.
“The law says a person is innocent until proven guilty, and you cannot prove a man guilty without going to court.
“The police ought to be protecting the accused persons knowing that they also have the rights even when condemned. Everybody found guilty by the court also has rights; the ones in police custody have rights; the man in prison has rights, just very few rights are taken from him, that is, the freedom of movement, and even at that, he still has the freedom of movement within the confines of the prison yard.
“When there is lack of trust between the government and the governed, people can’t trust their government to do their job. The institutions appear to have failed. The judiciary, for instance, has series of procedures, and it has to follow these procedures because it must accommodate fair hearing. There are a lot of things that makes judiciary to appear to be a slow grinding mill of justice. The environment is not good for them.  Those on the bench still take notes by longhand, whereas there supposed to be stenographers and all of these modern equipments available for them. They can’t proceed with the matter in the next three months; the people are watching; the public is angry,” said the human rights lawyer.
While blaming government for “taking time to cook poverty” and dispenses it to the masses, Barr. Clifford Thomas said the frustration associated with the weak purchasing power of the common people makes stealing of common items highly intolerable, thus provoking people to resort to lynching of the accused persons when such occasion arises.

©The Sensor Newspaper

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