LAGOS MAY 15TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Delta State Government is currently handling 312 rape and defilement cases at High Courts across the state, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Peter Mrakpor, has said.
The commissioner also said over 100 teenagers and youth suspects between the ages of 16 and 25 were awaiting trial for various crimes in prisons in the State.
Barr Mrakpor, who briefed journalists in Asaba yesterday on the activities of his ministry, said 29 cases of kidnapping and 17 murder cases were also pending at the state High Courts.
He said the state created the department of Public Prosecutions “to ensure that victims of rape and domestic violence receive holistic free medical attention, counselling, rehabilitations and other support services while five convictions were secured in respect of sexual related cases.”
He said in other to enhance the personal security and transportation needs of Legal Officers in the state, a budgetary provision of N30 million has been captured in the 2018 budget as car loan to lawyers in the Ministry of Justice.
According to the Attorney-General, the new head in the 2018 budget which has a provision of N30 million was different from the amount captured for general car loan for civil servants in the state which is domiciled in the Office of the Head of Service.
Peter Mrakpor while explaining the rationale for the special provision, said it was aimed at supporting legal officers to purchase their personal vehicles to ease their movement to court.
He said owing to the sensitive nature of their work which involves carrying of bulky sensitive case files and their personal safety, the Governor approved a head as car loan special provision for lawyers.
He debunked the rumour that he was a tribalist as a result of certain decisions he took regarding the posting of some senior officers to some Agencies of Government as Executive Secretaries.
He explained that the decision was in the best interest of the Ministry and the beneficiaries as according to him, the status of the three Executive Secretaries appointed from the Ministry was equivalent to that of a Permanent Secretary.
He promised to deploy some legal officers those Agencies for the establishment of their Legal Departments.
On welfare of legal Officers and Staff, the Attorney-General maintained that he was irrevocably committed to staff’s welfare saying the Ministry had worked out modalities to disburse enhanced monthly imprest to all Departments and Zonal Offices for effective service delivery adding that the issue of payment of all backlog of claims was receiving priority attention.
He pleaded with staff who were yet to collect their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) to do so without delay even as he promised to increase the number of participants from the Ministry to the annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association.
Earlier, the newly elected Chairman of the Law Officers Association of Nigeria, Delta State Chapter, Mr Thomas Anigara, told the Justice Commissioner that the visit was to formally introduce members of the new executive of the body to him.