NBA Seeks More Legal Officers for Ondo Amotekun Corps

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Akure Branch, has called on the Ondo State Government to second more legal practitioners from the Ministry of Justice to the state’s Security Network Agency, known as the Amotekun Corps.

The association said the deployment would improve legal scrutiny of charges and court processes initiated by the security outfit, ensuring compliance with relevant laws and the protection of suspects’ rights.

The call was contained in a communiqué issued after the branch’s monthly meeting at the Aare Afe Babalola Bar Centre in Akure. It was signed by the branch chairman, Oju Kekemeke, and its secretary, Oluwanike Omotayo.

The NBA said additional legal officers would help review proposed charges and other court documents before cases were taken to court, reducing the risk of procedural errors and unlawful prosecution.

The Amotekun Corps was established in January 2020 by the six South-West states of Ondo, Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Oyo to complement conventional security agencies in tackling kidnapping, banditry and other criminal activities.

The association also expressed concerns over the electronic filing system operated by the Ondo State judiciary, describing it as cumbersome because lawyers were still required to submit physical copies of documents after uploading them and making payments online.

It called for a fully electronic filing process, recommending that court registries should generate physical copies from uploaded documents whenever required for court records or service.

The NBA further proposed that urgent ex parte applications be exempted from mandatory electronic filing.

It said it would seek a meeting with the Chief Judge, senior members of the Bar and former branch chairmen to discuss the concerns and explore improvements to the judicial process.