Plateau Assembly to Establish Office of the Public Defender

Indigent Plateau citizens will soon heave a sigh of relief as a bill for a law to establish the Office of the Public Defender is underway in the state.

The bill received support of Stakeholders during a stakeholders meeting who deliberated on the bill under the Assembly Standing Committee on Judiciary, Ethics and Privileges on Wednesday at the Plateau State House of Assembly Complex in Jos.

The bill which was birthed from the Plateau State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of the State, Barrister Philemon Daffi and sponsored in the House by the House Majority Leader, Hon. Joseph Bukar of Shendam constituency passed second reading at the floor of the House in November, 2024.

Speaking on the rationale for the bill, the Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General, said the bill aimed at bettering the lives of the citizens, especially the less privilege who cannot afford the legal services of lawyers when been charged to court.

He said the office if establish shall provide free legal representations to indigent people who are charged for crime and do not have the resources to defend themselves in court.

He said if passed into law, all local government areas of the state shall have the Office of the Public Defender to provides such legal services to people at the grassroot, as he suggested that local government councils should provide preliminary structures for take off of the Office.

Daffi noted that the “The Time is Now” administration is a people centered government that seeks to better the lives of the citizens in all ramifications across every nooks and crannies of the state.

He said “access to legal representation is crucial feature of access to justice, due process and fair hearing. It is a fact that vast majority of people affected by the criminal and civil justice system are poor and have no resources with which to protect their rights.

“It is also acknowledged that thousand of suspects and prisoners are detained for lengthy period of time in overcrowded police cells and in inhuman conditions in overcrowded prisons… Legal aids to suspects and prisoners has the potential to reduce the length of time suspects are held in Police Stations, diminish conjunctions in the court and prisons’ population, there by reducing the cost of criminal justice administration.” He said.

Earlier in a remark, Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, Ethics and Privileges, Prof. Theodore Maiyaki (SAN), welcome his colleagues and all the stakeholders who availed themselves to contribute to the success of the bill which aimed at improving justice delivery in the state.

He informed the stakeholders that the committee had sat and scrutinized the bill and deem it fit to engage them for their input to fine-tune the bill before presenting it to the hallowed chamber of the Assembly to improve justice system in the state.

Prof. Maiyaki commended the Plateau State Government for what he described as a very profound proposal for the Office of the Public Defender, noting that the innovation attest to the government’s commitment for expanding the landscape of justice administration.

The Chairperson, Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunity Commission, Barrister Olivia Dazem while contributing, said the commission is in total support of the bill with the believe that it will go a long way to address numerous challenges faced in the society.

Other members of the Standing Committee at the meeting are Hon. Nanbol Listick of Langtang North Central, Hon. Sylvanus Kwarpo of Mangu South, Hon. Kalamu Idris Dal of Dengi, Hon. Owen Dagogot of Quanpan North and the Deputy Chairman of the Committe, Hon. Aliyu Adamu of Jos North North.

All the stakeholders who spoke at the engagement supported the bill with contributions and pieces of advice to make the office better, to serve it’s purpose of establishment.

Those who contributed includes the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ Plateau State Council through the council Vice Chairman, Mr. Pam Musa, office of the Head of Service, Office of the Chief Judge, Public Complaints Commission, the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA among others.

If the bill scale through and the office is establish, Plateau State will be the third State in Nigeria to establish the office after Lagos and Ekiti States.