Multi-door courts to enhance justice access in Zamfara— Official

The Permanent Secretary, Zamfara Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Suwaiba Barau, stated that the proposed bill to establish multi-door courts in Zamfara, when passed in to law, would enhance access to justice and would reduce backlog of cases in the courts.

The revealed this at a one-day technical workshop organised to strengthen ADR and linkages with formal justice system in Gusau, Zamfara on Friday.

The workshop, organised by an NGO, International Alert, had participants drawn from the three states including traditional and religious leaders, Security agencies, legal practitioners, judiciary officers and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), among others.

The permanent secretary said the ADR system would also strengthen collaboration between courts, ADR centres, and communities.

“On behalf of the Zamfara Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, we are ready to partner with you to ensure effective Strengthening of ADR and linkages with formal justice system,”Barau said.

Also speaking, the representative of Sokoto State Ministry of Justice, Hajiya Aisha Ahmad, commended Zamfara Government for making efforts to establish the multi-door courts in the state.

Ahmad said that the multi-door courts would enhance easy justice delivery through faster and common processes including mediation, arbitration, and negotiations.

The Zamfara Commissioner for Justice, Abdul’aziz Sani, SAN, commended the International Alert for both the  technical and financial support towards enhancing the ADR system in the state.

Sani described the workshop as the better way of stakeholders’ engagement and sensitisation towards strengthening ADR system in the states.

According to him, the move by the Zamfara Government to establish the multi- door courts was part of Gov. Dauda Lawal’s efforts to ensure an enhanced justice administration for sustainable peace in the state.

He assured of the government’s readiness to continue to partner with the NGO in promoting justice, fairness and accountability in the state.

The Secretary, State House of Assembly Committee on Justice and Judiciary, Bello Aliyu, said the bill for the establishment of the multi-door courts in the state would  soon be passed into law.

According to him, the bill, which had already passed first and second readings, would soon be passed into law.

He lauded NGi for its financial and capacity building support to the state legislature in the process to establish the multi-door courts in the state.

Mr Sunday Momoh, the Programme Manager, International Alert, in a  presentation on ADR Standard Operations Procedures (SOP) and guidelines, identified the stakeholders involved, and outlined the procedures to ease the process.

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