Lagos Prosecutes 1,069 Suspected Criminals
The Lagos State Government, on Monday, said it prosecuted no fewer than 1,069 suspected criminals in 2014. It also said 140 convicted rape and other sex offenders had been listed on the Sex Offenders’ Register inaugurated six months ago.
Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye and the Director of the Office of the Public Offender(OPD), Mrs. OmotolaRotimi disclosed thisat theAlausa Secretariat, Ikeja, while briefing the press on the justice administration, in the state, in the last 365 days of the Fashola administration.
Ipaye noted that the government “is committed to ensuring that all offenders are brought to book, thereby discouraging impunity in our society; and would ensure speedy trials of suspects because both the victims of a crime and the alleged offender deserve to have their case resolved at the earliest possible time.
According to him: “During the same period, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is engaged in the prosecution of 1,069 criminal cases in all courts; judgments were delivered in 54 cases.
“This figure includes the 786 cases, which are currently being prosecuted at the Federal and the State High Courts, as well as 54 and 11, respectively at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
“The number is also inclusive of the 218 cases at the Magistrate Courts been prosecuted by the police.
“In addition to the 1,069 active criminal prosecution files, DPP’s office is also handling 160 applications for enforcement of fundamental rights. While out of the 795 police investigation files sent to the DPP’s office for legal advice; work was already completed on 716,” he added.
Ipayenoted that barely six months after the Sex Offenders’ Register was opened, at least 140 people were listed on it, out of the 526 rape cases recorded in 2014.
On the rape cases, Rotimi said, in 2014, the state recorded 526 rape cases and are already been prosecuted, adding “this increases the number of rape cases recorded in Lagos in the last four years to 12, 120.
She opined that 227 of these cases were still pending in courts. Of those judgments received, at least 15 were made, ranging from life to seven years imprisonment, adding “in 2014, we secured 49 judgments in favour of its clients. These judgments include those who were discharged and acquitted by the Court after spending several years in prison, following applications by OPD.”
The director said: “The OPD also facilitated the collection of over N42m as compensation on behalf of complainants in the last one year. This increased the total fund recovered for residents of Lagos as compensation in the past four years to N152m.
