Police tasked on diligent investigations

By EVELYN USMAN
Justice Olabisi Akinlade of the Lagos High Court has challenged the Police to ensure diligent investigation of criminal cases before charging them to court with a  view to  enabling judges convict such criminals to serve as deterrent to others.

Speaking  at the 2012 security conference organized by the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators AISSON, Justice Akinlade lamented that only few crimes were successfully investigated and prosecuted .

She noted  that   security issues were of vital concern to humanity and a crucial responsibility of any government  all over the world but the  scope and sophistication of crimes in  Nigeria in the past five years had  gone beyond anybody’s comprehension.

She therefore, called on stakeholders in the  criminal justice administration, the Police, Justice Ministry, the Courts and the Prisons to collaborate and ensure criminals were prosecuted and punished to serve as deterrent to others.”

She said :“The United States has one of the largest land mass in the world, the state of Israel is surrounded by enemy states yet, it does appear that there are more attacks in Nigeria because our law enforcement agents have not risen to the situation.”

“Hence, our law enforcement agencies must place emphasis on intelligence gathering and crime prevention because judges will not manufacture evidence to convict criminals.”