By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
The Anambra State Ministry of Justice is currently reviewing about 180 criminal cases arising from land disputes across the state, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Tobechukwu Nweke, SAN, has disclosed.
Nweke said the review followed an earlier notice by his office inviting individuals who believe their criminal cases involving land disputes were essentially civil matters to submit complaints for review.
Speaking on the exercise, the Attorney General assured affected persons that those whose case files are currently under review would be notified of the outcome.
He explained that where the review establishes that a case arising from a land dispute is civil rather than criminal, the criminal proceedings would be discontinued, allowing the parties to seek redress through the appropriate civil courts.
However, cases found to have genuine criminal elements would be returned for prosecution, he said.
According to Nweke, the exercise is part of the Anambra State Government’s determination to ensure that innocent citizens are not subjected to unnecessary or unjustified criminal prosecution over land disputes.
He said the initiative underscores the government’s resolve to address what it described as the undue criminalisation of civil land disputes in the state.
The Attorney General further disclosed that the Ministry of Justice is still receiving complaints from members of the public who believe their land disputes have been wrongly criminalised.
He therefore urged members of the public with relevant complaints to continue submitting them to the Ministry for consideration and review.
Tags: Anambra #LandDisputes #Justice #TobechukwuNweke
