The Enugu State Ministry of Justice has introduced a compulsory payment of N50,000 for petitions to be accepted at the office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.
Sources told SaharaReporters on Wednesday that this fee is part of the state’s tax revenue drive and is required for the Attorney General to review petitions, particularly those related to remand cases or seeking a review of police investigation reports.
The policy has raised concerns that it may unfairly impact innocent citizens who are often wrongly accused and unable to pay the demanded amount for police bail, who are always lumped in with criminal charges without a prima facie case, just to weed them out.
Critics argue that this development could further compromise the justice system and create an avenue for extortion.
Meanwhile, a coalition of two civil rights organizations, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre and the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network, has petitioned Governor Peter Mbah, raising concerns over what they described as “justice for sale” at the Office of the AG.
In the petition dated October 7 and jointly signed by Comrades Okechukwu Nwanguma and Olu Omotayo, for RULAAC and CRRAN respectively, the groups claimed that the AG’s office refused to accept their petition requesting a review of a case of one Mr. Godwin Odey, who was arraigned for murder and unlawful possession of Indian hemp, without payment of a N50,000 “review fee”.
Titled: “Re: request for urgent intervention in the case of an innocent citizen, Mr. Godwin Odey, arraigned for murder and unlawful possession of Indian hemp – and the shocking refusal of the Attorney-General’s office to accept a petition without payment of a ₦50,000 ‘review fee’”
According to the petition made available to SaharaReporters, Mr. Odey, a 27-year-old dispatch rider, was arrested and detained by the police in connection with the murder of a Catholic priest, despite evidence showing that he was at a traditional marriage ceremony at the time of the alleged crime.