Kaduna: Why mobile courts still operate – Attorney General

Governor Nasir El-Rufai has amended the Quarantine Order and has significantly reopened Kaduna State after 75 days of lockdown, on June 10.

Businesses now operate by adhering to the Covid-19 Prevention Protocol and people are still expected to wear facemasks when they are outdoors. In this interview, Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General of Kaduna State AISHA DIKKO, explains why barricades were removed from all roads leading into the state. In addition, she spoke on the activities of the mobile courts that have been set up to prosecute violators of the Quarantine Order.

Last week Monday, Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai ordered the removal of barricades on all roads leading to Kaduna State and also asked senior government officials on border patrol to discontinue. Can this be interpreted to mean that the ban on interstate travel has been lifted in Kaduna State?

The ban on interstate travel was made by the Federal Government and not Kaduna State Government. Initially, when the ban was announced by the Federal Government, Kaduna State Government decided to barricade most of its borders and entry points. It also sent top government officials to man the border posts. This was done to reduce the amount of people coming into the state, to prevent a carrier of the Covid-19 virus from spreading it to our citizens.

One of the reasons for removing the barricades is that some security agents were extorting money from trucks carrying essential goods into the state. Government officials were usually at the border posts from 6 am to 6 pm daily and after their departure, the security agents who were left behind, used to collect money from truck drivers and other travellers. We received a lot of complaints that trucks and vehicles carrying essential commodities were facing hardship at the borders. So, the Governor instructed that the barricades be removed, but the ban on interstate travel is still in effect.

On March 26, Governor Nasir El-Rufai issued a Quarantine Order, restricting movement of persons and vehicles for one month. The Order was renewed on April 26 for another month, before it was extended for two weeks. Recently, the Order was amended and it will be in effect till the end of the month. Why is the Governor engaging in “law making” without involving the state assembly?

The Governor, in carrying out his executive functions, may issue orders to set out government policies, issue directives or command actions relating to functions of the executive arm of government. Some Executive Orders can also be subsidiary instruments to an existing law. In this case, the Executive Order on Covid-19 was issued pursuant to Public Health Law of Kaduna State and the Quarantine Act.

Mobile courts have been set up to try violators of the Quarantine Order. Why are alleged offenders not represented by counsel before the magistrates? Is this not a violation of their rights?

The mobile courts are courts of summary jurisdiction. The offences are minor offences and the offenders are usually apprehended while committing the act. However, all offenders have the right to be represented by counsel if they request for one. A lot of offenders defend themselves in the mobile courts and waive their rights to counsel. There has not been any case where an offender was denied the right to be represented by a counsel at the mobile courts. The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Kaduna Branch, has also observed proceedings at the mobile courts and agreed that the courts have met all constitutional requirements in exercising their duties.

It seems that a lot of discretion is left to the magistrates, is there no uniform fine for violators?

The Covid-19 Partial Lockdown Order specified the fine to be paid for each offence and in addition, an offender may undergo community service for a minimum of seven days for violating the order. Offenders may have their motorcycles, tricycles or motor vehicles impounded and forfeited to the government. Unauthorised riding of motorcycles and tricycles during the lockdown, as well as driving motor vehicles, trucks and buses, attract N5,000, N10,000, N20,000, N30,000, N20,000 respectively. Violation of stay at home order and not wearing face masks attract a fine of N5,000 each. Not maintaining physical distancing attracts a fine of N7,000, but the magistrate can use his or her discretion to reduce the fine on a case-to-case basis.

At intervals, you have been announcing the amount of money realized from these courts as fines. Critics allege that the government has turned the courts into avenues for generating revenue. How correct is this impression?

The mobile courts were established for the sole purpose of enforcing the Covid-19 Lockdown Order, they are not revenue generators. The fines collected are penalties for violating the lockdown order and other offenses stipulated in the order. The statements released on the amount realized from the mobile courts are for transparency and accountability to the citizens of Kaduna State and also to serve as deterrence and reminder to people that if you fail to comply with the rules you will be penalised. For example, in Kaduna zone from May 4 to May 31 2020, the mobile courts secured 3631 convictions, 834 were sentenced to community service and N13,838,850 was collected as fines. In Zaria zone, the courts had 1839 convictions and 212 people sentenced to community service and N3,946,480 was collected as fines. Likewise, the two courts in Kafanchan zone had 385 convictions and 71 violators were sentenced to community service and N792,000 was generated from fines.

Recently, soldiers descended on one of these mobile courts in Zaria. What happened?

A man was caught violating the Quarantine Order and was brought before a mobile court. He claimed to be an army officer, but he couldn’t present an Identity card when he was asked to present any form of identification for confirmation by the court. So, his motorcycle was held until he could produce a valid ID. Instead, he returned with other soldiers and destroyed the mobile court and assaulted the magistrate and other officers of the court. The matter has been reported to the appropriate authorities and they have promised to take action and sanction the officer and his accomplices.

Does an ID card suffice as a permit for passage under the Quarantine Law?

For any law there are exceptions, security officials are part of those exempted from the lockdown order. They are allowed passage if they are on official duty. But we noticed that a lot of members of the security agencies were travelling without permits. It was quite disheartening because we rely on them to maintain law and order and uphold the law.

The upsurge in rape cases has necessitated calls across the country for death penalty, castration of rapists and all kinds of sanctions to deal with the crime. How’s Kaduna State handling the issue?

Kaduna State is also grappling with the persistent occurrence of rape, which is worrisome. Section 258(1) of the Penal Code which was reviewed in 2017, provides that anyone found guilty of rape will be sentenced to life imprisonment. We have constituted a special prosecution team in the Ministry of Justice to handle rape cases and other sexual assaults in the state as a result of the prevalence of rape cases. The State Executive Council has also constituted a committee specifically to examine the causes of rape in the state and recommend measures for implementation to curb the high incidents of rape and other sexual violence occurring in the state.

A forensic laboratory is also being built, where a scientific analysis of DNA samples collected from rape victims and perpetrators will be done and presented as evidence in court for prosecution of offenders. This will make it easier and faster to prosecute offenders as DNA evidence is almost 99% accurate.

There is also a lot of sensitisation going on, where we are urging that once a rape occurs, the victim should be taken to the hospital for examination and a medical report collected. There are four sexual referral centres in Kaduna State in one each in Zaria and Kafanchan and two in Kaduna with staff specifically trained to treat rape victims. However, if you don’t have access to these referral centres you can take the victim to any hospital so that a medical report can be obtained which we can use as evidence in court against the rapist.