The Katsina State Judiciary says it will soon establish Community Conflicts Resolution Centres to reduce the burden and workload of conventional courts in the state.
Justice Musa Danladi, the Chief Judge (CJ) of the state, stated this in Katsina on Tuesday while presenting a paper at a two-day capacity building workshop for court reporters in the state.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the paper is entitled: “The role of Community Reconciliation Committees as a tool for prison decongestion”.
According to Danladi, the community conflicts resolution centres will handle and resolve minor family disputes in their areas.
“At the initial stage, the High Court will soon establish one centre for Makera, Kwado and Kabukawa areas in Katsina metropolis, at the Kwado roundabout.
“This conflict centre will be monitored by judicial experts to see that conflicts are resolved amicably.
“After some months of establishing the model centre, the High Court will also establish other centres in Katsina metropolis.
“After seeing the success of the centres, the judiciary will also establish similar centres in the markets, urban and semi-urban centres in the state,” he said
The CJ said that the idea behind the establishment of the centres was to decongest correctional facilities in the state.
Danladi disclosed that the various correctional centres in Katsina state were over populated with inmates awaiting trials.
“We decided to introduce the simple way of dialogue to reconcile brothers and neighbours who go to court over minor issues,” he said.
Danladi revealed that there was a clause in the law that gave the CJ the right to introduce a system that would decongest the correctional facilities.
“We already have the blessing of the Chief Justice of the Federation, Minister of Justice, Malami Abubakar, and the Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, to establish the reconciliation centres in Katsina state.
“Infact, the Chief Justice of the Federation has been slated to commission the first model community conflict reconciliation centre in Katsina state very soon,” he said.
The CJ, therefore, called on lawyers and other judiciary professionals to support the conflict resolution centres.
NAN reports that the workshop was organised by an NGO and the Katsina State High Court of Justice.
