Law officers in the employ of the Anambra State government have raised the alarm over insecurity in the state, lamenting the unsafe and insecure environment in which they live and work.
They made this known in Awka, Anambra State, when members of the Law Officers Association of Nigeria (LOAN), led by Emeka Nwangwu, held a procession at the Jerome Udoji Secretariat, in honour of their member, Peter Awa, who was killed by unidentified gunmen, a few weeks ago.
While addressing reporters on the significance of the procession, Nwangwu expressed concern that lawyers, who are involved in criminal matters, often risk their lives boarding the same commercial tricycles and buses used by criminal elements whose cases they had handled.
He said the procession was held to express their heart-felt grief over the murder of Awa and ask the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and State Commissioner of Police (CP) to find the killers.
Nwangwu said a painstaking investigation by the IGP and CP was needed to track down and prosecute the killers. He encouraged the police to do their part in investigating, promising that lawyers would not fail in the trial of the culprits.
He lamented that law officers in the state were the least paid across the country, and appealed for improved welfare and conditions of service, in view of the duties they perform.
The Assistant Director of Nnewi Zonal Office of the Ministry of Justice, Charity Madukaife, described the late Awa as a conscientious and reliable staff whose absence would be missed.
She said the procession was part of measures by the late lawyer’s colleagues to mount pressure on security authorities not to sweep the murder under the carpet.
Madukaife lamented that the deceased was the bread winner of his young family and had died in active service, leaving behind a wife and four children.
She requested the government to come to the aid of his family and alleviate their suffering.
