‘Nigerians not lawless, only law enforcement lacking’

Sokoto State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Nasiru Mohammed Binji, has submitted that Nigerians are not lawless as being perceived in some quarters, stating that pockets of highhandedness exhibited by a few should not be interpreted as lawlessness.

Binji, who was reacting to the impact of law on good governance, in an interview with journalists, noted that Nigeria has very good laws that could compete favourably with others in different jurisdictions, but for lack of enforcement encumbered by several factors.

He listed impunity and delay in court proceedings as factors contributing to the challenges of law enforcement.

His words: “We are not lacking in laws, we have good and adequate laws to guide the conduct of our leaders, allow me to shock you, Nigerians are not that lawless.

“Yes, we are not lawless, there might be instances of lawlessness, like maybe the banditry in the North West, the insurgency in the North East and other forms of crisis in the South-South and elsewhere in Nigeria.

“But these instances are not overwhelming, because Nigerians are governed by laws, we are not lawless, as some people would think, to the contrary, we are very law-abiding citizens.”

Binji said he was certain that over seven million population in Sokoto were not lawless people.

“In Sokoto State, maybe we have about 400 criminal cases in our High Courts and other courts, for a state of about seven million people with just about 400 cases, you will certainly agree with me that we are not lawless,” he said.