By Onoriode Etatsemi
Delta State Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Mr. Omamuzo Erebe has commended the state association of Justices of Peace for their roles in ensuring the maintenance of peace in the State.
Erebe gave the commendation when the executives of the Association of Justices of Peace paid a courtesy on the Solicitor-General in his Office in Asaba.
He said due to the enormous powers of a Justice of the Peace, the holders of such an Office, (a Justice of the Peace) must be a person of unimpeachable dignity who has right standing with the Community where he resides.
Erebe said that before one was appointed as a Justice of the Peace, he would be subjected to security screening.
He stated that under the Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2022, the powers of a Justice of the Peace had been expanded.
Earlier in his address, the President, Delta State Association of Justices of the Peace, Sir (Chief) L.S. Odjoji JP stated that their key mandate as Justices of the Peace was to ensure the maintainence of peace and order in the State, particularly in the communities where they reside.
He also said that the Association interfaces with traditional rulers, opinion leaders, president-generals, and youth bodies of the various communities on the importance of maintaining peace in their domains.
Chief Odjoji stated that the Association routinely carries out public enlightenment on the importance of maintaining peace through jingles and billboards by using news and print media, emphasizing that recently their jingles on peace were aired on various media outlets.
The President called on citizens of the State to maintain peace to ensure growth adding that the cost of crises was far more than maintaining the peace.
The President called for the Government’s assistance to the Association to enable it to execute its mandate.
The courtesy visit was attended by Directors and Units Heads of the Ministry of Justice.