Legal Year: Katsina to review law on rustling, kidnapping

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State on Monday says the state government has concluded arrangements to sponsor an executive bill to review punishments for cattle rustling, abduction and kidnapping.
He made this known at the commencement of the state’s 2018/2019 legal year celebration in Katsina.
He said that the idea was to provide stiffer punishment for people who committed those offences to serve as deterrence to others.
The governor added that the state government would constitute a Law Reform Commission to make the state laws to conform with current socio-economic realities.
The state’s Commissioner for Justice, Ahmed El-Marzuk, the Ministry of Justice received 483 cases from the Police Command in the state in 2018.
He added that the ministry received five criminal cases from the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 1, Kano, during the period.
He explained that 403 of the cases were treated, while 80 were pending.
He said the ministry filed 162 charges in the five divisions of the state High Courts.
He said: “The ministry had also received and disposed 590 criminal motions, while Department of Public Prosecution obtained a total of 63 judgments at the High Courts, with majority in favour of the state.”
The commissioner noted that during the period under review, the ministry secured two judgments at the Supreme Court 13 at the Court of Appeal, Kaduna, and one at Shari’ah Court of Appeal, Kaduna.
El-marzuk said the Department of Civil Litigation received 110 cases and out of which, 90 had been disposed, while 20 were pending.