The Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Hon. Justice I. U. Bello, Commissioned the Witness Support Unit (WSU) on the 19th of October, 2016.

The Witness Support Unit (WSU) is an initiative borne out of stakeholders’
consultative meetings with the aim of plugging the gap created by the non-
attendance of witnesses in criminal cases and the resultant delay in criminal justice
delivery. The WSU is intended to provide logistic support to witnesses coming to the
courts to give evidence in cases before the court where such testimonies are
required, especially for witnesses coming to the court for the first time. The Unit will
support witnesses to navigate the court premises and better understand the workings
of the processes and procedures in court.

The WSU initiative is a flagship intervention under the sub-project titled ‘Enhancing
Attendance of Witnesses in Criminal Trials’ within the Speeding up of Criminal Justice
Project. The Speeding up of Criminal Justice project was conceived to address the
problem of high rate of awaiting trial persons in Nigerian prisons. It is a known fact
that over 70% of inmates in Nigerian prisons are awaiting trial, and for many of them
their trials went on for years. In fact it is not uncommon to see ATPs in Nigeria prisons
undergoing trials for between 5 to 7 years on the average; in extreme cases there are
ATPs who have been in that condition for up to 15 years and more. The speeding up criminal justice project was aimed at bringing about speedier resolution of criminal cases in the FCT, and other pilot states in Nigeria .

The Chief Judge who was visibly delighted at the ceremony extolled the initiative and believe that the unit couldn’t have come at a better time than now that the FCT Judiciary under his watch is more determined to make a positive difference. Thus this process will ensure the safety and performance of witnesses in court. It is actually to facilitate an easy way of making witnesses relax and organize in court to testify.

He praised the industry of our development partners who in many ways have shown their urge for a vibrant judiciary. He acknowledged the indefatigable effort by the Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) in conceiving this project. He appreciated greatly the support of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) under the Justice for All (J4A) programme.

According to the Chief Judge, the facility should also serve as a credible evidence of his commitment to live our vision of enhancing the access to justice, assuring litigants and the court users of this administration’s resolve to service delivery. He called on all the stakeholders especially the Nigeria Bar association to cue into this trend for better and faster dispensation of justice.

On his part, Mr. Yinka Lawal Esq, the Executive Director (Ag.) PRAWA expressed the pleasure of the organization in partnering with the FCT Judiciary in achieving this project. While handing over the WSU Office to the Honorable Chief judge of the FCT Judiciary, he pledged that PRAWA and J4A will continue to provide needed technical support to the unit.