Source: Emma Ankrah

The General Secretary of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG), has cautioned the public to refrain from attacking the courts.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ The Law on Sunday, Abdulai Yakubu said such attacks are equally “an attack on the national security of the nation.”

He explained that the judiciary is the third arm of government, therefore “if that organ ceases to work efficiently it will lead to trust issues and the state will lose stand on the tripod as expected of it.”

“The citizens of Ghana need to understand that when we talk of the judiciary as defined in Article 126 of the constitution, it is often defined in terms of the court so any attempt or any attack on the court is an attack on the judiciary and the justice administration,” he said.

He added that it also derails work in the courts if the staff are not sure of their safety.

“Judges are supposed to be independent, they are not supposed to have any fear or favour, affection or ill will in the discharge of their duties, but such attacks have the tendency of affecting the way judges think about their safety when they are seated to administer justice,” he explained.

Mr Yakubu’s comment comes after some residents of Tamale staged a riot on Monday, August 28 at the Tamale Circuit Court where a suspected drug supplier was standing trial.

The incident caused injuries to three people and a police officer. Police fired shots to disperse the crowd, and 13 people were arrested.

JUSAG, upon hearing the news condemned the attack and called on citizens to support the courts to carry out their operations devoid of any intimidation and violence.

They also extended calls to revered chiefs, religious leaders, political leadership and opinion leaders in Tamale and the Northern Region to support the Judiciary and the security services to serve the people to the best of their abilities.

Mr Yakubu further stated that the attack on the court is due to the public’s misunderstanding of how the justice delivery system works.

He added that the issue of legal illiteracy is very high in the country although education on legal issues is in place.