A former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, says there can be no peace without justice in Nigeria.

Mr Abdulsalami, a retired army general, stated this on Monday at the opening ceremony of the judicial training for magistrate/district court judges in Niger.

“Without justice, there can’t be peace and what we need now is peace in this country because without it we wouldn’t be here.

“Therefore, it is very necessary that these judges are well trained on how to dispense justice.

“I also welcome this initiative of training and retraining our lower court judges and I hope it will be sustained,” he said.

According to him, it is the duty of every Nigerian to ensure a secure and peaceful country.

He commended the Niger State Government for organising the training, saying that it will go a long way in enriching the judicial system.

In his remarks, the Chief Judge of the state, Aliyu Mayaki, said the training was the first of its kind in Nigeria as it would equip the judges with new ideas needed in the administration of criminal justice.

“This training is aimed at capacity building and to enhance the overall understanding of various aspects of the judicial system and practice as is obtainable worldwide.

“An ill equipped judge is a calamity to the litigants and that is why this training is very important,” he added.

Mr Mayaki noted that it was important to build the capacity of the lower court judges since they handle the bulk of criminal cases in the state.

He said that 80 judges would be participating in the training exercise which would last for five days.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training is being undertaken by the Niger State Government, Department for International Development, Judicial College London and African House London.

(NAN)