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Nigerian Bishop Urges Catholic Lawyers to Defend Less Privileged, Reduce Backlog of Cases

Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza with Catholic lawyers after Mass to mark the end of the legal year in Adamawa State.

A Catholic Bishop in Nigeria has urged Catholic lawyers in the West African nation to consider offering their legal services to people who cannot afford the required fees and work toward reducing the backlog of pending cases so that justice is delivered.

“Christian lawyers should always stand for justice and render service to those who do not have money to hire the services of lawyers,” Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza of Nigeria’s Yola Diocese has been quoted as saying Monday, October 5.

The Bishop who was speaking during Mass to mark the end of the legal year for Catholic lawyers in Adamawa State also decried poor delivery of justice leading to delay of court cases.

“Judges and lawyers should ensure they do not delay any case rather hasten them,” the Bishop who is the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Adamawa Chapter said during the Mass at Saint Theresa Cathedral Jimeta.

He used the opportunity to commend Catholic lawyers in the State for the services they render to the people of God in Nigeria and encouraged them to continue doing so.

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“We have been rendering support to indigenes that do not have the means to have a lawyer to defend them irrespective of religion or tribal affiliations,” Thomas Eguwuje assured the 50-year-old Nigerian Prelate during the October 5 event.

He explained the significance of the Mass as they end one legal year and start another saying, “It is the tradition to always give thanks to God for the previous years and commit the new legal year to God.”

Thomas further said that as Catholic lawyers, they believe in the power of prayers.

Bishop Mamza is among various personalities in Nigeria who were honored with the “Hero of Peace Award” on the International Day of Peace marked on September 21 by Sower’s Ministry International, a Nigeria-based Christian organization that promotes peace.

The award was in recognition of Bishop Mamza’s “numerous contributions and support for promotion of peace and unity in several ways,” the leadership of Sower’s Ministry International said.

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