The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Umuahia branch, has called for the building of foster homes in the state to ensure that minors arrested for small offenses are not kept in the same cells with notorious criminals.
The NBA made the appeal in Umuahia during the citizens’ engagement forum organized by the Abia State Government in preparation for the 2026 Abia budget.
Presenting his position, the Assistant Secretary of the NBA, Umuahia branch, Emmanuel Okonkwo, urged the Abia State Government to include the building of foster homes in its 2026 budget.
He cautioned that keeping underaged persons in the same detention room with hardened criminals may produce a situation where the minors are initiated deeper into criminality by the notorious individuals they mingle with in cells.
Speaking earlier, the Secretary of the NBA, Umuahia branch, Ladu N. Martins, regretted that a fire disaster that happened in Ikwuano LGA affected the court in the area, forcing those who have cases to have their matters handled elsewhere.
The NBA Secretary, however, expressed delight that the High Court in Okeikpe, Ukwa West LGA, which was relocated to Aba because of dilapidation, is back in Ukwa after its renovation by the present Abia State Government.
Martins recalled how those whose matters were filed in Okeikpe High Court previously traveled all the way to Aba to attend their matters, and said such a situation was a challenge to the smooth dispensation of justice.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of Initiative for Care Support to the Less Privileged (ICASULP), Ogbonna Priscilla, said that the 2026 budget should provide funds for free legal services involving women, children, and other less privileged persons in Abia.
Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Kingsley Anosike, said that the citizens’ engagement was put together to gather and consider the needs of Abia people for the 2026 budget.
