ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Anambra State Government has begun a review of unresolved criminal cases linked to land disputes as part of broader efforts to decongest correctional facilities and reform the state’s criminal justice system.
According to the government, a number of land-related matters that are essentially civil disputes have been treated as criminal cases, contributing significantly to the backlog of cases pending before courts in the state.
This was disclosed in a public notice signed by the Head of the Attorney General’s Chambers, Chinwe Okonkwo-Okom, on behalf of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Tochukwu Nweke.
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The notice, dated June 1, 2026, was released to journalists on Thursday.
It stated, “The Honourable Attorney General of Anambra State has observed with concern the undue criminalisation of civil matters involving land disputes, which constitute a substantial number of the criminal cases pending in various courts in the State.
“As part of the ongoing correctional centre (prison) decongestion exercise and the criminal justice sector reform in the State, the Attorney General has decided to review all pending criminal matters bordering on land disputes.
“This is to enable the Attorney General to determine such matters which are civil in nature and to discontinue such cases pursuant to the powers vested in him by Section 211 (1) (c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”
The government further invited members of the public to forward complaints relating to criminal land dispute cases currently before the High Court or Magistrate Courts, where such matters are believed to be civil in nature.
It added that all submissions must include copies of charge sheets, proof of evidence, and other relevant documents for proper review by the Attorney General’s office.