Officers and men of Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces have lauded Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board for affording them access to justice.
The Executive Director, Legal Aid Board, Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles, noted that the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces has an integral role to play in the justice sector, and that they should work in partnership with the Legal Aid Board, to be able to realize their goals.
Mrs. Carlton-Hanciles noted that the Legal Aid Board was created by government to give both Service Personnel and the Civil Populace, access to justice. She informed the Officers that the Board is in the process of creating Citizens Advisory Bureaus in the every Ward in the country. The Bureaus, she said, will look into trivial matters that would have otherwise gone to court, thereby, decongesting the courts.
The Legal Aid Executive Director also said that some officers and men in the Army will be trained as Paralegals, to be able to provide paralegal services to soldiers in the face of a disadvantage.
She gave an extensive power point presentation, clearly explaining the work and of the Board and giving evidential data, which captured the minds of the Officers.
Representing the Chief of Defense Staff, Brigadier General R. T. Allieu said that the Officers and men of Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces were delighted to work with the Board, as some of their personnel who were denied justice in the past, which resulted to the incarceration of some soldiers that surmounted to the failure of these personnel to execute their duties. Some of these soldiers have benefitted from the services of the Legal Aid Board. A video show depicting the explanations of some of these soldiers, and explanations of the aggrieved residents complaining about the hostile behaviors of some soldiers around the Waterloo axis, was screened.
On the plights of aggrieved people who were considered being squatters on the of Sierra Leone Armed Forces lands around the Waterloo axis, the Officer’s pledge their determination to thoroughly investigate the matter and that, anyone found wanting would be dealt with accordingly.
Both the Sierra Leone Armed Forces and Legal Aid Board are determined to put an end to the anomalies that are threatening the lives of serving soldiers and their families.
Derek Nat-George
Head of Media and Public Relations
Legal Aid Board
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