£140,000 worth of books donated to Law Libraries

The Hull City Council of the United Kingdom has donated 3,400 law books worth £ 140,000 to five law libraries in Sierra Leone.
The handing over ceremony was done on Tuesday the 8th September 2009 at High Court Number 1 at Law Court Building, Freetown.
Considering the donation as historic, the chairman of the occasion Justice Eku Roberts stated that the need for Law books became apparent as a result of the damage meted out during the eleven year civil strife. He added that in 2009, a delegation from Hull City Council in the United Kingdom were in Sierra Leone to evaluate the need and demand for law books by law libraries in the country.
The visit triggered an appeal to legal practitioners in the United Kingdom for donation of books to replenish the law libraries to capacitate legal practitioners in the country.  The Chief Justice of Sierra Leone, Umu Tejans Jalloh referred to the donation as timely and important since the Law Libraries have just been refurbished and that the books are needed to facilitate independent and excellent dispensation of justice.
Mr. Alpha Jalloh of Justice Sector Development Programme (JSDP) said that there are lots of constraints in going through the legal profession regarding the unavailability of updated materials. He added that the effort is part of JSDP‘s multi-sector approach, working with all stakeholders who equally have a part to play in delivering justice, both within government and civil society.
Representative of the Hull City Council Mr. Francis Mason expressed his profound gratitude on the level of professionalism manifested in the legal area devoid of insufficiency of legal materials. He said the books donated will go a long way in contributing towards building the capacity of our court system.
Making the donation, the Deputy Mayor of the Freetown Municipality Gibril Kanu said that there has been a cordial relationship between Hull City Council and the Freetown City Council which resulted to a donation of six vehicles to FCC. He added that the donation will contribute in easing the country’s numerous transportation problems.
By Poindexter Sama