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Tag: administration

Transformative journey of LG administration
- By Frank Ojeme Anyasi
Local government administration is the third tier of government in Nigeria. It is the government that is closest to the people. It is responsible for grassroots development. The functions include provision of essential amenities and public goods, such as the construction and maintenance of roads, street lighting, drains, parks, gardens, recreational facilities, schools, primary health centres, markets etc.

Historically, local government administration in Nigeria has undergone significant evolution from its inception in the pre-colonial era, to post-independence period, marked by increased autonomy, the journey has been transformative.

In the pre-colonial era, Nigeria had a well-established system of local government administration, deeply rooted in traditional governance system. The system varied across different regions, reflecting the diverse culture and values of Nigerians. The system ensured that interests of the community were represented and that the people had a say in their own governance. Chiefs and traditional rulers held positions of authority. They were responsible for maintenance of law and order within their communities. There was community-based decision making among the people that fostered a sense of belonging and inclusivity, thus strengthening bonds and cohesion. There was superb system of tax collection. In fact traditional governance system played a role in the emergence of local government administration.

The colonial era saw the introduction of indirect rule system that involved the use of traditional rulers as intermediaries between the colonial government and the local communities. The aim was to maintain control and administration of the local government areas with minimal resources. Traditional rulers were given limited powers and were expected to enforce the policies of the colonial administration. Native authorities were established and they were headed by traditional rulers who were appointed by the colonial government.

The Native Authority had limited autonomy. Colonial administrators had to approve decisions made by the Native Authority. They were dependent on the colonial government for funding. This limited their ability to address the needs of the local communities effectively. The establishment of Native Authority provided a formal structure for local government administration.

Independence era marked a significant turning point in the evolution of local government administration as they began to play important role in the provision of services and grassroots development. However, the central government still maintained a significant level of control of local authorities. In the 1963, Republican Constitution, Nigeria adopted a federal system of government with four regional governments. Each region had its own constitution and was responsible for managing its own constitution and was responsible for managing its own affairs. The regional governments had control over certain aspects of local government administration, within their respective regions. This allowed for greater flexibility in addressing local needs and challenges.

The military rule led to a shift in the country’s governance structure. The country transitioned into a unitary system of government. Efforts to strengthen institutions and promote grassroots development were hindered during this period.

In 1976, the Federal Military Government implemented a series of local government reforms. These reforms were aimed at restoring some autonomy to the local governments. Critical issues addressed by the reform included relationship with traditional rulers and financial allocation. On the aspect of the administration, the reform made provision for elected local government chairmen and councillors. There was provision for revenue grants from federal and state governments to the local governments. The elements of the 1976 reforms were enshrined in the 1979 constitution. Section 7 of the constitution recognized local government as the third tier of government. Thus, the local government was guaranteed statutory revenue allocation from the Federation Account along with the federal and state governments. Each state government was required to establish a unified local government service board.

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Another milestone in the transformative journey of Local Government administration is the recent Supreme Court judgment, granting financial autonomy to the 774 Local Government Councils which has sparked of considerable debate on the balance of power between the state and central government. Section 162(5) of 1999 constitution says the amount due to local governments from Federation Account shall be allocated to the states to the benefit of their local governments. The framers of the constitution through this section wanted to achieve two goals. They wanted to achieve the principle of federalism by making local governments the responsibility of the state government. Second objective was to ensure the financial viability of their local governments hence they required states to pass on the allocations for the benefit of their local government councils.

Disappointingly, state governors have frustrated the objectives by refusing to pass on the federal allocations for the benefit of their local government councils. It is this mischief that the Supreme Court judgment was meant to cure.

However, local governments may have “financial autonomy” but not administrative and political autonomy. Local government chairmen and councillors were selected by governors before elections. The criteria for the selection included popularity, intelligence and above all ability to navigate political landscape without upsetting the status quo. This raises the issue of symbolism and reality. Expectedly, the loyalty of the local government chairmen and councillors is to the governor. With this, the financial autonomy of local government will continue to remain a mirage. It is like putting a bandage over a mortal wound.

The credibility and quality of elections into local government has to be sorted out if local government autonomy would be guaranteed. A school of thought suggested that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC should be saddled with the responsibility of conducting local government polls, but some political analysts argue that the option will further diminish the principle of federalism as it will amount to concentration of more power at the centre.

It appears, the most viable option is a negotiated political and legislative process between the central and state government leading to restructuring Nigeria to create a balanced relationship between the centre and its constituent units. Whatever challenges the Supreme Court judgment has thrown up, it is the final judgment. According to late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa: “We are not final because we are infallible rather we are infallible because we are final”.

•Anyasi writes from Abuja.
August 2, 2024
Towards effective public administration
- By Wahab Shittu
The public service in Nigeria (including educational institutions) grapples with a number of issues and challenges. These include increased range of individual rights protection, higher risk of termination of employment, reduced job quality and security, cases bordering on gross misconduct, ethical problems (such as conflict of interests, loyalty or values, including attempts to achieve some form of private gains to the detriment of the masses), problems of accountability and many others of diverse complexities.

These problems and many others in the educational sector for example have resulted in the growing number of litigations and petitions within the educational sector necessitating the urgent need to cut associated costs arising therefrom. This has raised the discourse on how to evolve processes and mechanisms for preventing and resolving such disputes.

In response, a number of initiatives are being put in place. Nigeria has updated employment and labour laws, including regulations and codes. Some have created or supported new dispute resolution mechanisms and institutions, while others have reconfigured existing institutions, or modified procedural rules. Innovative models have been initiated, such as online and telephone dispute resolution options.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is a collective term describing a number of processes, such as mediation, conciliation and arbitration, utilised in attempting the resolution of disputes and conflicts outside the formal court processes. The appointment of a third party neutral, or neutrals, who are usually experts in the dispute subject matter as well as experienced in ADR, can offer parties a number of benefits, which include autonomy, flexibility, control, confidentiality, cost-effectiveness and time-saving. Depending on the ADR mechanism used, the parties may experience a much less formal process and more direct interaction with the neutral(s), rather than just via their attorneys or legal representatives, than in normal court proceedings.

Based on the foregoing, this paper attempts to contribute ideas in the search for an effective and result-oriented public administration reform initiative for our country. The objectives will be to sustain, support and build key institutions and processes as well as ensure the development of professional and modern civil service and public administration that will guarantee service delivery quality and optimal performance for the good of society. There is no doubt that our country is in dire need of public service reform that will focus on the improvement of dispute resolution systems in the public service as well as deliver on the establishment and usage of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

In recent times, we have witnessed an upward increase in the number of disputes within the public sector, which is not only time-consuming but also often does not address the underlying issues and problems these disputes present.

Consistent with the theme of this retreat thus: “Addressing current legal and administrative problems in the educational sector” this paper will identify critical issues in the management and control of litigation in public service with a view to proffering suggestions and recommendations for reducing litigation/administrative lapses in our educational institutions.

In doing justice to the topic, I will raise two questions for resolution. First, what are the critical issues in the management and control of litigation in the public service? Secondly, what options are available for reducing the spate of litigations in the public service?

Litigation in Public Service:

Litigation refers to the process of resolving legal disputes through a court or other judicial proceedings. In the context of public service, litigation can arise from various sources such as student grievances, employment disputes, contractual disagreements, or regulatory compliance issues. It is essential for educational institutions to have effective management and control mechanisms in place to minimize the occurrence of litigation and handle any legal challenges that may arise. Litigation is here used loosely to include all other dispute resolution mechanisms including the role of mediation in facilitating the settlement of employment disputes that may arise in the workplace. By mediation it is meant an alternation dispute resolution mechanism which is non-binding, informal confidential and facilitated by a neutral third party who actively promotes amicable settlement of disputes. The essence is to allow parties to arrive at their own solution with the help of a mediator without the matter going to adjudication.

Significantly, workplace mediation has assisted in resolving disputes such as employment discrimination, workplace harassment, wage and overtime disputes and termination issues. The caveat, however, is that this may not legally be enforceable against the parties.

In the UK for example, workplace alternative dispute resolution is steadily gaining ground as a means of bringing employers, employees and trade unions together to resolve disputes without having to resort to litigation. We will later address the attraction of this mechanism as a vehicle for reducing litigation in the public service.

Administrative lapses:

Administrative lapses encompass a range of shortcomings or failures in the administrative processes and practices within educational institutions. These lapses can include inadequate record-keeping, non-compliance with regulations or policies, improper decision-making, lack of transparency, or failure to address grievances in a timely manner. Such lapses can lead to legal disputes and increase the likelihood of litigation.

Perspective reduction of litigation/administrative lapses:

The prospective reduction of litigation/administrative lapses refers to adopting proactive measures and strategies aimed at minimizing the occurrence of legal disputes and administrative failures within educational institutions.

This perspective emphasises preventive actions rather than reactive responses to legal challenges.

By addressing potential issues before they escalate into full-blown disputes, educational institutions can save valuable resources, maintain their reputation, and ensure a conducive learning environment for students.

Public Service:

The term public service includes the following:

a. The Civil Service: the career personnel of the presidency, ministers, extra-ministerial departments, the National Assembly, and the Judiciary.

b. The Armed Forces, the Police, and other security agencies e.g para-military organisations

c. The parastatals or public enterprises.

Meaning of Public Service

The meaning of Public service is contained in section 169 of the 1999 Constitution as encompassing the civil service (Ministerial departments), statutory corporations or parastatals, judiciary, legislature, educational institutions, financially wholly or principally owned by government at the State, Local and Federal levels, Nigeria Police or Armed Forces and other organizations in which the Federal or state governments owned controlling share or interest. Public service in Nigeria encompasses service in government departments, agencies as well as statutory or public corporations. Sometimes employees of limited liability companies where the government has controlling shares are referred to as public servants In Nigeria, the Country’s government bureaucracy is the public service. This is because government at whatever level enunciates and implements its policies, programs and projects through the instrumentally of the public service. Most public services are service–oriented.

Meaning of civil service

The Civil service is an organ created to ensure that policies and programs of any government at any particular time are carried out.

The Civil service as part of Government never dies because of its perpetual nature and the changing nature of constitutionally elected government, it has to be endowed with specific peculiarities or leanings of that government. Further characteristics of the civil service are that:

a). It has to be non-partisan to enable it to serve any government of the day

b) It has to be made up of experienced men and women with the technical and professional know–how to enable it to implement government policies.

c) It has to be orderly and also ensure that the orderly administration of the country is continuous.

d). The Civil Service is indispensable since it continues the traditional role of keeping the functions of government running no matter what changes occur in the administration of the country.

e). It operates under rules which guide its conduct

f) The Civil Service is an entity but operates in hives of activities, divided between ministries and departments. Each department has its set functions and goals.

Before going into the main thrust of the paper, it will be necessary to clearly define the functions of public service.

Functions of Public Service

The public service (Ministries, Departments, and Agencies) has always been the tool available to the Nigerian government for the implementation of development goals and objectives. It is seen as the pivot for the growth of African economies. It is responsible for the creation of an appropriate conducive environment in which all sectors of the economy can operate maximally.

The functions of public service include implementing and enforcing economic, political and social policies of the current government; designing and implementing public service; raising revenue for the government; ensuring managerial, political and financial accountability; serving the people; monitoring and evaluating the performance of organizations (Public, private or non – governmental) that are rendering service on behalf of the government; driving all development initiatives; delivering quality public service (such as education, electricity, water and transportation).

The public service plays a very crucial role towards nation-building.

Critical issues in the public service that could give rise to conflict situations

Generally, it can be said that critical issues in management and control of litigation in the public service can be summarised to include the following: inadequate legal framework, inadequate resources, financial or otherwise, poor communication and collaboration challenges, corruption and abuse of power, political interference, issues of transparency, issues of accountability, access to justice, adherence to equity considerations, compliance with due process requirements and respect for the rule of law and rights protection standards.

However, in greater detail, there are several other critical issues that need to be addressed to ensure the effective management and control of litigation in public service in Nigeria.

Generally, conflict in the public service and all Nigerian public organisations could arise as a result of many factors. First, causes are attributable to non-structural factors. By this we mean sources of conflict within the service that are as a result of the way tax activities and employees are arranged and defined. These conflicts may arise as a result of differences in backgrounds, values and poor communication skills.

There may also be structural causes of organizational Conflict in the public service. This may arise as a result of structural characteristics within the organization rather than personal disputes.

Factors responsible include work interdependence, differences in unit orientation and goals, differences in performance criteria and reward system, mutual dependence and limited resources, and differences in status amongst others.

The point, however, must be made that conflict is not entirely an evil phenomenon because it could lead to constructive impact depending on how it has been managed. Functional conflict is said to have occurred when the outcome leads to improved organisational performance or effectiveness.

In general terms, we may now identify potential causes of conflicts in public service.

Misconduct in the public service

The Public Service Rules 2021 is fully loaded on instances of misconduct that could arise in the public service. Section 3 defines misconduct as a specific act of wrongdoing or improper behaviour which is inimical to the image of the service and which can be investigated and proved. It can lead to termination and retirement.

It includes scandalous conduct such as immoral behavior, unruly behavior, drunkenness, foul language, assault, battery, refusal to proceed on transfer or to accept posting; habitual lateness to work, deliberate delay in treating official documents; failure to keep records, unauthorised removal of public records, dishonesty, negligence; sleeping on duty, improper/inappropriate/immodest dressing while on duty, hawking merchandise within office premises, refusal to take/carry out lawful instruction from superior officers; malingering; insubordination; and discourteous behavior to the public.

Lack of adequate legal rramework

One of the critical issues in the management and control of litigation in public service in Nigeria is the lack of an adequate legal framework. The current legal framework in Nigeria is inadequate and does not provide clear guidelines for the management and control of litigation in public service. This has led to confusion and inconsistencies in the application of the law, which can result in unfavourable outcomes for the government and its citizens.

Inadequate resources

Another critical issue in the management and control of litigation in public service in Nigeria is the inadequacy of resources. The government and its agencies often lack the necessary resources, including funding, personnel, and infrastructure, to effectively manage and control litigation. This can result in delays and inefficiencies in the litigation process, which can be costly and time-consuming.

Poor communication and collaboration

Poor communication and collaboration among government agencies and stakeholders is another critical issue in the management and control of litigation in public service in Nigeria. There is often a lack of coordination and cooperation among government agencies, which can result in conflicting interests and positions, and can undermine the effectiveness of the litigation process.

Corruption and abuse of power

Corruption and abuse of power are also critical issues in the management and control of litigation in public service in Nigeria. There have been instances of corrupt practices and abuse of power by government officials and legal practitioners, which can undermine the integrity of the litigation process and result in unfavourable outcomes for the government and its citizens.

Lack of transparency and accountability

The lack of transparency and accountability is another critical issue in the management and control of litigation in public service in Nigeria. There is often a lack of transparency in the litigation process, which can result in a lack of accountability among government officials and legal practitioners. This can undermine the confidence of the public in the government and the legal system.

Inadequate Training and Capacity Building

Inadequate training and capacity building are also critical issues in the management and control of litigation in public service in Nigeria. Government officials and legal practitioners often lack the necessary training and capacity to effectively manage and control litigation. This can result in inefficiencies and errors in the litigation process.

Political Interference

Since 1999, Nigeria has clearly seen an increase in the number of educational institutions. Despite the rise, there has been a decline in educational quality, which can be linked to political involvement in a variety of decisions including choosing Vice Chancellors, Provosts, and Rectors of institutions.

Furthermore, the majority of reform initiatives in education fall short in part because of leaders’ divergent political philosophies. There is also a lack of consistency between administrations. Certain schools that did not fulfil the required standards are nonetheless permitted to operate in the accreditation area.

Inadequate Record Keeping and Documentation

Inadequate record keeping and documentation are also critical issues in the management and control of litigation in public service in Nigeria. There is often a lack of proper record-keeping and documentation of litigation proceedings, which can result in confusion and inconsistencies in the application of the law.

Inadequate funding

One of the primary reasons for administrative lapses in educational institutions in Nigeria is the inadequacy of funding. The government has consistently failed to provide sufficient funds for the education sector, resulting in a lack of resources for teachers, infrastructure, and other essential needs. Funding serves as the life-wire for the management and administration of most sectors of the economy including the educational sector. Availability of funds plays a significant role in determining the provision of quality education at all levels. The quantity of funds made available during budgeting will go a long way to improving the quality of education. Ige and Obe, opined that without adequate funding, standards of education at any level shall be tantamount to a mirage that is, building castles in the air. Money is important in a school because it is used for constructing buildings, purchasing needed equipment, paying staff’ salaries and allowances, maintenance of the plants and keeping the services going This has led to a decline in the quality of education and an inability to provide students with the tools they need to succeed.

Nigeria is experiencing a teacher shortage for a number of reasons, including low pay, unfavourable working conditions, and a dearth of possibilities for training. Nigerian educators lack the drive to do their best work. Not only do they receive inadequate compensation, but they also fall short of those in other industries. Maybe, as society would say, they are waiting in heaven for their reward.

In addition to their low pay, teachers occasionally do not get their regular promotions. They do not receive consistent promotions. Their morale may suffer as a result. Though teaching and learning should go hand in hand, occasionally low morale among teachers makes it difficult for them to inspire students to study. The majority of students are unwilling to take courses in teaching; their principles, interests, and approach towards a career in teaching are uninspiring. Sometimes, people only resort to education faculties after experiencing frustration in other faculties, this affects the prestige placed on the teaching profession.

Inadequate infrastructural facilities

The lack of adequate infrastructure is another significant challenge facing educational institutions in Nigeria. Many schools lack basic facilities such as classrooms, libraries, and laboratories, making it difficult for students to receive a quality education. This is as a result of inadequate funding which has led to a decline in the standard of education and an inability to provide students with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century.

Corruption

Corruption is a pervasive problem in Nigeria, and it has had a significant impact on the educational system. Corrupt practices such as bribery, nepotism, and embezzlement are common in educational institutions, and they have contributed to a decline in the standard of education. Corruption has also led to a lack of accountability and transparency, making it difficult to address administrative lapses.

Weak administration

The weak administration of educational institutions in Nigeria is another significant factor contributing to administrative lapses. Many educational institutions lack effective leadership, and there is a lack of accountability and transparency. This has led to a decline in the standard of education and an inability to address administrative lapses.

Lack of data

The lack of data is another significant challenge facing educational institutions in Nigeria. The lack of reliable data is hindering effective planning and implementation of educational policies. A lack of statistics on student enrollment, teacher numbers and qualifications, demographic trends, and buildings and other learning facilities is currently hindering planning.

Policy instability

The country has faced numerous changes in education policies, and this has created uncertainty and instability in the educational system. This has caused uncertainty in the educational policy of the country as every government in power wants to introduce its own policies. Odukoya, Bowale, and Okunlola, (2018) observed that policies were abandoned by governors and their predecessors due to a lack of funds for continuity. Politics and frequent changes in government negatively affect the implementation of the National Policy on Education.

Strike actions

Strike actions by teachers and other educational workers have also contributed to administrative lapses in Nigerian educational institutions. These strikes have disrupted the academic calendar and have had a negative impact on the quality of education. Strike actions by different unions in educational institutions are another problem hindering effective educational administration in Nigeria. Unions like the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Academic Staff of Colleges of Education (ASCE) had embarked on strikes severally in pursuit of best standard practices in Nigeria tertiary institutions. Due to poor working condition, majority of these unions always embarked on strike actions.

Brain drain

According to the National Open University of Nigeria, brain drain refers to the migration of academic staff from institutions in the country to overseas institutions or equivalent institutions where their services are better rewarded. The causes of brain drain can be attributed to the low level of academic staff salaries during the past decades; and the declining financial attractions of higher education employment in workloads. Many professional teachers are leaving educational institutions to other professions where their working condition is better. Many Nigerian students who pursue higher education abroad do not return to the country, leading to a shortage of skilled professionals in the educational sector. This has led to a decline in the standard of education and an inability to address administrative lapses.

Federal Character in Nigeria

Although the need to have every ethnic group duly represented in the public service of the country is laudable, however, federal character undermines democracy and excellence in the public service. It means that the best can be left out of the service and the worst picked. This system has continued to weaken Nigerian public administration, making the processes of service delivery towards national development more challenging than they could otherwise have been. One of the manifestations of the implementation of implementation of the federal character is poor employee procurement practice which resulted in unethical behavior among public sector workers. The implementation of the federal character system has failed to bring into the Nigerian public service, a competent and motivated workforce that could support administrative effectiveness for enhanced performance in the implementation of government policies for sustainable development.

Culture

Culture plays a significant role in shaping the character of public servants in Nigeria. The culture values respect for elders, un-common loyalty, and brotherly love, which has influenced the way Nigerians live. However, this has negatively impacted service delivery in the public service. Employees may not be disciplined due to age, religious, or ethnic affiliation, and personal loyalties often outweigh technical supremacy. Additionally, loyalty to individual offices may outweigh the public service itself, leading to nonchalant attitudes and a focus on personal interests.

Ethnicity and Nepotism

The Nigerian public service is deeply influenced by primordial relations, with ethnic sentiments and tribal sentiments disintegrating the national identity. The merit system index, supposed to guide appointments and promotions, has not been applied objectively, and cooperation depends on ethnic origin. Favouritism in the service extends administrative favours to ethnic bloc members, friends, and relations, violating the principles of impartiality and impersonality in the public service.

The administrative lapses in Nigerian educational institutions are a complex issue with numerous contributing factors. Addressing these challenges will require a comprehensive approach that includes increased funding, improved teacher training, and a commitment to transparency and accountability amongst others.

Management and control of litigation in the public service

Significantly, the effective management and control of litigation in public service, particularly within educational institutions, represent an intricate challenge in the realm of governance. Educational institutions play a pivotal role in shaping the future of nations by imparting knowledge and skills to the next generation. However, they are not immune to legal disputes and administrative lapses, which can disrupt their core mission and divert resources that would otherwise be directed toward education and research. This paper delves into the critical issues surrounding the management and control of litigation within educational institutions, emphasizing the imperative of reducing litigation and administrative lapses from a holistic perspective.

Litigation and administrative lapses in educational institutions encompass a broad spectrum of issues, including but not limited to academic disputes, employment matters, regulatory compliance, student grievances, and financial accountability. The consequences of these issues can be far-reaching, resulting in financial burdens, damage to institutional reputation, and, most importantly, undermining the quality of education offered to students.

This paper takes a multi-faceted approach to address these critical issues, exploring the intricate relationship between educational administration and litigation. It delves into the factors that contribute to the rise of legal disputes and administrative failings in educational settings, including the intricacies of governance, policy formulation, and implementation within these institutions. Moreover, it sheds light on the impact of litigation on public funds and resources that are desperately needed for the advancement of education.

The management and control of litigation in public service are not limited to reactive measures aimed at resolving legal disputes. Instead, it necessitates a proactive strategy that encompasses policy development, staff training, compliance monitoring, and conflict resolution mechanisms. The paper will explore the best practices and innovative approaches that educational institutions can adopt to minimize litigation and administrative lapses, thereby channelling their resources and efforts towards their core educational mission.

Furthermore, the paper will underscore the importance of a legal and administrative framework that not only prevents disputes but also provides a fair, transparent, and efficient process for resolving conflicts when they do arise. Striking a balance between preventing litigation and ensuring justice is served is a complex task that demands a nuanced and well-crafted approach.

In conclusion, this paper aims to illuminate the pressing need to address the critical issues in the management and control of litigation in public service, specifically within educational institutions. The reduction of litigation and administrative lapses is not just an economic concern but a fundamental imperative for fostering an environment conducive to learning, research, and the overall growth of the educational sector. By examining these issues comprehensively and proposing effective solutions, this paper strives to contribute to the ongoing discourse on the transformation and improvement of public service management in the context of educational institutions.

The management and control of litigation in public service, particularly in the context of educational institutions, is a critical issue that requires careful attention. This topic involves the reduction of litigation and administrative lapses in order to ensure smooth functioning and effective governance within educational institutions. To gain a comprehensive understanding of this subject matter, it is important to clarify some key conceptual issues.

Litigation in public service in Nigeria is a complex and challenging process that requires effective management and control to ensure that the legal rights of the government and its citizens are protected. The management and control of litigation in public service is critical to the smooth functioning of government operations and the delivery of public services. There are several vehicles for the reduction of litigation/administrative lapses in our educational institutions available from within and outside the public service structures. A brief consideration of some of these mechanisms can now be considered. First, we deal with the internal mechanism within the public service for the resolution of disputes.

Public Service Rules as a Litigation Reduction Mechanism

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms are an important aspect of the Public Service Rules (PSR), as they offer alternative methods for resolving disputes outside of traditional litigation processes. The PSR recognizes the importance of ADR in promoting efficiency, fairness, and transparency in the resolution of disputes within the public service

Rule 100302 empowers a Superior Officer who becomes dissatisfied with the behaviour of his subordinate must inform the officer in writing giving details of unsatisfactory behaviour and to call upon him to submit within a specific time such written representation as he may wish to make to exculpate himself from disciplinary action.

Rule 100303 provides that where a Tribunal of inquiry set up by the Government makes a recommendation of a disciplinary nature on an officer, the Federal Civil Service Commission/Board shall not act on such recommendations until it has called upon the affected Officer to reply to the allegations made against him by the Tribunal of inquiry.

Rule 100307 detailed the procedure for dismissal of an Officer who has been found guilty of misconduct under the Rules. Interestingly, the Rules allow the Officer to make representations before the Tribunal and witnesses are also called by the Tribunal. The officer is allowed to ask the witnesses questions. When the Tribunal/Board has concluded its inquiry, it sends the report to the Federal Civil Service Commission to make the final decision.

Chapter 11 of the Public Service Rule makes provision for handling appeals and petitions by officers in the public service.

According to Rule 1010201, aggrieved officers, without prejudice to their constitutionally guaranteed right are mandated as much as possible to exhaust all avenues provided in the public service Rules and Circulars for redress before proceeding to court. This is in addition to obtaining permission from the Head of Service of the Federation before proceeding to Court.

Rule 110204 outlines the channel through which an aggrieved officer can submit his petition for it to be addressed. An appeal/petition must be submitted through the proper departmental channels, namely through the petitioner’s immediate superior officer and the Permanent Secretary/Head of Extra-ministerial Office, who will forward the appeal/petition with his comments and recommendations to the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission or Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in accordance with administrative instructions in force at the time.

Rule 110201 sets the time frame during which appeals/petitions in the public service should be completed – six months.

Significantly, actors in the educational sector in particular and public servants in general are strongly advised to take the public service rule as a social contract between them and their employer in other to enhance their performance, welfare and the tenure of their professional careers and forestall conflicts that could lead to disputes within and outside the public service. The starting point is for all participants at this retreat to grab a copy of the public service rules, and read and digest them for proper understanding in a manner to forestall disputes. This will be a useful preventive therapy that will reduce friction and associated costs that could be deployed for other productive endeavours.

The takeaway therefore should be public service rules as a social contract whose provisions are stated and should be obeyed by all public servants for harmony.

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ADR Labour Settlement Mechanism in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) by the Third Alteration Act 2010 as dispute reduction mechanism

The above is considered as one of the most outstanding innovations introduced by the Constitution to resolve labour disputes in the public service with particular reference to educational institutions.

Section 254C(3)  of the 1999 Constitution (as amended by the Third Alteration Act 2010) provides as follows:

“The National Industrial Court may establish an Alternative Dispute Resolutions Centre within the Court premises on matters which jurisdiction is conferred on the court by this Constitution or any Act or Law:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall preclude the National Industrial Court from entertaining and exercising appellate and supervisory jurisdiction over an arbitral tribunal or commission, administrative body, or board of inquiry in respect of any matter that the National Industrial Court has jurisdiction to entertain or any other matters as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly or any Law in force in any part of the Federation.”

Order 24 of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2017.

This rule provides:

“The President of the Court or a Judge of the Court may refer for amicable settlement through conciliation or mediation any matter filed in any of the Registries of the Court to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (hereinafter referred to as the Centre) established within the Court premises pursuant to Section 254C(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended by the Third Alteration Act, 2010) and Article 4(5)(a)-(e) of the Instrument of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre…

1.            (1) Where parties to any mediation or conciliation processes are unable to settle their dispute amicably, the Director of the Centre shall submit a report to that effect to the President of the Court or the Judge of the Court who made the referral without the record of the mediation r conciliation session (s).

(2) Where the matter was not resolved by the Centre, the matter shall be remitted to the President of the Court or the Judge who referred the matter within five (5) working days, to be set down for adjudication in accordance with the Rules of the Court.

1.            Where parties are unable to settle their disputes through the mediation or conciliation process, the Court may set the matter down for hearing and determination on its merits, and the procedure laid down for trial of cases under the Rules of Court shall be followed for the determination of the matter…”

The provision empowers the National Industrial Court of Nigeria to establish an Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre within the premises of the court. These provisions lay credence for alternative approaches for amicable settlement of labour, employment and industrial disputes.

1.            National Industrial Court of Nigeria Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre Instrument 2015

Article 4 Provides:

“The mandates and functions of the ADR Centre shall amongst other things be the application of mediation or conciliation technique in the settlement of disputes between or amongst parties,

1.            To enhance and facilitate quick, efficient and equitable resolution of certain employment, labour and industrial relations disputes within the jurisdiction of the Court;

2.            To minimize, reduce, mitigate and eliminate stress, cost and delays in justice delivery by providing a standard ADR framework for fair, efficient, fast and amicable settlement of disputes;

3.            To assist disputants in the resolution of their disputes without acrimony or bitterness; etc.”

Significantly, this system affords disputants the opportunity to adopt mediation, conciliation and neutrals in the settlement of employment disputes which shall be less costly, speedy and more effective and efficient in the settlement of labour disputes. By Order 2 (2) of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre Rules, 2015, ADR Centre “means the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre. This was established by the Court pursuant to Section 254(C)(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and by virtue of Article 2(1) of this National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) ADR Centre Instrument, 2015. Conciliation means bringing two opposing sides together to attempt to settle the matter without proceeding to trial. It is also a process of an amicable settlement of disputes in a friendly and win-win situation. Neutral means an impartial and unbiased individual appointed by the President of the Court in accordance with the provisions of NICN, ADR Centre Instrument to mediate or conciliate in a dispute or issue referred to the NICN ADR Centre.

Mediation seeks compromise and a win-win situation, while arbitration seeks to justify a win-lose verdict. Significantly, while other processes require information gathering, arbitration focuses more on evidence, witnesses and law application to reach an award. One of the key features of the ADR system with the National Industrial Court is that mediation can be identified as neutrality, confidentiality, flexibility, voluntariness, party control and facilitation.

Diverse management approaches to conflict resolution in the public service

It is proposed by way of recommendation that workers in the public service should be more involved in the decision-making process so as to reduce the rate of conflict, this means there should be an effective communication network between the workers and management. Emphasis needs to be placed on early responses to individual employment disputes before they escalate into conflict situations. Areas of conflict identified will help management or managers to make necessary adjustments and changes so as to come up with a better way of correcting it. Five management approaches at conflict resolution are recommended. These include integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding and compromising.

Integration involves openness, exchanging information, looking for alternatives and examining differences so as to solve the problem in a manner that is acceptable to both parties.

Obliging is associated with attempting to minimize the differences and highlighting the commonalities to satisfy the concern of the other party. In adopting the dominating style, one party goes all out to win his/her objectives and as a result, often ignores the needs and expectations of the other party. When avoiding a party fails to satisfy his/her concern as well as the concern of the other party. Lastly compromising involves give and take whereby both parties give up something to make a mutually acceptable decision.

Proposed options for mediation in the public service

Evaluative Mediation

A mediation style is concerned primarily with reaching a deal, with a greater focus on expected court outcome and lesser focus on parties’ respective interests.

Facilitation

A process involving parties who are not so much in dispute as in a state of potential dispute and who wish to engage in dialogue in order to reach an agreement. There may be tensions between the parties’ viewpoints or interpersonal or other relationship difficulties. The facilitation process is designed to ensure that the discussion between the parties is constructive, with the objective of achieving better understanding and avoiding future disputes.

Facilitative Mediation

A mediation model which focuses on facilitating the negotiations between parties with the goal to help everyone achieve their interests and to reach a durable, long-lasting agreement. Facilitative mediators usually do not comment on what would happen if the matter escalated to the next tier in the dispute resolution process (for example: formal grievance, tribunal or court).

Grievance

A formal method for an employee to raise a problem or complaint to their employer, usually under the employer’s published grievance procedures. Reasons for filing a grievance in the workplace can be a result of, but not limited to, a breach of the terms and conditions of an employment contract, raises and promotions, harassment, bullying and discrimination.

Litigation as a last resort

Litigation is also an option which may be considered as a last resort. However, it is fraught with several challenges. As much as possible aggrieved elements in the public service ought to resist the temptation of deploying litigation as a conflict resolution mechanism for a variety of factors. This includes the element of delay because the problem in Nigeria is not access to justice but exit from justice. Our civil and criminal justice systems operate at a speed chosen for the convenience of the legal practitioners and defenders rather than the convenience of the court or the ends of justice. There is also the problem of deliberate abuse of procedural tools that does not seem to be any limit to the number of adjournments that may be obtained.

There appear to be few if any, effective sanctions to ensure that a defender in civil or criminal proceedings cannot delay or frustrate the proceedings.

There is also the problem of misuse of interlocutory appeals. It is amazing that virtually any issue can be taken all the way to the Supreme Court provided the appellant can formulate grounds of appeal based upon errors of law, regardless of whether the point being appealed involves any public interest. It is all too easy to dress up factual questions as questions of law.

Thirdly, Nigerian law is excessively and destructively procedural. Our civil and criminal justice system is obsessed with form rather than substance. Over 70% of reported litigation is on procedure.

Fourthly, there is also a case management challenge. Ideally, in determining the appropriate way to manage a case, the court should have regard to the need to prevent any case from being conducted in a way that interferes with the resolution of other disputes and wastes the resources of the court. Unfortunately, in many cases, our courts are unable to rise effectively to overcome these challenges.

Fifthly, our court registries are chaotic, dirty and poorly managed with a negative impact on the administration of justice.

Sixthly, there is the use of jurisdictional objections to frustrate trial proceedings.

The seventh point is the negative judicial attitude. There are instances where some judges have not given judgments in concluded matters over a year after the conclusion of trial and argument. Every three months, counsel is asked to readopt.

There are other issues such as the defective system for the appointment of judges, delays in prosecuting appeals, low incidence and quantum of costs and inadequate funding and resources available to the judiciary all of which impact negatively delivering effective and efficient adjudication. Our system indeed requires urgent surgeries.

The question to ask is whether public servant are prepared to go through this frustrating experience in their resolution of grievances and disputes arising from their workplace experiences. I ask again, are you prepared to face these hurdles arising from the litigation in our courts?

Suggestions and recommendations

Mediation offers a critical attraction in the resolution of disputes in the public service. In strengthening the existing ADR mechanisms in Nigeria, we can draw lessons from comparative jurisdictions around the world.

The United Kingdom – Civil Service Mediation Service (CSMS)

The UK Civil Service Mediation Service was launched in 2012. The CSMS is designed to mediate disputes involving members of the civil service. The CSMS operates in collaboration with 42 separate departments and agencies with the majority having their own internal in-house mediation service. A department that is too small to have an internal mediator can approach the central mechanism of the CSMS can be approached to intervene in disputes within the department. The CSMS thereby effectively functions as a resource pool when demand cannot be met internally or where departments are too small to operate their own in-house service. To access the CSMS, the complainant contacts the internal HR personnel or mediation resource who will either seek to deal with the matter via an internal mediation process or forward the request on to the CSMS where no mediators are available internally.

Interestingly, there is no charge for mediation and all mediators are volunteers, with a “day job”, who give their time as an additional corporate contribution. As an example, should department A send in a request and department B have mediators available, department B would then cover any travel and subsistence costs for those mediators to attend and undertake the mediation. In return, as and when department B may need external mediators, the department sending those mediators would similarly cover the associated costs.

The United States Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS)

The United States Federal Civil Service is an independent agency whose primary responsibility is to promote sound and stable labour-management relations through a variety of mediation and conflict resolution services. The FMCS is involved in a wide range of mediation services which include the mediation of collective bargaining negotiations and grievances, training for labour and management in skills and processes aimed at improving the workplace relationship, and the referral of private arbitrators for the settlement of controversies over the application or provisions in a collective bargaining agreement. The FMCS is a completely voluntary step, taken prior to any arbitration, which provides an opportunity for a third party neutral to assist the parties in reaching their own resolution of the dispute. The mediator does not make a binding decision for the parties, but rather guides them to their own mutually acceptable resolution of the grievance, assisting in cooperative problem-solving between labour and management.

FMCS provides professional services to a wide range of federal, state, and government agencies on a cost-reimbursable basis. The FMCS assist federal agencies in resolving disputes, trains persons in skills and procedures employed in alternative means of dispute resolution, designs conflict management systems, builds capacity for constructive conflict management, and strengthens inter-agency and public-private cooperation. Through this work, FMCS seeks to reduce litigation costs and to promote better government decision-making.

Australian Civil Sector Mediation

The Australian Public Service Regulations (Regulation 5.1(4)) acknowledge alternative dispute resolution as a means of resolving employee complaints. Some agencies in Australia, in particular the Department of Defence (DOD), have invested significantly in alternative dispute resolution and formalised it as a strategy for responding to workplace conflict. The Employee Assistance Program assists DOD employees who are experiencing difficulties of a personal or work-related nature. It offers a confidential work-based intervention program designed to enhance emotional, mental and general psychological well-being. The program provides short-term preventative and proactive interventions for issues that may and do adversely affect performance and well-being. The program aims for early detection, identification and resolution of work and personal issues.

Cyprus

In Cyprus, the process of dispute resolution in the workplace involves four stages. In the first level, the supervisor is called to intervene in a dispute in a bid to resolve such dispute. If not resolved, the worker will be referred to higher authorities in the workplace. The first two stages are known as non-judicial ADR

The third stage, if required, is a referral of the worker to the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance for mediation. This must be completed within 15 days. If a settlement is not reached at this stage, the complaint is referred to binding arbitration.

It is the responsibility of the Ministry to appoint a mutually acceptable arbitrator within one week of the special request from both parties and to provide administrative support to the arbitrator – thus, access to arbitration is by mutual agreement only. The Ministry issues the arbitrator’s decision 15 days after the last arbitration meeting, or within three days in the case of dismissals.

Germany

Germany has a labour court that has jurisdiction to entertain all labour-related disputes. However, every matter brought before the court would first begin with the process of conciliation. The purpose of this approach is to achieve an amicable settlement, usually a compromise between the parties, before recourse to a formal hearing. The parties may also agree to a private mediation at this stage.

For non-escalated disputes, all employees have the right to have their grievances heard by the works council. It is then possible for a company-level arbitration committee to be established. In practice, in most cases where a works council exists, an employee might first address the council; the works council would then seek to resolve the matter with management, sometimes using informal mediation. Where there is no works council, the trade union would seek an out-of-court agreement with the employer. In cases of individual dismissals, the works council must be consulted.

Italy

Recourse to the judicial authorities for the resolution of a labour dispute must be preceded by a mandatory attempt at conciliation – referred to as ‘administrative conciliation’. This takes place before a special board instituted by the relevant Provincial Labour Directorate. Where a judge ascertains at the beginning of the court procedure that no attempt has been made to use conciliation, the proceedings may be suspended and the parties ordered to use the procedure.

Identifying challenges in public administration

Research findings have identified that political interference, corruption, inadequate funding, self-induced anarchy by the administrator, favoritism and nepotism etc., as some of the challenges public administrators face in implementing public policies in Nigeria. The findings have further shown that despite the moderate achievements in democratic governance and being rich in natural and human resources, there remain many politico-administrative challenges to be addressed in Nigeria. In addition, ailing public administration has resulted in disturbing socio-economic indicators which are among the worst in the world. Findings reveal that, notwithstanding the dramatic administrative reforms, citizens’ confidence in government service is near a historic low because of poor service delivery and exclusionary policies.

Based on the foregoing, this paper concludes by offering the underlisted suggestions and recommendations for enhanced public service delivery in the educational sector, particularly in curbing the high incidence of litigations and costs associated with the sector.

Recommendations on legal measures to curb high rate of litigation in the educational sector

The high rate of litigation in the educational sector in Nigeria is a significant concern that requires effective legal measures to address. Litigation in this sector can lead to numerous negative consequences, including financial burdens on educational institutions, delays in the resolution of disputes, and a strain on the overall education system. To curb this issue, several legal measures can be implemented:

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

One of the most effective ways to reduce litigation in the educational sector is by promoting the use of alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation and arbitration. ADR provides a less adversarial and more collaborative approach to resolving disputes, allowing parties to reach mutually acceptable solutions outside of the courtroom. By encouraging the use of ADR mechanisms, educational institutions can save time and resources while fostering a more harmonious environment for dispute resolution.

Strengthening Internal Dispute Resolution Mechanisms

Educational institutions should establish robust internal dispute resolution mechanisms to address conflicts before they escalate into full-blown litigation. This can include setting up dedicated committees or departments responsible for handling disputes within the institution. These mechanisms should be designed to provide fair and impartial resolutions, ensuring that all parties involved have an opportunity to present their cases and have their concerns addressed.

Clear Policies and Procedures

Implementing clear policies and procedures within educational institutions can help prevent disputes from arising in the first place. By establishing guidelines for various aspects of education, such as admissions, disciplinary actions, grading systems, and employment practices, potential areas of conflict can be minimized. These policies should be communicated effectively to all stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, and staff members, to ensure everyone understands their rights and responsibilities.

Training and Capacity Building

Providing training and capacity-building programs for educators and administrators can contribute to reducing litigation in the educational sector. These programs should focus on equipping individuals with knowledge about relevant laws and regulations governing education, conflict management skills, and effective communication techniques. By enhancing the legal literacy and dispute-resolution skills of those working in the sector, potential disputes can be resolved internally, reducing the need for external litigation.

Strengthening Regulatory Bodies

Regulatory bodies responsible for overseeing the educational sector should be empowered to effectively address complaints and grievances. These bodies should have clear mandates, adequate resources, and competent personnel to handle disputes efficiently. By ensuring that regulatory bodies are capable of addressing issues promptly and fairly, individuals may be more inclined to seek redress through these channels rather than resorting to litigation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, curbing the high rate of litigation in the educational sector in Nigeria requires a multi-faceted approach that includes promoting alternative dispute resolution methods, strengthening internal dispute resolution mechanisms, implementing clear policies and procedures, providing training and capacity building programs, empowering regulatory bodies, and conducting public awareness campaigns. By adopting these legal measures, it is possible to reduce litigation and create a more conducive environment for educational advancement in Nigeria.

*Shittu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), law teacher and prosecutor, presented this paper at a retreat organised by the Federal Ministry of Education on November 29 in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
December 19, 2023
Four red flags of the Tinubu administration
- by Aliyu Sulaiman
Sir: When former President Muhammadu Buhari was rounding up his second term in May this year, a wide range of post-mortem appraisals were done by many analysts, with emphasis on how the president had not lived up to expectation and also in areas where he had gained some grounds. But then, in hindsight, the deed had been done and there was no way anything could be undone about these ‘failures’, obviously. They only go on to serve as lessons for President Ahmed Bola Tinubu and his team.

Be that as it may, though, President Tinubu has started off on a different note from his predecessor, and it’s not that great on all fronts. This is because there are red flags and uncomforting signs that have emerged, sadly. At this point, it is important to state, however, that these red flags or early warning signs are not a confirmation or prediction that the administration will fail. Rather, they are signals that in the event that there are actual future setbacks (God forbid) and Nigeria is not better off in four years’ time than when President Tinubu was handed the baton, no one should be surprised as to how these failures came about. Four events have for me, constitute these red flags.

First, the use of data and statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to indicate pyrrhic progress in the country’s macro-economic indices may imply that the government is towing the path of fool’s paradise, whereby favourable parameters are being used to define progressive indices or to downplay the gravity of a problem. While data does not lie, the parameters used to define data may be altered as wished. The NBS reported recently that the country’s unemployment rate has dropped to 4.1% in the first quarter of 2023 from 5.3% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Read Also: Tinubu assumed office amidst economic crisis, says monarch in Obi’s town

The most astonishing context to this is that the previous report had put the unemployment rate at a massive 33%. At 33%, some experts also believe a minimal figure was quoted. The NBS said it ‘enhanced’ its methodology of collecting labour market data through the Nigeria Labour Force Survey (NLFS). This survey defined employed people as people who work at least one hour a week for pay or profit. That is quite a way to define employment! If the NBS makes use of similar ridiculous parameters to define other macro-economic indices like, say, food sufficiency, there won’t be any hungry Nigerians to report! This is a bad sign.

Second, if there ever is a relationship that is ‘overly cordial’, then the bromance between the executive arm and current leadership of the legislative arm would qualify as one. You have to wonder what will happen to true oversight and checks and balances as is expected in a democracy. There is a thin line between the cooperation, cordiality and appropriate oversight amongst the two arms on the one hand, and then a choreographed extension of the executive existing in the legislature on the other hand. It is an open secret that the leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly emerged as a result of the endorsement of the executive arm, despite the leadership positions being elective. It is difficult to see how the National Assembly won’t dance to the tune of the executive. This is not a good sign.

Third, the number of cheers and jubilations that have greeted the appointment and confirmation of the president’s new cabinet members makes one wonder. With the current challenges at hand, and the enormity of the tasks facing the new ministers, one would expect that the least that should be on the appointees’ menus are celebrations. Rather, there should be reflections on the burden of being part of the decision makers of the most populous black nation, in arguably one of the most difficult times in the nation’s history. Even as it is evident that some of the appointees are present as a result of the contributions they made to the emergence of the president after the February polls, being rewarded with a cabinet slot is still a red flag if that is the main reasons why they occupy a cabinet seat!

Lastly, the protracted detention of the erstwhile chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by the Department of State Services contains a familiar script used by previous administrations. I believe that one of the worst commissions anybody could aspire to head is the EFCC. It always does not end well for their chairmen. You cannot fight corruption without stepping on toes and attracting a few enemies while at it. The commission requires all the constitutional protection it can get. Moreover, the international community is watching this trend, which would have a ripple effect on the country’s corruption perception. Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa may be guilty of the reasons why he remains in captivity. But is the continuous detention legal?

Aggregate the above red flags and you have what might potentially cause the current administration to nosedive if allowed to crystallize. As lovers of Nigeria, we cannot allow this to happen.

•Aliyu Sulaiman,

Katsina.
August 30, 2023
Kwara signs MoU on land administration

Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on land administration with EcoBank and Southgate Technologies Consortium.

At the signing yesterday, Ahmed said the digitisation of land administration was an e-governance initiative meant to introduce efficiency into land administration, create optimal utilisation of wealth and effective deployment of goods and services.

The governor noted that the reform is big step towards efficiency in deployment of goods and services to create maximum impact.

Ahmed added that the digitisation of land administration will increase Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), with an estimated annual revenue on land administration above N5 billion, reduce fraud and improve ease of doing business.

The PPP has a model of Design-Build-Finance-Maintain and Transfer (DBF-MT), with a tenor of five years.

The Director-General of KP3, Mr. Yomi Ogunsola, said the government had to start with land reforms to enable the state rank among the best in Ease of Doing Business in the country.

May 31, 2018
‘Administration of Criminal Justice Law’ll respect civil liberties’

Adamawa State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Mr S. S. D. Sanga has said the state would continue to work on the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) untill civil liberties of individuals are respected.

Sanga stated this in Yola during a chat with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) – MacArthur Foundation Team led by project coordinator, Abdul Rasheed Muritala, after a one-day legislative advocacy and sensitisation workshop.

The NBA MacArthur project team was in Yola in continuation of its nationwide sensitisation programme for states that are yet to adopt the ACJA as their procedural law for the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria.

Sanga said: “It is bad policies and failure that necessitated the ACJL. If the Nigeria Police do their work, why do we have congestion in prisons? States cannot legislate on the police because it is a federal agency. Most of the problems why ACJA came up is the failure of the system.

“If you are doing a good investigation you won’t arrest anybody before investigation. The police arrest you, take you to an Area Customary Court and charge you for wandering.

“However, when we pass our own Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) it will take care of all these short falls and we will regularly enter Nolle Prosequi to free people who are detained unjustly for minor criminal offences which at times do not exist in our laws in the first place. We have lots of people arrested by the army not yet handed over to the police but still with the army.

“We continue to work on it. We want to see civil liberties respected, that is the nature of the job and the Bar and development partners have a lot of role to play in this. I am happy at this partnership and we will create the right agencies to drive the law because if you make a law without a proper agency to monitor it, then it likely to face abuses.”

Chairman NBA Yola Branch, Mr. Everastus Odo, who welcomed participants, appreciated the NBA for choosing Adamawa State for the workshop.

He expressed optimism that at the end of the programme, the state would experience a smooth implementation of the Act.

First Vice-President NBA, Mr. Caleb Dajan, who represented NBA President A. B. Mahmoud (SAN), congratulated the two NBA branches in Adamawa State for the choice of their state as one of the phase one states to host the workshop.

He stressed the importance of the ACJA in the Criminal Justice System, stating that it was the association’s desire that at the end of the day, the aim of the workshop will not only be achieved, but contributions made will lead to a smooth implementation of the Act in Adamawa State.

Abdul-Rasheed stated that the criminal justice system in Nigeria is bedevilled with several challenges including long adjournment of cases, congestion, long delays in the adjudicatory process, over reliance on technicalities, collapsing infrastructure, corruption in the system, congestion in courts and prisons, poverty of knowledge, culture of impunity and declining confidence of the citizenry in the efficacy and efficiency of justice institutions.

He urged Adamawa to lead other states in the Northeast zone in the passage of the ACJA bill to law.

Muritala said: “Adamawa State is blessed with human capital who have all it takes to lead in the promulgation of laws that will promote access to justice, which the ACJ law when enacted represents.

“The NBA-MacArthur project will on its part, vigorously pursue the training and retraining of judicial officers, lawyers and other stakeholders in the justice sector in this state on the innovation introduced by the ACJA through its institute of Continue Legal Education (ICLE) with a view to making them friendlier with the users of the institutions of justice.”

Justice N. Musa, who represented the Chief Judge of Adamawa State, Justice Ishaya K. Banu, commended the NBA for the workshop and encouraged active participation and contribution from all participants.

Senior Lecturer, Nigerian Law School, Yola Campus, Mr. James Agaba, gave an overview of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.

According to Agaba, Section 2(1) is ambiguous and needs to be better couched for better interpretation. He urged states willing to emulate ACJA to take a more critical look at the provisions of sections 221, 222, 306 and 396 of the ACJA.

“There is also need for providing adequate infastructure for the implementation of the law,” Agaba added.

February 6, 2018
Overview of administration of criminal justice law
Plea bargain and sentence agreements

Plea bargaining gained traction in Nigeria with the establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission even though there was no clear provision for it in Nigeria at the time. The ACJL has now specifically provided for plea bargain in Section 76 thus: “notwithstanding anything in this Law or in any other law, the Attorney-General of the state shall have power to consider and accept a plea bargain from a person charged with any offence where the Attorney-General is of the view that the acceptance of such plea bargain is in the public interest, the interest of justice and the need to prevent the abuse of legal process”.

Simply put, plea bargain means the negotiation of an agreement between the prosecution and the defence whereby the Defendant is allowed to plead guilty to a lesser/reduced offence/charge in exchange for a more lenient sentence or an agreement to drop other charges against the Defendant.

The ACJL also allows the prosecutor and the defendant or his legal practitioner to enter into a plea bargain agreement before the plea is taken subject to the overriding discretion of the judge who will however not participate in the negotiations.

Section 270 of ACJA has similar provisions that will extend to non-custodial sentencing including parole, suspended sentence and community service.

Plea bargain saves time and resources, reduces the trauma to the victims, aid prison decongestion, helps case management, reduces the number of inmates awaiting trial. In the same vein, non-custodial sentencing helps decongest our prisons and allow convicts to contribute to societal good in terms of community service.

Collection, storage of data and record of arrests

Section 20 (1) ACJL requires that “officers in charge of Police station shall report to the nearest Magistrate the cases of all persons arrested without warrant within the limits of their respective station whether such persons have been admitted to bail or not and the Chief Magistrate shall notify the Chief Registrar of the High Court of such report who shall forward the report to the Director of Public Prosecutions for necessary actions”.

The ACJL further directs that “the Commissioner of Police shall remit to the Office of the Attorney-General a record of all arrests made with or without a warrant in relation to state offences within one week of the arrest”.

ACJA made similar provisions to the effect that the police takes a full inventory of every arrested person, including the persons physical and biometric data within 48 hours. This is to prevent unreasonable pre-trial detention by the police and other law enforcement agencies. See Section 15 (1) & (2) ACJA.

There is established in Section 16 (1) ACJA a Central Criminal Records Registry at the Police Force where all information of all persons who encounters the criminal justice processes are stored and managed. Section 16 (2) creates Criminal Record Registry in all State commands, where all the data collected of all arrested persons from the police posts and divisions are transmitted to the State Command Registry and then collated and stored at the Central Registry at the force headquarters.

A critical provision is Section 16 (3) ACJA which makes it mandatory for the police to ensure that the decision of the Court in all criminal trials are transmitted to the Central Criminal Records Registry within thirty days of delivery of the judgement.

Imagine what it will mean for the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria if this little effort at registration of criminal convictions or acquittals are made! The prosecution will know who and what they are dealing with from day one. The defence counsel can no longer cast every serial offender as an innocent person making his first and unintended transgression against the Law. Above all, everyone could search the registry as you would at the Corporate Affairs Commission and easily overcome the problem of information asymmetry in the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria.

According to Chino Obiagwu, the Executive Director of Legal Defence and Assistance Project in his piece “ACJ Act 2015: New Face of Federal Criminal Justice Administration”, “this is an innovation that would improve crime prevention and management in the country. It requires strong political will of the police leadership and other federal justice sector institutions leaders to fully implement it. It will be very useful to have strong coordination and increased exchange of data including harmonisation of biometric information among the security and other electronic data sources including telecommunications, banks, customs, passport and immigration offices, etc so that it can be fed into the national identity card programme that would ensure that all residents of Nigeria are captured in a well managed and IT-based data base”.

The ACJA further provided that the Attorney-General of the Federation shall maintain an electronic register of arrests, which will collate reports of all arrested persons from the police state commands and the force headquarters to the Attorney-General’s office.

Section 29: “The inspector- General of police and the head of every agency recognized by law to make arrests shall remit quarterly to the Attorney-General of the Federation a record of all arrests made with or without warrant in relation to federal offences within Nigeria.

“The Commissioner of Police in a State and head of every agency authorized by law to make arrests within a State shall remit quarterly to the Attorney-General of that State a record of all arrests made with or without warrant in relation to State offences or arrests within the State.

“The report shall contain the full particulars of arrested suspects as prescribed by Section 15 of this Act.

“A register of arrests containing the particulars prescribed in section 15 of this Act shall be kept in the prescribed form at every police station or agency recognized by law to make arrests, whether made with or without warrant, within the local limits of the police station or agency, or within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, shall be entered accordingly by the officer in charge of the police station or official in charge of the agency as soon as the arrested suspect is brought to the police station or agency”.

The Attorney-General of the Federation shall establish an electronic and manual database of all records of arrests at the Federal and State level.

One can only hope that all involved will do what is right to give efficacy to these provisions.

Report to Supervising Magistrate, Chief Magistrate’s visit to Police Station, and returns by Comptroller – General of Prisons

To further secure the rights of suspects, track everyone who encounter the criminal justice system, prevent human rights abuses and perhaps to prevent undue and prolonged detention of suspects the ACJA made further note worthy provisions.

Section 33 (1) thereof provides that an officer in charge of a police station or an official in charge of an agency authorized to make arrest shall on the last working day of every month report to the nearest Magistrate the cases of all suspects arrested without warrant within the limits of their stations or agency whether the suspects have been admitted to bail or not.

Section 34 of ACJA in the same vein provides that the Chief Magistrate, or where there is no Chief Magistrate within the police division, any Magistrate designated by the Chief Judge for that purpose shall, at least every month, conduct an inspection of police stations or other places of detention within his territorial jurisdiction other the prison.

Section 111 ACJA further provides that the Comptroller – General of Prisons is to make returns every 90 days to the Chief Judges, President of the National Industrial Court and the Attorney – General of the Federation of all persons awaiting trial held in custody for a period beyond 180 days from the date of arraignment.

ACJA makes it mandatory that upon the receipt of such return, the recipient shall take such steps as necessary to address the issues raised in the return in furtherance of the objectives of the Act.

Legal Advice

If you are a defence counsel, one of the major causes of frustration and delay in criminal trials is the time spent to obtain the Advice of the Director of Public Prosecution in our various States which has been euphemistically tagged “awaiting DPP’s advice”.

Now the ACJL recognized this as an embarrassment and major cause of delays in criminal trials and therefore directs in Section 74 (1) ACJL that the Commissioner of Police “shall forward all duplicate case files with respect to indictable offences to the Office of the Attorney-General for the purpose of issuance of legal advice”.

However the ACJA took this further by imposing time frames to ensure prompt issuance of legal advice and aid speedy trials. Section 376 (1) imposed an obligation on the police to forward the casefile of investigations in respect of an offence the magistrate has no jurisdiction to try to the Attorney-General of the Federation to issue legal advice within 14 days of the receipt of the case file indicating whether or not there is a prima facie case against the defendant for which he can be prosecuted. Copies of such legal advice must be served on the police, the court and the suspect involved.

The elaborate prescriptions for time limits for the issuance of legal advice by the Attorney-General will greatly help the decongestion of our prisons and facilitate expeditious trials as ACJA also provides that the suspect should be released unconditionally if he is not charged to court after 56 days upon with or without an application by his legal practitioner and no further application for remand shall be entertained in the matter. See Section 296 ACJA.

Simplification of Bail Processes:

The ACJL now makes provisions in Sections 118 (3), 119 and 138 respectively to ease bail burden on suspects which are at times overwhelming and almost impossible to discharge. The provisions are:
1. a) No person shall be denied or prevented or restricted from entering into any recognizance or standing as suretry or providing any security on the ground that the person is a woman.
1. b) A Judge may, if he thinks fit, admit any person charged before a Magistrate Court to bail although the Court before whom the Charge was made has not thought it fit to do so.
1. c) The Chief Judge may, by regulation, register and license individuals or corporate bodies or persons to act as Bondspersons within the jurisdiction of the Court in which they are registered.
See Sections 167 (3) and 187 (1) of ACJA for similar provisions.

We consider these provisions very important as one of the factors which account for prison congestion and long trials is the inability of suspects to meet their bail conditions. Any simplification of the process that the extant law proposes to facilitate the early release of persons in custody is a welcome development. Bondspersons will help all and sundry as it will eliminate the need for every accused person to have personal sureties who will meet the specifications of the conditions of bail.

Remand Proceedings:

Section 291 to 296 of ACJA provides for remand proceedings and time limit.

The point to note is that Section 293 of ACJA generally provides that upon an application ex parte by the police in the prescribed form a magistrate may order the remand of a suspect pending the receipt of the Legal advise of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Section 296 ACJA imposes time limits of 14 days on four different accounts for the prosecution to take steps to prosecute the suspect and where that is not done for a cumulative 56 days, the magistrate is empowered to release the suspect from prison custody unconditionally. See Section 296 (6) (7) and Lufadeju v. Johnson (2007) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1037) 538.

There is the major advantage that this provision will prevent the pre-trial process from dragging on and shortening time spent ‘awaiting DPP’s advice’, promote prompt arraignment before the trial court and help decongest our prisons.

Abolition of Lay Prosecutors:

Constitutionally the Attorney-General of the Federation and of the federating States are vested with the powers to prosecute offenders personally or through the legal officers in the Justice Ministry.

However the prosecutorial powers of the police and other law enforcement agencies like the EFCC, ICPC, NDLEA have been recognized and assured by the enabling Act establishing these agencies albeit subject to the overriding power of the Attorney-General to takeover or discontinue any such proceedings at any time before judgement.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria had held in the two landmark cases of Olusemo v. the Commissioner of Police (1998) II NWLR (pt 575), 547 and Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Osahon (2006) that the power to prosecute is not limited to the Attorney General alone. A police officer and any such other person or body who has been statutorily clothed with the power to prosecute can do so but subject of course to the Attorney General’s power to take over and continue any such criminal proceedings that may have been instituted by any other authority or person; and to discontinue at any stage before judgement is delivered any such criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by him or any other authority or person. In exercising these powers, the constitution granted the Attorney General the latitude and wide discretion as he shall only have regard to the public interest, the interest of justice and the need to prevent abuse of legal process and the Attorney General alone determines when and in what circumstances to act.

Therefore the fact that the EFCC and ICPC and other such bodies as NAFDAC and NDLEA have the power to prosecute before the enactment of ACJL and ACJA is a moot point. See further Customs and Excise v. Senator Barau (1982) 2 N.C.R. 1 and Unipetrol Plc. v. E.S.B.I.R (2006) Vol. 6 M.J.S.C 114. The Supreme Court even widened the frontiers, pronouncing in Fawehinmi v. Akilu & Togun (1987) 4 NWLR (Pt. 67) 797 that a private citizen had the locus, which is the standing to prosecute or file an information after an application endorsed by the Attorney-General.

However, it now appears that the tables have turned. By the relevant provision of the Lagos Law and ACJA, police lay prosecutors are to be abolished. By the provisions of ACJL trials should be held in the High court on information filed by a Law Officer or Private Prosecutor.

Section 253 ACJL categorically provides that “information shall be signed by a Law Officer”. The implied interpretation of this is that since a criminal trial can only be commenced at the High Court by an information, which can only be signed by a Law Officer, the policeman, even if learned in law, not being a Law Officer is thus excluded from prosecuting at the Lagos High Court.

The ACJA made similar provisions in Section 106 to the effect that the prosecution of all offences in any Court shall be undertaken by the Attorney-General of the Federation or a law officer in his ministry, a legal practitioner authorized by him to prosecute or a legal practitioner authorized by ACJA or any Act of the National Assembly to prosecute.

It should be obvious that by this provision, any police officer or public official who is not a qualified legal practitioner cannot prosecute in the Federal High Court, the High Court and the Magistrate Courts of the Federal Capital Territory.

Ostensibly this provision was made to cure the apparent incapacity of lay prosecutors to respond to vital issues of law raised for determination by legal practitioners appearing for defendants in criminal trials, delay by lay prosecutors who never seem to have their witnesses on hand and the alarming failure of lay prosecutors to secure convictions in many simple cases especially at the magistrate courts.

Legal Aid:

Section 74 (6) ACJL prescribed a State-run free legal services to a suspect in the form of the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) when it states that “a form indicating a desire to be represented by counsel of his choice or the Office of the Public Defender, Legal Aid Council or any other organization providing legal aid shall be attached to each legal advice for purpose of endorsement by the person in respect of whom legal advice is preferred”.

The OPD has such powers as:
1. a) The provision of legal aid services and advice;
2. b) To receive complaints from individuals or by referrals from government and private institutions;
3. c) Investigate complaints and referrals made to it and to prepare necessary legal documents;
4. d) Negotiate settlements or give necessary legal advice in alternative dispute resolutions, etc.
On the other hand Section 17 (2) of ACJA provides for the desirability of recording a suspect’s extra-judicial statement in the presence of a legal practitioner of his choice or an officer of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, or an official of a Civil Society Organisation or a Justice of the Peace or any other person of his choice.

Whilst both Laws recognised the traditional role of the Legal Aid Council in providing legal aid services to indigent Nigerians, the Lagos Law took it further by widening the scope and bringing in OPD which operations have enabled the provision of free legal services in respect of criminal and civil matters to indigent residents of Lagos State without regards to tribe, race or religion.

CONCLUSION:

The Government of Lagos State and the Federal Government ought to be commended for the long overdue overhaul of the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria. A few States of the Federation have followed suit and those who have not done so have been urged to adopt and or domesticate the model federal law in their jurisdiction of competence.

A crime free society is a prosperous society where economic and social development is assured so this attempt at galvanizing an efficient and effective administration of criminal justice in Nigeria is one that all stakeholders and every Nigerian must embrace and work assiduously towards the realization of the objectives of the Federal and State Laws.

Stephen Onimisi Obajaja, a Lagos based Legal practitioner is the immediate past Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association ( NBA) Lagos Branch.
January 9, 2018
‘Local government administration still relevant in Lagos’

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Community and Communications, Kehinde Bamigbetan spoke about the impact of community newspapers to the growth of the state and why the government will continue to partner with them in selling its programmes and policies. He also spoke about government’s strides in the promotion of community governance through the Community Development Associations which has witnessed phenomena growth in the last 30 months. He spoke with Adeyinka Aderibigbe.

How would you assess the level of community participation in governance compared to what you met on ground? How far have you been able to confront the issues met on ground head-on in addressing it?

We went on a tour of all the CDAs, during which we audited the relationship between the CDAs and CDCs and between the CDCs and the local governments. Through these tours, we were able to identify the areas of obstacles and engage the stakeholders so that by the time we finished, we had developed a stronger web among them.

There were instances, for example, where the CDAs and local governments were at loggerheads and we used that intervention to bring them together that they have to work together. There were CDAs for example, that had projects and they were expecting a matching grant from local government which they didn’t do, but because of our intervention, we were able to solve those things.

There are subventions that local governments were meant to give to CDAs, which many of them couldn’t secure until we started this intervention. Many of them now saw the need to start giving the CDAs subventions. In fact, some of them owed subventions running to two to three years and immediately some of them raised cheques and signed them out based on that intervention.

We have also started using the CDAs not just for policy formulation, but for execution. For example, when we were going to do the 114 roads, we met with all the CDAs and gave them a template on how to monitor the projects. For instance, the moment the contractors come to site, they were supposed to hold a meeting with the contractors who were supposed to give them a profile of the project which must include the value of the project, the duration, the various artisans needed in case such could be found within the community and how he feels the CDAs could assist him.

There were communities where landlords had to sacrifice their fences so that the road dimension can be achieved and we were able to do all these things and be able to put the 114 roads in place without any major clashes because wherever the contractors had issues, we came in to speak to the CDAs and the CDAs understood.

I would give an example, when we had issues with the dimension of the roads at Mazamaza, in Amuwo-Odofin, it was to the CDA that we turned. On that particular street, we found that most houses belonged to widows whose only means of subsistence was the yearly rent obtained on their property. Because their houses have already encroached into the road, narrowing it to seven metres, the residents became violent and prevented the work from commencing.

The real reason was because the contractor insisted he has been paid to construct a 9.5 metre road, and if he had to do that, several houses would be affected. The residents said they no longer wanted the road. We had to come in to find a mid way. We wouldn’t want the widows to lose their rents and the same time, we wanted to do the road. Using the CDA, we were able to negotiate with the residents and agreed to shift to 8 metres. These sort of things we were able to do across the state to achieve the 114 roads without creating skirmishes all over the place.

The CDA system even at the local government, you discover that they are under the supervisory councillor for Agric and you begin to wonder. Here you are doing something so beautiful, the system they are dealing with at the local level are directly under another different system, is that not courting clashes?

Answer: Well, that is one of the issues we are already dealing with. We however should not lose sight of the fact that the local governments have been very instrumental in nurturing CDAs. But over time too, CDAs have tended to over rely on local governments for financing and for support that is one of the challenges they are facing. We are trying to encourage CDAs not to put too much pressure on local governments but to rely on their own skills to try and improve themselves.

The CDA that came first, Convenant CDA in Ikorodu, were able to on their own without support from any local government purchase 500kva transformer, they built major roads in the community, 270 metres in all, with interlocking stones and concrete drains as well as slabs. They provided street lights and constructed a police posts, all on their own.

So that is the model now, you cannot complain that the local government is controlling you or over controlling or overbearing if you yourself don’t look inwards and try and do something for yourself. And the local government would now see you have more intrinsic value that you have tried to express and that is what we are trying to encourage. We also know that we have to also review the laws so as to increase the autonomy of the CDAs.

Some people are calling for the abolition of the L.G.As, saying they are no longer relevant. Do you agree to this?

I think it is the other way round. I think the idea is to encourage CDAs to push the local governments to perform better, I think that is the role we are trying to make them play. For example, in the case of 114 road projects, they were able to monitor many of those road projects and gave an independent report. And because they were monitoring, the local government staff became much more careful because they knew the CDAs had direct access to the governor to enable him know what is happening in those local governments. That helped a lot.

Accountability is another area, you know. Current law says the local governments are supposed to publish their accounts on notice boards at the local government secretariats. That means they need the CDAs and CDCs to be carried along to enable them ascertain how local governments funds are being used and we have tried in that area. And for me, the problem with our democracy right now is lack of popular participation.

Our people are being alienated from political process and the people who are benefiting are the politicians. When more people take interest in what is happening, the more we are going to get politicians who are more responsible. So I see it as a personal passion to energise the base and when you energise the base you will have productive politics. I see that our people are generally docile, they don’t want to bother about what is happening around them and unless we correct it, unless our people are ready to tell the chairman, you’ve collected N2million, for God’s sake what have you done with it?

If we are not asking those questions, we cannot blame the chairman for being the problems of the council. For me, it’s a divine opportunity being here, it is a silent crusade to empower the people, to ask the questions and luckily many of the people at CDAs are retired professionals, they don’t need freebies. They are even landlords who have built their houses, so they are not people who would be looking for chairmen to give them money and so they should be able to speak the truth, but government needs to encourage them to do so.

January 7, 2018
Overview of administration of criminal justice law

Introduction

Lagos State first introduced the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2007 and the Law was reenacted in 2011 (ACJL) to govern criminal proceedings in Lagos State.

This Law brought radical changes into the administration of Criminal Justice in Lagos State with several provisions aimed at improving the administration of Criminal Justice in the state.

In the words of Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), one of the best lawyers around these climes in “Promoting a pace-setting and productive judiciary in Lagos State”, a keynote address the doyen of the bar delivered recently on the occasion of the Opening of the 2017/2018 Legal Year of the Lagos State Judiciary:

“The ACJL has introduced several innovations aimed at fast-tracking justice delivery, with a concerted effort at the preservation of rights of accused persons. For instance, under Section 9 of the ACJL, the confessional statement of an accused person must be captured via the use of video technology or video recording. In the absence of such video recording, such confession must be in writing, in the presence of the accused person’s legal practitioner. Failure to comply with the mandatory provision of Section 9 of the ACJL would render any such confession inadmissible in Court. This position has been affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Zhiya V. People of Lagos State. It is, therefore, not surprising that the Federal Government promptly adapted almost word-for-word, the ACJL, and enacted same as the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, although without acknowledging Lagos State as the initiator! A classical display of federal might indeed!!”

If this is so, it accords with common sense to focus primarily on the Lagos Law and draw comparisons with the federal Act (ACJA) wherever necessary in this treatise and I intend to do that.

Administration of Criminal Justice In Nigeria

Criminal Law is an aspect of Public Law which is a specialised body of rules on treatment of conduct which the statutes seek to punish, prevent and or control. The state, as representative of society acts positively to ensure enforcement. For this purpose, the state employs the police, judges and magistrates, prosecutors and prisons.

Even though the Lagos Law did not specifically state the ACJL the purpose stated in ACJA clearly dovetails with the intention of the ACJL. Section 1 of ACJA made it clear that the purpose of the Act is “to ensure that the system of administration of criminal justice in Nigeria promotes efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the society from crime and protection of the rights and interests of the suspect, the defendant and the victim”. See the case of Zubairu v. The State (2015) 16 NWLR (Pt. 1486) at 524 Paras. B; where the Supreme Court noted “Let me start with the two fold aim of criminal justice: that the guilty shall not escape or the innocent suffer. See Berger v. US 1942 cited in US v. Nixon, President of USA 418 US 683.” – PER NGWUTA, J.S.C.

The point to note though is that prior to the enactment of these forward looking legislations, the operations of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) and Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) had been fraught with numerous challenges. For example issues like coerced and involuntary confessions, court congestion, delays in trial, detention of awaiting trial suspects and accused persons standing trial without legal representation, inefficient and ineffective prosecutors and corruption of the system gave everyone involved a lot of concern.

Lawyers are also very important in the complicated business of administration of criminal justice as almost everyone in the process were first and foremost Lawyers. It amounts to little that they have become Judges, Magistrates and Prosecutors. The defence counsel is also part of the critical core. The point to take away from this is that if we must have an efficient criminal justice system as the ACJL and ACJA tries to entrench in our polity, the men on the chain all along the line must be men who are willing to birth the dream of the ACJL and ACJA.

Critical provisions of the ACJL/ACJA

The ACJL deviated from the norm. It made provisions that are alien to the Criminal Procedure Law which hitherto governed the administration of criminal justice in Lagos State. The ACJA which followed later made many similar provisions repealing by the provisions of Section 493 the Criminal Procedure Code and the Criminal Procedure Act which hitherto governed criminal prosecutions in the Southern and Northern States respectively. Any proceeding now commenced under these laws from the date of the commencement of ACJL/ACJA, irrespective of the date of gazetting will be void. See Akingbola v. FRN (2012) 9NWLR (Pt. 1306) 511, C.A. where the Court of Appeal held that any proceeding in Lagos State under the Criminal Procedure Law, repealed by the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State 2007 was void.

The ACJL in section 374 repealed the Criminal Procedure Law long before the Federal Government repealed the equivalent federal law in 2015.

We will now proceed to briefly consider some of these salient provisions that should aid speedy and efficient administration of criminal justice in Lagos State in particular and Nigeria in general.

Abolition of Arrest in Lieu

Section 4 of the ACJL provides that “no person shall be arrested in lieu of another person”. This was a regular practice of law enforcement agents akin to ‘hostage taking’ which has been widely condemned but has now been prohibited. No longer can the Police arrest a spouse or other relation to smoke out a suspect.

Section 7 of ACJA has a similar provision. See African Continental Bank Limited v. Okonkwo (1997) 1 NWLR (Pt. 48) 197 for a judicial reprimand of the police who arrest others in place of a suspect.

Prohibition of Arrest in Civil and Contractual Cases

Section 8 (2) of ACJA makes a very laudable provision to the effect that “a suspect shall not be arrested merely on a civil wrong or breach of contract”. It has become the past time of many Nigerians with the connivance of law enforcement agents to use their powers to harass citizens where contracts fail or loans remain unpaid. The Court held in A.C (O.A.O) Nig Ltd. v. Umanah (2013) 4 NWLR (Pt. 1344) 323 that “the statutory duties of the police under the Police Act is to maintain peace, law and order in the society. Debt collection or loan recovery is not within the purview of the statutory duty and powers of the police”.

Inventory of Properties

Section 6 of ACJL makes a further provision to protect the interest of the suspect as it mandates the police upon the arrest of a person to take the inventory of all items or properties recovered from the person arrested or about to be arrested. The police officer making such an inventory must sign same and the person arrested, his legal representative or any other person he chooses shall be given a copy of the inventory.

Section 10 ACJA went a bit further than the Lagos Law to provide that the suspect must duly sign the inventory. However, where the suspect refuses to sign, it shall not invalidate the inventory. It permits the police to release such property on bond upon request by either the owner of the property or parties having interest in the property. The Court may decide whether to release the property or any portion of the property in the interest of justice to the safe custody of the owner or person having interest in the property.

This provision is aimed at protecting the property rights of suspects and to make the police or any other law enforcement agency making the arrest transparent and accountable.

The Duty of the Police to Ensure Video Recording of Confessional Statements

In a radical provision to combat the often reported menace and human rights abuse whereby the police force confessions and torture suspects to confess to crimes they probably did not commit which may lead to conviction and time in jail as the best evidence in criminal proceedings especially in our clime where forensic evidence may not be available is the confessional statements, the Law placed a onerous duty on the police to ensure video recording of confessional statements.

Section 9 (3) of the ACJL provides that “where any person who is arrested with or without a warrant volunteers to make a confessional statement, the police shall ensure that the making and taking of such statement is recorded on video and the said recording and copies thereof may be produced at the trial provided that in the absence of video facility, the said statement shall be in writing in the presence of a legal practitioner of his choice”.

One can only begin to appreciate the great good this provision has done if one has ever been involved in criminal prosecutions where most of the evidence you have is the confessional statement of an accused person who continues to maintain that the statement was not voluntary and yet you have the police who swear that the suspect made a voluntary statement. Trial within trial is not really a pleasant affair for the defence counsel.

The eminent justice of the Supreme Court Rhodes – Vivour, JSC in Owhoruke v. COP 15 NWLR (Pt. 1483) 557 at 570 empathized with defendants and the defence counsel thus: “it must be noted that most crimes are committed by people with little or no education, consequently they are easily led along by the investigating Police Officer to write incriminating statements which legal minds find almost impossible to unravel and resolve. Confessional statements are most times beaten out of suspects, and the courts usually admit such statements as counsel and the accused are unable to prove that the statement was not made voluntarily. A fair trial presupposes that police investigation of the crime for which the accused person stands trial was transparent. In that regard it is time for safeguards to be put in place to guarantee transparency. It is seriously recommended that confessional statements should only be taken from suspect if, and only if his counsel is present, or in the presence of a legal practitioner. Where this is not done such a confessional statement should be rejected by the court”.

ACJA made a similar provision in Section 15 (4) as follows “where a suspect who is arrested with or without warrant volunteers to make a confessional statement, the police officer shall ensure that the making and taking of the statement shall be in writing and may be recorded electronically on a retrieval video compact disc or such other audio visual means.

Note though that Section 8 (1) ACJA already provides that “a suspect shall be accorded humane treatment, having regard to his right to the dignity of his person and not be subjected to any form of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”.

It does appear that compared to the provisions of the Lagos Law, ACJA does not make electronic visual recording mandatory. This is why Section 15 (5) is a provision that waters down Section 15 (4) of ACJA. It provides, “notwithstanding the provision of Subsection (4) of this section, an oral confession of arrested suspect shall be admissible in evidence”.

At the time ACJL came into force in Lagos State, many thought this provision offended the rules of evidence over which only the federal legislature superintends as it was clearly incongruous with the provisions of Sections 28 and 29 of the Evidence Act. Thankfully the Federal legislature in enacting ACJA validated the forward looking and pragmatic initiative of Lagos State with ACJL in line with the reasoning of the Court of Appeal in 2010 when it became an issue of whether a lacuna in the Evidence Act can be positively resolved by a judicial pronouncement when it held in FRN v. Fani Kayode (2010) 14 NWLR (Pt. 1214) 481 at 492 “while judges must refrain from attempting to make laws from the bench, they must not shy away from adopting a proactive approach to the interpretation of the law. Judicial officers must not place on themselves, disabilities not imposed by the law.”

January 2, 2018
Lagos workers acquire skills for pension administration

Governments and employers, who fail to accept the welfare of the people as the ultimate law, is at the risk of ruining its stewardships and the trust of the citizens in governance, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

He added that employers, who deny this run the undeniable risk of ruining their enterprise, the trust and the devotion of their employees.

The governor made this statements at the opening session of a workshop tagged: “Vital Interpersonal Skills for Pension Administrators”, organised by the Civil Service Pensions Office (CSPO) of the Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions in Lagos.

Ambode, who was represented by Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson, said Lagos State government is one of the most notable governments that believe in this ideal, adding that the unrivalled dedication of the state to the welfare of its workforce both during and after service cannot be overemphasised.

The commissioner said Governor Ambode mandated his ministry to embark on a continuous training of members of staff of the ministry in order to ensure the delivery of top quality service to officers of the civil service.

The training, he said, was dedicated to the need to inculcate and sharpen the vital interpersonal skills that officers of the Civil Service Pensions Office require to properly serve pensioners and retirees of the state civil service.

He said: “In addition to fulfilling my duties charged with the responsibility for ensuring the adequate exposure of the civil service to knowledge on an on going basis, the activities that have been carried out signify and underscore the Governor’s commitment to all matters relating to the welfare of staff, retirees, and pensioners in Lagos State.

“In aiming to call attention to, and aid the development of, the vital interpersonal skills that are vital for pension administrators, our training will focus on the skills that are not learnt in schools, but are important though, rarely visible. These are the skills that are less tangible, harder to quantify, challenging to teach and, sometimes, difficult to describe. They include attributes such as etiquette, getting along with others, listening and engaging in small talk. Without doubt, these skills are related to the concept of ‘employability’, but they are also related to the concepts of effectiveness and efficiency.”

He continued:“Clearly, possessing the right attitude to work is a soft skill that is not taught in the universities and other formal schools. This is, therefore, an attempt to help officers of the Civil Service Pensions Office develop the skills that are necessary for success. The training will also fully assist the participating officers to appreciate and acquire the benefits that skills training brings to bear on the attainment of the strategic objectives of the government and the effectiveness of the institutions of the civil service. It will also help pension administrators in the CSPO benefit from having officers, who are able to make critical observations.”

November 13, 2017
$25b contracts: PENGASSAN vows to resist interference in NNPC administration

Oil workers, under the aegis of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), have vowed to resist any attempt by officials not designated for the administration of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to meddle in the affairs of the association.

The workers warned that they would stop non-executive officials from using top management positions in the NNPC to settle cronies at the detriment of dedicated members of the staff.

In a statement by the Secretary of the Group Executive Council (GEC) of PENGASSAN in NNPC, Comrade Sulaiman Sulaiman, they noted that the recent re-organisation in the NNPC was in good faith and it encouraged internal growth.

They said: “We are convinced that the recent re-organisation in NNPC is in good faith and in tandem with our call to allow internal growth in the system through hard work and positive appraisals.

“We shall continue to reject and vehemently resist attempts in meddling in the day-to-day running of the organisation by non-executive officials of the Corporation. We will no longer allow our institution to be an avenue to settle friends and cohorts into management positions of NNPC at the detriment of dedicated staff with all the requisite qualifications within the system.

“Problems will continue to occur as long as the Chairman of the Board continues to meddle into the day-to-day running of the organisation, which is a management role. Any attempt to allow this happen will spell doom for the country and create a window for abuse.”

The senior staff said good practice in corporate governance required absolute segregation of oversight role from the management’s day-to-day functions.

They asked: “Why should a board chairman seek to meddle in internal organisational adjustment?” They noted that the chairman should focus on performance appraisal of the Board’s committees and its members, rather than wanting to dictate appointments or award contracts in NNPC.

The workers, contrary to claim in the said letter of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, to the President, members of staff are no longer afraid to talk or express their opinion, especially with the domestication of the whistle blowing policy and re-constitution and launch of the Anti-Corruption Committee by the GMD.

October 13, 2017