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Tag: criminal justice system

  • Senior lawyer, magistrate, others suggest ways to enhance criminal justice system

    Senior lawyer, magistrate, others suggest ways to enhance criminal justice system

    …ACJA amendment bill ready in few days – Prof Akinseye-George

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Professor Yemi Akinseye-George, and other criminal justice sector stakeholders have suggested ways to enhance the effectiveness of the system in the country.

    They stressed the importance of continuous reforms and enhanced collaboration among stakeholders as a measure to ensure improved service delivery within the criminal justice system.

    Akinseye-George, who is the President of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS), and the other stakeholders spoke in Abuja at a capacity building workshop on the emerging trends in the implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and Administration of Criminal Justice Laws (ACJA/ACJL).

    The event, attended by senior officials from relevant criminal justice sector agencies, was organised by the CSLS, in partnership with the Rule is Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) Programme.

    Among the other stakeholders who spoke were Mrs. Idayat Akanni (Director of Magistrates at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT); Mrs. Muinat Adeleye (Deputy Director, Prosecution and Legal Services at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA), and Abdullahi Danjuma, a senior official with the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).

    Akinseye-George noted that since the ACJA came into existence about 10 years ago, the criminal justice system has witnessed some positive trends, which are reflected in the enthusiasm exhibited by key stakeholders.

    READ ALSO: I thought Boko Haram will end under Buhari, says Jonathan

    He added that the leadership of the criminal justice sector, represented by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Supreme Court, “has demonstrated a very positive attitude towards the implementation of these laws.”

    Akinseye-George, however, expressed concern about emerging negative trends, which he said were beginning to work against the objectives of the laws.

    He said, apart from the fact that the AGF has constituted a National Working Group to oversee the implementation of the ACJA/ACJLs, he also recently conducted a stakeholders’ forum to review the ACJA amendment bill 2023.

    Akinseye-George disclosed that “efforts are currently being made to finalise the final draft of that amendment bill.

    “We have been assured that once works are completed on the bill, it will be forwarded to the National Assembly within the next few days.

    “We want to use this opportunity to appeal to the National Assembly, particularly the Senate, to promptly set in motion the legislative processes required for the passage of the improved ACJA,” he said.

    Akinseye-George said the negative trends noticed in the implementation of the laws are associated with identified important gaps which are inherent in, among others, the existing weak pre-trial case management system.

    Akinseye-George added, “It is because of the weakness of the pre-trial case management system that many of our courts have continued to adjourn criminal cases for more than 14 days, which is the minimum standard provided for in the ACJA.”

    He noted that although the current position of the law is that no court has the power to grant a stay of proceedings in criminal cases in the country, some judges were still doing so and also deploying the trial-within-trial procedure to delay proceedings.

    Akinseye-George urged the trial courts (both Magistrates and the High Courts) to do away with the practice where applications for objection to the admissibility of confessional statements lead to a prolonged trial-within-trial that often results in delay in the actual trial.

    He added, “We appeal to our courts to adopt the new approach, which allows the prosecution to front-load its evidence in support of the voluntariness of the confessional statements.

    “And when the prosecution’s evidence is front-loaded, the defence is given the opportunity, when presenting its case, to also present counter-evidence to support its position that the statements were not made voluntarily.

    “There is no need to conduct a separate trial from the main trial, just because of the disagreement about the voluntariness or otherwise of the said confessional statements.

    “The judge can simply resolve this issue while reviewing the entire case at judgment to determine, from available evidence, whether or not the statements were made voluntarily and decide whether or not to rely on such confessional statements,” he said.

    Akanni stressed the need to continue to reform the criminal justice system and the applicable laws to ensure their continuous relevance.

    She said, “We are living in a rapidly evolving society, a society shaped by technological advances, shifting social norms, rising demands for transparency, and an increasingly informed public that seeks justice not just as a concept, but as a lived reality.

    “In such a dynamic context, the laws that guide our justice system must not stand still. For when laws fail to adapt, they risk becoming tools of delay, and in time, instruments of denial.

    “Today, we find ourselves at a crossroads, where tradition must engage innovation, and where the legal system must continue to balance the scales of justice with both wisdom and foresight,” Mrs. Akanni said.

    Danjuma stressed the need for enhanced collaboration among stakeholders to address existing challenges in the system to ensure effectiveness.

    He also called for improved adoption of the non-custodial option as a way of decongesting the various correctional centres.

  • ‘Overhaul criminal justice system’

    Some Lagos-based lawyers yesterday called for a reform of the justice system and the provisions of its laws.

    They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the legal system had been mired by challenges ranging from applicable laws to their implementation.

    The lawyers held that a review was imminent and called for an overhaul of the legal system.

    A constitutional lawyer, Mr. Spurgeon Ataene, described the judiciary as embattled, citing the invasion of the homes of some judicial officers.

    Read also: PDP rejects Zakari as chair of presidential election collation panel

    “The arraignment of some judges is indeed a sad commentary for the judiciary. The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) should evolve and articulate policies that will fortify the judicial arm of the government,” he said.

    Ataene called for an interface with the arms of government, in order to avoid conflict.

    “It is important for the CJN to interface with the executive and legislative arms of government in finding effective ways of resolving conflicts, rather than exposing the judiciary to needless public ridicule.

    “More so, it is important for judges to deliver on their mandates, and endeavour to reduce the burden of justice on the citizens and not being overbearing,” he said.

    Ataene called on the CJN to restore the past glory of the judiciary.

  • El-Zakzaky: ‘Stop abuse of criminal justice system’

    The Kaduna State government has now charged leader of the Shiite sect, Sheik El Zakzaky and three others (Zeenah Ibrahim, Yakubu Katsina and Sanusi Koki) for offences ranging from road blockages with dangerous weapons, homicide, unlawful assembly, and preventing the movement of the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff.

    The offences stem from the December 2015 protests and clashes between members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen Tukur Buratai. These charges come nearly two and half years since the incidents happened and for about that same length of time El Zakzaky has been in detention – without charges – with his wife.

    The new developments come at a time members of the IMN have stepped up civic efforts to press for the release of their leader who, with his wife, have been in what the government describes as “protective custody” since December 2015, notwithstanding the declaration of their detention as illegal by a court of law, which also ordered their release from custody since December 2016.

     

    Nigeria’s post-rule of law govt

     

    The government – a government, which came into power through the law – has since broken out of the restraining power of the rule of law in dealing with the Shiites, particularly its leadership, though this is not the only area where this is apparent. It is not just troubling that a constitutional government can ride rough shod over the authority of a coordinate branch of the government in refusing to implement adjudicated decisions, but even more so that it unabashedly perverts the use of the state’s instruments of governance and practices invidious treacheries with them.

    It is important to recall the events that led to the detention of Sheik El Zakzaky and how it plays into this narrative. On Saturday, December 12, 2015, military officials in a convoy of Lt-Gen. Buratai (as he was then) ran into a roadblock by IMN members.

    To pass this roadblock, particularly after entreaties to IMN members had reportedly failed, soldiers opened fire on defenceless members of the group, according to Army spokesperson Col. Usman Sani, that the Army Chief’s convoy could get through the barricaded road. The shooting claimed several lives, including those of women and children. A soldier also lost his life in the incident.

    Two days later, soldiers attacked the residence of Sheik  Zak-Zaky, killed  hundreds of people and destroyed properties and houses belonging to the IMN sect. Many bodies of those killed were mass buried. The Justice Garba Judicial Commission of Enquiry, convoked by the Kaduna government to investigate the incidents found that at least 348 members of the IMN were killed during the clashes, and that this may not include seven members who were also killed during the road protests. The JCE noted specifically that the force used by the Army resulting in the deaths was “disproportionate”.

     

    Justice and accountability for some, not others 

     

    While the JCE recommended the prosecution of IMN members who were “involved in the killing of Cpl. Dan Kaduna Yakubu”, it indicted the General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army 1st Division in Kaduna, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade, as well as Colonel A.K. Ibraheem, who led the operation that culminated in the deaths of IMN’s members and recommended the criminal trial of both of them as well as the trial of other Army officers “who partook in the killings”, noting: ‘’The high number of casualties cannot be justified.’’s

    Since then, the Kaduna State Government has commenced the prosecution of 259 IMN members for the murder of one soldier Cpl. Dan Kaduna Yakubu, who died during the clashes. However, of the more than 348 persons who were killed by the army, not one soldier, or their commander, has been charged for murder, notwithstanding the recommendation of the JCE.

    The leader of IMN Sheik El Zakzaky, who has lost two of his sons to earlier killings by the military in Kaduna in 2014, sustained serious injuries during the clashes and has been in incommunicado detention since then.

    Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-rufai who had earlier promised to use the “Commission’s recommendations in assigning administrative and criminal responsibility to those who allegedly participated in the violence” and “to punish culprits” first appeared like an honest, if principled mediator. With hindsight, it appears that he spoke up for the politics of it. When the moment of truth finally came, he nailed his colours to the mast and showed everyone where his loyalty stood. His government completed a 360 degree departure from the earlier promise to “punish culprits” so that now, the Kaduna State Ministry of Justice is only fixated on pursuing justice for one death – that of the soldier – and burying the atrocities associated with the brutal killing of over 348 people by the Army under the rug.

    This parochial pursuit of justice over the death of one soldier and the deliberate indifference to supplying justice and accountability for the killing of more than 348 “civilians” plumbs the depths of vileness, bigotry and impunity. The bare-faced affront to the basic idea of justice would give apartheid policies and regimes a modicum of respectability in comparison. The impunity revulses and it will come to represent such a bankrupt portrait of how low a so-called democratic government is willing to go in politicising institutions and resources of governance to serve its own jaundice, prejudice and bigotry. How can the loss of one life be deserving of justice, and the loss of over 348 others undeserving of it under the same Constitution?

    It is a reviling, anti-democratic thing to rank one life intrinsically superior to another, or, for that matter, to an aggregate of others as in this case! No government is permitted, under a democratic Constitution, to devalue human life in this manner or to cherry pick the lives, the rights or the religious or social identity of the people it would defend, and those it would consider expendable. This is what the Kaduna State government is doing.

    It is deeply unfortunate and troubling that the Kaduna government has elevated to an instrument of state policy, the use of apartheid-like distinctions in its politics and governance. By turning victims of a vicious, brutal murderous aggression into its perpetrators, and treating the aggressors as victims, and thereafter using the resources of the state and tax payer money to pursue these one-sided prosecutions, the government threatens the fundamental values of human society and constitutional democracy.

    The Kaduna government does not have a moral, and, if we may say so, the constitutional right to practise this horrendous form of discrimination inherent in arraigning Sheik  Zakzaky and others for homicide trial when it is not ready to prosecute and bring to justice, also, soldiers who summarily, wilfully and atrociously killed hundreds of “Shiite” Nigerians at their pleasure.

    Unfortunately, all this is taking place under the watch of a President who had sold himself to Nigerians and the international community as a reformed democrat. We can recall his speech at the United Kingdom’s Chatham House on February 26, 2015, where he assured his audience that “… before you is a former military ruler and a converted democrat who is ready to operate under democratic norms  …”

    His administration has not lived up the stature of that characterisation. Operating under democratic norms must mean respect for the rule of law and the authority of the courts. It must mean that government will protect its citizens from violence – whether this comes from other citizens or from the agencies of the state. What we see rather, is the steady emboldening of a climate of impunity in governance.

    Impunity breeds and feeds resentment, division and conflict and, as our recent history teaches us, it also offers the building blocks for radicalisation and the construction of anti-state ideologies and the fact that we are dealing with a religious group makes it all the more worrisome.

    We urge the Buhari administration to walk back this culture of impunity and lawlessness we see around us, and rebuild governance on the cornerstone of the rule of law and that it ensures equality, fairness and justice in addressing the country’s many challenges, not least, the delicate situation of the Shiite group and their leadership.

     

    • Otteh is affiliated to the Access to Justice, a non-profit justice advocacy group.

  • Failed criminal justice system

    Our criminal justice system has failed woefully and not much is being done by federal and state governments to redress the fundamental causes of this malady. At the low rung of our national life, you have tens of thousands of persons languishing in jail on awaiting trial while at the upper echelon, you have intractable thousands of corruption and financial crime cases bogging down the judicial system as the manifestation of this failure.

    The stark statistics are indeed scary. According to a report credited to the Country Director of Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants, CURE – Nigeria, Mr Sylvester Uhaa, as at the beginning of this year, there were 47,817 awaiting trial inmates out of 69,200 detainees across the prisons in our country. On the other side, the recently inaugurated Corruption and Financial Crimes Cases Trials Monitoring Committee (CONTRIMCO), has identified 2,306 existing corruption related cases across the country.

    Another manifestation of the crisis is the disproportionate number of cases struck out for want of diligent prosecution by the courts. According to a senior magistrate who was expressing his frustration in the presence of this writer, nearly 100 per cent of the cases he had handled since the beginning of this year were all struck out for want of diligent prosecution. The situation is not different with corruption and financial crimes related cases lost by the prosecution in the high courts.

    A recent dramatic development which further confirms this national challenge is the spirited effort of the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay, to stop the runaway gold medallist, with respect to allegations of corruption, in President Goodluck Jonathan’s era, the delectable Diezani Alison-Madueke, from coming home to face corruption charges in our courts.

    In what will rank as a classical irony, Malami and Sagay argued stringently that Alison-Madueke, who served as petroleum minister under Jonathan, should stay in London to face criminal trial instead of coming home to face squarely humongous allegations of mismanaging, embezzling, and stealing billions of naira and dollars belonging to Nigeria while she served as the chief exchequer of the Peoples Democratic Party’s failed re-election gambit. In making that assertion, the two principal officers in the anti-corruption war were confirming what we all know, even though we pretend.

    The living example that their fear is potent is the former governor of Delta state, James Ibori, who was discharged and acquitted in Nigeria over corruption cases only to be tried and jailed in the United Kingdom for offences, whose ingredients were curried in Nigeria.  Of course, the establishment of the Sagay committee by President Muhammadu Buhari’s government was a manifest vote of no confidence in the functionality of the criminal justice system.

    Unfortunately, after the initial public excitement created by the early morning raids of the houses of senior judges and retired military officers, the fight against corruption has been bogged by the scum drudgery of our failed criminal justice system. Stalled, distracted and disarticulated, the fight has not met the huge expectations. To buttress the prevalent frustration across board, PACAC’S chairman, Professor Sagay’s major contribution to the fight against corruption may be his media exposé against the National Assembly.

    But the feeling of despondency that led to the inauguration of the Sagay committee was not misplaced. The real challenge is that the committee can only exercise minor influence as a change agent, considering our extant criminal justice laws, the procedural hurdles in criminal prosecution, limited forensic capacities, the sociological disposition to crime and other general legal technicalities which make prosecution a nightmare, for the prosecutor and the state.

    Seeing that the Sagay committee has lost steam, the National Judicial Council (NJC), which was thoroughly embarrassed by the braggadocio of the security agencies, which were encouraged to invade the constitutional prerogatives of NJC, to show the determination of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to wrestle corruption down, has seized the moment with the establishment of CONTRIMCO, to give verve to the criminal justice system, in the fight against corruption.

    Again, Nigerians have invested a lot of hope in the new committee, with many believing that since it was set up by NJC, the wahala bedevilling the system will vanish. But I doubt if the new committee would achieve much, considering the enormity of powers in the hands of the judges, the unfair technical advantages in favour of the accused even with prima-facie cases of corruption, and of course, and the incompetence of the judicial officers and prosecutor agencies.

    By the provision of our constitution and other extant laws, a judge substantially owns his court. These powers are enormous in the hands of a trial judge. With most of the courts operating a manual recording system, the powers could be very overwhelming in the hands of compromised judge. After all, it is his record of proceedings and first hand observations that an appellate court can only rely upon, assuming there is an appeal against miscarriage of justice.

    Under our laws, truth most times suffer in the hand of over-bearing technicalities. This burden on criminal justice system is exploited by lawyers who have core competence in technicalities. This undue advantage turn the Achilles hills of our justice system, with the absence or low level of technology or forensic expertise across board. Add this bedlam to the evidential burden on the prosecutor, who is always required by law to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt.

    A further challenge is the process of recruiting and promoting judicial officials, based on several other considerations away from competence, which ordinarily should be the major consideration. This challenge also exists in choosing the prosecutors, and even in choosing which cases to pursue and which cases to frustrate. With the defence hurling technicalities at incompetent judicial officers, the problem facing our criminal justice system gets even more compounded.

    So, while we engage in fire-fighting measures with CONTRIMCO and PACAC, and several law review commissions which mainly dust up some of the changes that have taken place in Europe and elsewhere and recommend them as the solution to the scourge of our failed criminal justice system, I think it is time to engage in a wholesome review of the system. We should consider introducing the jury system which deals more with facts than technicalities in the assessment of guilty or non-guilty verdicts. Of course, the current system where the responsibilities of the judge is so restricted by law and practice, instead of allowing him to sift facts from the fiction, filed by technically savvy lawyers, does further intractable damage to our decadent society.

    For the average citizen, what we currently practice as the criminal justice system is a complete aberration. Even for the elites, it is surely absurd that cases last for decades in the courts and even more absurd that persons caught red-handed committing crimes go scotch free because they are always smarter than the system.

  • Lagos CJ grants freedom to 80 juveniles in Badagry Prison

    Lagos CJ grants freedom to 80 juveniles in Badagry Prison

    Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, Tuesday, granted freedom to 80 juveniles in Badagry Prisons.

    The under aged whose ages range between 12 to 17 were said to have been arrested and charged with offences of breach of public peace, for hawking and having no means of livelihood.

    Only 28 inmates of the prison were initially scheduled for release by the Prisons Decongestion Committee headed by Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, which reviewed their cases.

    The Chief Judge had to  reviewed more cases together with her team when confronted by a large number of the under aged children languishing in the prison
    The prison premises smell like rat holes while most of the inmates were emaciated and malnourished.

    Justice Atilade said the freedom granted the under aged inmates of the prison was in conformity with the resolution of the judiciary to protect the Child Rights and also decongest prisons nationwide.

    Justice Atilade who was surprised at the high number of minors in the Badagry prison condemned the act of imprisoning underage irrespective of their offences.

    While setting the inmates free, the Chief Judge admonished them to be of good behaviour henceforth and to “go and sin no more.”

    “I pronounce, pursuant to the provisions of Sections 1(1) of the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody) Act, 2007 as well as Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution, you are all hereby released from custody”, Atilade said.

    The Chief Judge commended the various stakeholders including Office Public Defendant (OPD), Prisons Decongestion Committee and numerous non-governmental organisations that worked tirelessly to ensure the freedom of the inmates.

    Justice Atilade specially thanked, Mrs. Dupe Olubanwo, a social worker, who she said initiated the emergency prison visit due to her outcry of the overwhelming underage inmates languishing in Badagry Prison.

    Justice Yetunde idowu, who is the head of Family Court Division of the Lagos State Judiciary also condemned the imprisonment of the under aged inmates.

    According to her, the Lagos State and the Judiciary have zero tolerance for child abuse.

    “Keeping a child in prison for more than 24 hours traumatises such child and such should not be condoned at all in the state. We don’t want to encourage delinquency and we are starting today.

    “The aim of the Criminal Justice System in respect of child offender is rehabilitatory and reformatory.  We are urging everyone to quickly bring these kind of cases to our attention

    Solicitor-General, Mrs. Funlola Odunlami also said that the state especially Governor Akinwumi Ambode frowned at child abuse and will not condone child imprisonment.

    Odunlami also promised the prison authority that the state would look into all of their demands notwithstanding that it is a federal institution.

    Earlier in his welcome address, the Deputy Controller of Badagry Prison, Mr. Oyeniran Famuwagun decried the decongestion of the prison

    He said the prison built to accommodate 320 presently accommodated 584 inmates.

    He explained that 195 of the inmates are on the awaiting trial list. 389 others are convicts with a working staff population of about 70 staff.

    Famuwagun also complained of inadequate funding, lack of portable water and overstretched infrastructure at the prison particularly vehicles for conveying the inmates to courts.

  • Benue CJ, others seek reform of criminal justice system

    A group, Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE-Nigeria), has toured prisons in Benue State, donated materials and engaged stakeholders on how best to reform the Criminal Justice System. Eric Ikhilae reports.

    Those who should know, say the country’s prisons suffer from three key ailments: dilapidation, poor facilities and congestion. They believe this was caused by the failure of relevant agencies to effectively perform their roles over the years.

    This failure, they say, has transformed the prisons to “deformatory” institutions as against their intended role of “reformatory.”

    The need to reverse this state of affairs engaged stakeholders in the Benue State criminal justice system, at a stakeholders’ meeting in Makurdi recently.

    The meeting was part of a series of activities organised by a group – Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE-Nigeria).

    It involved a four-day tour of prisons in Benue by CURE and officials of the United States Embassy in Nigeria, among others.

    The tour, which lasted between May 29 and July 1, saw the visitors present books, furniture and writing boards. They also donated a 28-inch television set, power generator, reading tables and other materials worth over $10,000 for the setting up of libraries in Makurdi, Otukpo and Gboko prisons and the Children Remand Home in Gboko.

    Moved by the state of gross infrastructure deficit at the Juvenile Remand home in Gboko, the visitors wondered how a state, with a government in place, could abandon such a facility meant to reform its future generation.

    On July 1, participants from the Nigerian Prison Service, office of the Attorney-General, the police, civil society organisations and the US Embassy, examined issues identified during the tour.

    One of these issues is the non-domestication of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) in Benue.

    Many of the participants noted that this had deprived the state of the benefits of the many innovative provisions of the Act that aids swift determination of criminal cases in jurisdictions where the law operates.

    They also considered the problems of prison congestion, lack of rehabilitation and reintegration programmes and inadequate vehicles to convey inmates to courts. Others were arbitrary arrest and detention of people, violation of human rights of suspects, long court adjournments, among others.

    Benue State Chief Judge, Justice Iorhemen Hwande said there was need for commitment on the part of the relevant agencies to ensure a total overhaul of the criminal justice system to allow for better performance.

    Justice Hwande said the state’s Attorney General informed him that the process leading to the domestication of the ACJ Act was at an advance stage.

    On the issue of lack access to lawyers for inmates, the CJ said he had directed that inmates without lawyers should be assigned lawyers by the judges handling the cases.

    He regretted that inmates sometimes frustrate efforts to assign lawyers to them by supplying false information to their lawyers, thereby making legal service for inmates difficult. He promised to strengthen the process through enlightenment.

    CURE Executive Director, Sylvester Uhaa decried the absence of Black Maria vehicles to convey inmates to court, citing the example of Makurdi Prison “with only one bus to convey inmates to courts.”

    Uhaa also observed the unfortunate lack of medication as well as personnel in prison clinics, a situation he blamed for cases of avoidable deaths among inmates.

    He urged prison authorities to ensure the transfer of prisoners, who suffer from mental illness, to hospital, “because they are not supposed to be in prison.”

    Director, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, US Embassy in Nigeria, Roselyn Wiese expressed discomfort at the rising number of awaiting trial inmates in Nigerian prisons and the perennial delay in the justice dispensation process.

    She urged Justice Hwande to learn from the examples of Lagos and Kano states where the office of the Public Prosecutor is established to accelerate access to justice.

    Ms. Wiese assured of her home government’s support to Benue State in the area of prison reform, particularly as it relates to education programmes.

    She urged the government to double its effort in ensuring an effective criminal justice system.

  • Group seeks effective criminal justice system

    Group seeks effective criminal justice system

    An Effective criminal justice system will be difficult to attain if the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 is not properly implemented, experts have said.

    It will require the support of all stakeholders to make the law work, they said.

    The experts, including judges and senior lawyers, spoke in Abuja at a forum organised by the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS) to honour advocates of reforms in the criminal justice sector.

    A draft strategy for effective implementation of the ACJA was presented at the Night of recognition and presentation of the draft strategy/needs assessment towards an effective implementation of the ACJA.

    It afforded participants an opportunity to deliberate on the effective implementation of the ACJA, challenges and how best to improve on achievements recorded so far.

    Speakers hailed the various innovative provisions of the ACJA, but argued that the success of the law required that efforts be first directed at eliminating challenges in the court system and among the agencies within the criminal justice system. They also stressed the need for enhanced commitment of players within the system.

    The speakers included the President of the CSLS, Prof Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN); Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Ishaq Bello; Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN); his predecessor, Akin Olujimi (SAN); and former Chair, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Dahiru Umaru.

    Prof Akinseye-George, who noted that his organisation played a leading role in the activities that culminated in the passage of the ACJA in 2015, said he always believed that more needed to be done, beyond the enactment of the law, to eliminate the defects in the country’s system of criminal justice administration.

    He noted that the nation’s problem was not the dearth of legislations, but the will to effectively apply such laws where necessary. “Our statute books are replete with many well-crafted laws that are yearning for application. There are too many hindrances, including constitution-related barriers to the effective implementation of laws.

    “This is the reason why, after fighting so hard for the passage of the ACJA, from 2003 to 2015, we have taken on the next task of working with our partners and relevant agencies to promote the understanding of its provisions and their effective implementation.

    “This decision is based on the realisation that an effective criminal justice system, which is capable of discouraging criminality and anti-social behaviour is a sine qua non of any modern democratic society,” the CSLS President said.

    Malami, who identified the benefits of the ACJA, said the Federal Ministry of Justice, under his watch has initiated various measures aimed at ensuring the success of the law. Some of such measures, he said, included the development of a framework for the reform of the justice sector and the recent adoption of National Prosecution Policy (NPP) and Prosecution Guidelines (PG).

    The AGF, who was represented by an aide, Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku, explained that his ministry’s justice reform plan, which focuses on strengthening prosecution and enforcement mandates, “sets out specific activities that will enhance the criminal justice system.” These activities, he added, will be implemented over the next two years.

    He said the NPP and PG, applicable nationwide, are intended, among others, to address “the needs and expectations of prosecutors in ministries of justice, specialised prosecuting agencies, police prosecuting officers and private legal practitioners occasionally granted fiat to prosecute.”

    Olujimi praised Prof Akinseye-George and his group for their commitment to ensuring the successful passage of the ACJA by the National Assembly. He noted that the introduction of ACJA created new problems in criminal prosecution in the country. But, he was quick to add that the problems were surmountable.

    Olujimi, who said he was involved in some criminal cases, where ACJA has been applied, said there was the need for a robust arrangement for the implementation of the law. He agreed that the Act has helped to reduce delay, but advised that there was need to ensure that everyone keys into the ACJA regime.

    “There are courts you go to and you raise objection. They tell you ACJA says we should take such objections at the end of the day. They push your objection aside and ask you to call your witness. But some courts still do not follow that approach. That is obviously defeatist of the aim of the ACJA. So, all judges must key into these reforms. I believe when we have this draft strategy in place, it will definitely help,” the former AGF said.

    Identifying some hindrances against the attainment of speedy trial, Olujinmi noted the huge workload of judges, insufficient work tools, inadequate court facilities, among others.

    Olujimi said although he was not averse to the idea of separate courts to try corruption cases, there was a need for a clear definition of the speedy trial duration envisaged under the ACJA, which must take into account the various intervening factors, which are outside the contemplation and control of parties and the court.

    Justice Bello, who blamed lawyers for delaying proceedings, agreed with Olujinmi on the existence of challenges within the court system that work against the attainment of prompt trial as envisaged under the ACJA. He said efforts were on to address such challenges.

    One of such efforts, he said, is his decision to recruit 10 more judges this year to reduce the workload of judges of the High Court of the FCT.

    He said effective case management, which intended under the ACJA, was only possible where every player within the criminal justice system plays his/her role effectively and was driven solely by the success of the process.

    First to be honoured at the event was Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (for being the first state Attorney- General (AG), who championed far-reaching reforms in the justice sector, which led Lagos State, where he served as AG, to first enact the Administration of Criminal Justice Law in 2007).

    Olujimi, the AGF between 2003 and 2005, was honoured for being the first AGF to initiate the idea of overhauling the criminal procedure system and empowering the National Working Group on the Reform of Criminal Justice Administration to develop the ACJ Bill in 2003.

    Also honoured were ex-AGF, Bayo Ojo (SAN), former Senate President, David Mark, ex-Chair, House of Representatives Committee on Justice, Dr. Ali Ahmad, former AG, Ekiti State, Wale Fapohunda and Femi Okeowo of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).