The Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (RoLAC) has called on the judiciary and other relevant institutions to decongest prisons by applying plea bargain concept more in criminal justice administration.
The Programme Officer of RoLAC, Mr Peter Omenka, made call during the closing of a four-day training programme for about 120 magistrates in Lagos State.
The programme was organised by RoLAC funded by the European Union and managed by the British Council.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training was on application of plea bargain to the administration of criminal justice.
According to Omenka, more than 70 per cent of cases are handled by the lower courts, particularly magistrates’ courts.
“That is what informed the training for the magistrates,” he said.
Omenka said that the training was part of RoLAC’s efforts to reduce prison congestion.
He hoped that magistrates’ application of knowledge gained from the training would facilitate justice administration.
“We are going to evaluate the effects of this training in three months with a view to seeing how positive it affects the courts in Lagos so that we can take same training to other states.
“If we find out that there is no positive impact on the court operations in Lagos, we will improve on the training until the purpose is realised.
“We don’t want to take what is not working to other states,” he said.
Dr Akeem Bello of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, who was a facilitators for the training, said it would build the capacities of the magistrates on the application of plea bargain in the administration of criminal justice.
Bello noted that before now, plea bargain was limited to high courts.
He also.noted that recently, the attorney-general of Lagos State approved a manual for magistrates to enter plea bargain in their courts.
He said that the training was to enable magistrates to respond to cases where defendants would opt for plea bargain.
The don erased the fear that serious crime offenders might get lighter sentences through plea bargain,
According to him, with the guidelines on punishment on each crime, offenders will be punished appropriately.
“Plea bargain will definitely decongest the prisons if applied,” he said.
Bello said interactions between magistrates and facilitators at the training showed that they gained much,
He commended RoLAC and the Lagos State Ministry of Justice for the programme.
NAN reports that the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Opeyemi Oke, while declaring open the training on Monday, said plea bargain had been entrenched in the state’s criminal justice system.
Oke said plea bargain would curtail undue delay in the dispensation of criminal justice, calling for its adoption as a procedure in criminal proceedings.
NAN reports that plea bargain is a negotiated agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant, whereby the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser offence or to one of multiple charges in exchange for some concession by the prosecutor, usually, a more lenient sentence, or a dismissal of the other charges.
