NBA laments ineffective Criminal Justice Act 9yrs after

Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has lamented that nine years after the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) was enacted, the law has not produced the expected results, which include enhancing speedy justice delivery.

This was a major part of the discussion, yesterday, in Lagos at the NBA 2024 Conference Session, titled: ‘Exploring Contemporary Issues in Administration of Criminal Justice: Perspectives and Insights.’

Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr Babajide Martins, emphasised the need for a functional database, which would aid investigation as against reliance on confessional statements and circumstantial evidence in courts. He also charged police officers, who had been transferred, to participate in virtual hearing so that cases could be finalised easily to prevent case stalling.

Earlier, Human Rights Activist, Hameed Abimbola Jimoh, explained that the ACJA 2015 was proposed to promote efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of societies from crime, and protection of the rights and interests of the suspect, defendants, and victims.

He, however, noted that nine years after, the system had not been compliant with the provisions of the Act. He noted that the Act did not contain clear positions of terrorism crimes or trials, the reason the military and other law enforcement agencies would take a long period of time in acts of terrorism and disregard court orders. He opined that identification of roles, training and synergy would aid effective implementation of the Act.

Executive Director, Headfort Foundation for Justice, Oluyemi Orija, stressed that though Nigeria had very good laws, it had remained saddled with the challenge of implementation.

She, however, noted that Lagos State was leading in implementation and continued improvement of the existing laws, adding that availability of resources remain a limitation to the implementation of the Act.

According to her, if laws are well implemented, there will be less cases pending in court and fewer people behind bars. Orija added that technology could be used to curb delays in the justice systems, citing an instance where a new judge presiding over an already existing case can through technology get all the information and continue with the case instead of starting all over.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Dasuki Galadanchi, representing Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, said the Act helped police in doing their work more efficiently and effectively, especially in the administration of case plan management and transparency and sincerity in job operation.

“It helps us to collaborate with correctional services, magistrate court and judges in addressing issues subjectively,” he added. In her remarks, Justice Serifat Sonaike of Lagos State High noted that judges in the state had made significant strides in improving the functioning of the criminal justice system by employing various policies and legal framework provided by the Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2021 to enhance the speedy, efficient, clear and impartial criminal trials, identifying and addressing various contemporary issues, establishing specialised courts, as much as possible and implementing time-limited streamlining procedures.