CLEEN Foundation has urged all stakeholders working in the criminal justice sector to redouble their efforts to ensure full compliance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA 2015.
The ACJA is a legal framework in Nigeria that addresses various aspects of criminal justice administration.
CLEEN Foundation promotes public safety, security and accessible justice through the strategies of empirical research, legislative advocacy, amongst other approaches.
The charge for full compliance with the ACJA 2015 is particularly directed at Nigeria’s law enforcement agencies, legal practitioners, judiciary and prison authourities.
CLEEN wants efforts in the criminal justice sector redoubled
The non-governmental organisation says this is necessary following the outcome of its research, revealing infractions, even while struggling to adhere to the Act.
At a press briefing on Tuesday to unveil the presentation of the status of stakeholders’ compliance with the administration of criminal justice regime in Lagos, the group wants stakeholders to work together to improve understanding and implementation of the ACJA provisions to ensure a fairer and more efficient criminal justice system in the country.
CLEEN noted infractions within the value chain of the criminal justice sector in some states despite the innovations of ACJA 2015. It noted that Edo, Kwara, Bauchi, Sokoto, Delta, Katsina, Jigawa and Cross River states are still struggling with compliance with the piece of legislation.
One of the innovations of the ACJA that law enforcement agencies should ensure compliance with is to promptly charge suspects to court within 24 hours of their arrest, but CLEEN Executive Director, Gad Peter reports that “There have been reports of delays in charging suspects to court by the police. This non-compliance undermines the rights of suspects and contributes to prison congestion. There are issues bothering around bails, there are issues specific to arrest by proxies, and there are also instances bothering on poor interrogations, poor search procedures, et al.”
CLEEN praises Kano, Borno judiciary
He however singled out the intervention of the Commissioner of Police in Kano State, CP Muhammed Gumel. “We must commend the Commissioner of Police in Kano who is a signpost of non-kinetic policing and has remained a champion of the ACJA implementation,” Gad stated.
Citing the crucial role of legal practitioners in ensuring compliance with the ACJA by representing clients effectively and advocating for their rights under the Act. CLEEN concludes, “Some lawyers may not be fully aware of the provisions of the Act or fail to adhere to its requirements during legal proceedings. Requests for constant adjournments violate specific provisions in the provisions of the ACJL.
“The Bar should work closely with the Bench to ease the implementation of novel provisions and provide adequate access to justice for citizens with some challenges. Doing this will complement government efforts.”
According to Gad, worthy of imitation is the Borno State Judiciary. “We have a good case study in Borno. Borno is a signpost of modern court proceedings and should be understudied.”
Gad said these given concerns about delays in trial processes and backlog of cases in Nigerian courts, impact access to justice for both victims and defendants. There are also issues around poor infrastructure to protect witnesses, and weak digital infrastructure to ease court administration. There are also still cases of preferences applied to Politically Exposed Persons, PEPs. This does not in any way suggest equity. We also think the court should adjust its practice direction to be inspired by the ACJA regime.
He reiterated that the judiciary plays a critical role in implementing the ACJA by interpreting and applying its provisions during trial proceedings, adding that prison authorities ought to be responsible for ensuring that inmates are held in humane conditions and have access to necessary facilities such as healthcare and legal representation.
He noted thus, “Overcrowding and poor living conditions remain major challenges within Nigerian prisons. The instances where dogs are more adequately budgeted for over humans is a case to put some searchlight around. This is a clear violation of human dignity which the ACJA attempted to remediate.”
CLEEN urges media to create awareness
Speaking at the event, Salaudeen Hashim, CLEEN Program Officer, reiterated that the idea of CLEEN’s intervention is to reduce crime in society, but the pyramid of the administration of criminal justice has issues that bother around law enforcement, judicial stakeholders and the custodial facilities.
In his words, “Unfortunately, there have been a lot of challenges with implementation, there are gaps and administrative bottlenecks and there are issues that bother around will power of the States to advance implementation and its functionality. It is very important, that we create a little bit of some level of visibility in terms of how this function.
“We must reduce the administrative bottlenecks, reduce issues that bother around oversight and see how to strengthen it, to function better and find how to create a more robust approach, favourable to all, and that is not lopsided in any way, an organic justice system that is actually allowing everybody to be part of the process.”
Salaudeen also spoke on how the Kano State signpost can be replicated in other states, he advocated, “In the police management meeting, there should be some level of comparing notes, because honestly, crime rate in Kano has reduced and that is because of the policing approach that the State has actually adopted – a non-kinetic policing system, and that non-kinetic policing system has actually improved cordiality, trust and confidence of the people in law enforcement. And that for me, it should be actually equitable.
“We need to find a way to promote an advance and find a mutual approach for these odds, that consistently happens, but we are not finding it in other states. So, I think there should be some level of an opportunity and how all of these states compare notes with each other, we are not seeing this happen.”
He also charged the media to play their role effectively to replicate in order for the kind of success achieved in Kano State.
“The media can continue to create awareness, improve this awareness and see how people can be part of the entire process,” Salaudeen said.
