The holes in ACJA

* Appeal Court judge on how to plug them

SOME of the challenges facing the implementation of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, were
highlighted by Justice M.A. Owoade of the Court of Appeal, at the
Professor Adedokun Adebayo Adeyemi Foundation (PAAAF) Annual
Lecture Series, held at the University of Lagos. In his lecture
titled: “The criminal justice system in Nigeria: past, present and
future”, the learned jurist highlighted the non-replication of the
ACJA across states, poor stakeholders’ attitude and dearth of funds
as impediments to the efficiency of the act.

In the words of Justice Owoade: “It is imperative for overall
effectiveness and efficacy of the criminal justice system for the
ACJA to be replicated in the states of the federation. The state
governments must therefore be encouraged to replicate the ACJA in
their various states. One possible challenge or impediment to the
implementation of the ACJA is funding and the other is the need for
change of attitude by the various stakeholders.”

Of these submissions, the worst is the lackadaisical attitude of
critical stakeholders in the administration of criminal
justice.

On that, we refer to the bar and the bench, and note that some
of the members appear not to appreciate the gravity of the
challenge posed by weak criminal justice system to the country.
When matters are left to linger in courts, it is because the courts
allow lawyers, especially the senior advocates, to foist irrelevant
technicalities on them. Yet, the ACJA had such invidious attitude
in mind when it introduced measures to restrain adjournments,
interlocutory applications, and suspension of trial pending appeal.
To stem the abuse, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Legal
Practitioners Disciplinary Committee must sit up to save the
system.

Another challenge which has to be tackled head-on, is how to
encourage states to replicate the ACJA. According to reports, only
about 11 states have domesticated the law. Perhaps the media and
non-governmental organisations have to collaborate to put pressure
on the rest of the states to domesticate the act. In this respect,
the collaborative efforts of the NBA with the John D. and Catherine
T. MacArthur Foundation to strengthen the country’s criminal
justice system through the domestication of ACJA in the states, is
welcome.

According to the Coordinator of the NBA MacArthur Foundation
Project, Mr. Abdul Rasheed Muritala, at the inauguration of the
committee to oversee the implementation of the ACJA in Bauchi
State: “The NBA seeks to use this project to improve the
state-level adoption rates of the ACJA, 2015, which is a federal
legislation currently domesticated in about 11 out of 36 states and
the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria.” Mr. Muritala also
correctly observed that the “objective of the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act (will be) unattainable unless all levels of
Nigeria’s federal system are aligned and work collaboratively to
achieve the purpose of the Act.”

While the ACJA has brought hope to the administration of our
criminal justice system, there is the need to improve on its
ability to meet the high expectation of Nigerians, who greeted its
introduction with enthusiasm. The issue of funding, diligent
investigation, virile prosecution and effective punishment system
must be critically appraised. It does not bode well that after
years of criminal trial, the state loses such cases out of
inefficiency in prosecution, or lack of compelling evidence to
convict.

To achieve the overall improvement of our criminal justice
system, all critical stakeholders, including the courts, police,
prisons, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission
(ICPC) and other prosecutor agencies must be adequately funded. Of
course, the bar and the bench should be in the vanguard to achieve
these objectives.

* Appeal Court judge on how to plug them

SOME of the challenges facing the implementation of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, were
highlighted by Justice M.A. Owoade of the Court of Appeal, at the
Professor Adedokun Adebayo Adeyemi Foundation (PAAAF) Annual
Lecture Series, held at the University of Lagos. In his lecture
titled: “The criminal justice system in Nigeria: past, present and
future”, the learned jurist highlighted the non-replication of the
ACJA across states, poor stakeholders’ attitude and dearth of funds
as impediments to the efficiency of the act.

In the words of Justice Owoade: “It is imperative for overall
effectiveness and efficacy of the criminal justice system for the
ACJA to be replicated in the states of the federation. The state
governments must therefore be encouraged to replicate the ACJA in
their various states. One possible challenge or impediment to the
implementation of the ACJA is funding and the other is the need for
change of attitude by the various stakeholders.”

Of these submissions, the worst is the lackadaisical attitude of
critical stakeholders in the administration of criminal
justice.

On that, we refer to the bar and the bench, and note that some
of the members appear not to appreciate the gravity of the
challenge posed by weak criminal justice system to the country.
When matters are left to linger in courts, it is because the courts
allow lawyers, especially the senior advocates, to foist irrelevant
technicalities on them. Yet, the ACJA had such invidious attitude
in mind when it introduced measures to restrain adjournments,
interlocutory applications, and suspension of trial pending appeal.
To stem the abuse, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Legal
Practitioners Disciplinary Committee must sit up to save the
system.

Another challenge which has to be tackled head-on, is how to
encourage states to replicate the ACJA. According to reports, only
about 11 states have domesticated the law. Perhaps the media and
non-governmental organisations have to collaborate to put pressure
on the rest of the states to domesticate the act. In this respect,
the collaborative efforts of the NBA with the John D. and Catherine
T. MacArthur Foundation to strengthen the country’s criminal
justice system through the domestication of ACJA in the states, is
welcome.

According to the Coordinator of the NBA MacArthur Foundation
Project, Mr. Abdul Rasheed Muritala, at the inauguration of the
committee to oversee the implementation of the ACJA in Bauchi
State: “The NBA seeks to use this project to improve the
state-level adoption rates of the ACJA, 2015, which is a federal
legislation currently domesticated in about 11 out of 36 states and
the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria.” Mr. Muritala also
correctly observed that the “objective of the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act (will be) unattainable unless all levels of
Nigeria’s federal system are aligned and work collaboratively to
achieve the purpose of the Act.”

While the ACJA has brought hope to the administration of our
criminal justice system, there is the need to improve on its
ability to meet the high expectation of Nigerians, who greeted its
introduction with enthusiasm. The issue of funding, diligent
investigation, virile prosecution and effective punishment system
must be critically appraised. It does not bode well that after
years of criminal trial, the state loses such cases out of
inefficiency in prosecution, or lack of compelling evidence to
convict.

To achieve the overall improvement of our criminal justice
system, all critical stakeholders, including the courts, police,
prisons, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission
(ICPC) and other prosecutor agencies must be adequately funded. Of
course, the bar and the bench should be in the vanguard to achieve
these objectives.