The Chief Justice of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Ishaq Bello, has warned Investigating Police Officers (IPO), to desist from writing statements for crime suspects, saying it is not proper.
He said this during the opening ceremony of a 2-day workshop for Nigeria Police on Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and the Violence against Persons Prohibition Act 2015 on Monday in Abuja.
Justice Bello said it is very wrong and unprofessional for Police officers to write statements on behalf of suspects, especially in criminal cases and noted that police officers who are not lawyers can no longer prosecute criminal cases in FCT courts.
He blamed the lack of effective prosecution of criminal cases on obsolete criminal and penal codes, which he described as relics of colonialism, noting that the society had changed.
In his statement, he first pointed out the issue of IPOs writing statements for suspects. He went further to admonish the IPOs to be cautious of taking certain decision to write statement for somebody.
“This has over time caused a lot of tailbacks in proceedings,” he added.
“The passage of the Criminal Justice Act 2015 and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015 stands out as resounding leap forward in the reform of the criminal justice system in Nigeria.
“The need for reform is obviously informed by the fact that hitherto, our laws underpinning the criminal justice system are quite obsolete. The criminal and penal codes are both colonial legislation and so are the criminal procedure Act.
“The police Act was re-enacted as a military decree in 1967. Gradually, all these pieces of outdated legislation will be detached from the standards established by Nigeria’s 1999 constitution and Nigeria’s international obligations,” the Justice noted.
Speaking further on the issue, the IG noted that the two laws would advance professionalism and efficiency in the trial of criminal cases, reduce congestion in the prisons as well as promote protection of human rights.
“The workshop would acquaint Divisional Police Officers and the police legal department with the provision of the Acts and enable them to address grey areas,” the IG stressed.
Justice Bello finally called for the formation of monitoring committee to ensure that criminal matters are promptly dealt with, reduce congestion of prisons, end detention of persons awaiting trials in prison custody and reduce congestion of criminal cases in courts, among others.
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