The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, has called for an urgent overhaul of the current criminal justice system in Nigeria, saying that the laws regulating criminal trials in the country are archaic and obsolete.
The CJN stated this while declaring open the 2015 Refresher Course for Judges on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Criminal Justice Reform at the National Judicial Institute, NJI, Abuja, yesterday.
He called on the National Assembly to speedily pass the ‘Administration of Criminal Justice Bill’, into law, maintaining that, the Bill when passed into law would institutionalize several innovative measures that will significantly improve the delivery of criminal justice in the country.
According to the CJN, the Bill, among its major provisions, seeks to abolish the dichotomy between the Criminal Procedure Code and Criminal Procedure Act, by repealing both Acts.
He said: “Permit me to use this opportunity to highlight some other challenges to the administration of justice particularly as it affects the criminal justice system. We face prolonged delays in the trial of criminal cases leading to an increase in detainees awaiting trial and the congestion of the prisons. I believe we are well aware of these and other problems. The situation is made more precarious due to the archaic and obsolete nature of the laws regulating the criminal justice system.
“The Bill, via the provisions of Part 2, Section 16 establishes a central criminal records registry system as a veritable database of offenders and also provides a snapshot to courts and prosecutors as to whether an accused person is already on the registry, thus aiding in the administration of criminal justice”, the CJN said.
Welcoming participants, the administrator of the NJI, Justice Rosaline Bozimo, said the 2015 refresher course for judges, which has the theme: “Entrenchment of Speedy Dispensation of Justice in Nigerian Courts”, was organized by the NJI in fulfillment of its mandate of providing continuing Judicial Education for all categories of Judicial officers and their Staff as stated in section 3(2) of the Act establishing the Institute.
According to her, the course would enable judges to reposition themselves for optimum performance of their judicial duties.
“This Course is of special importance to our Judicial Officers.“Part 44 of that Bill introduces Nigeria to non-custodial sentences including community sentence orders and probation for minor offences. These offer a means of punishment, without being unduly draconian, as the aim of our justice system is to rehabilitate as well as punish.
“The Bill, in Part 30, also limits the time spent for the remand of suspects in custody, without arraignment, to a maximum of 14 days before a review of such case by a Magistrate. This also limits the number of times that the detention order of 14 days can be obtained. Where, on the third occasion, the detaining authority cannot show why the suspect should be detained without cause, then the suspect may be released from custody, with or without application from the suspect or his counsel.
“This novel initiative will reduce the length of time spent in custody awaiting trial. These initiatives allow a court to dispose of cases and where appropriate, punish the offender quicker than would occur with the usual detention and trial, which as we all know, results in clogged prisons and delays in trial due to logistical difficulties occasioned in bringing accused person to trial
“I have only cherry picked a few of the many new initiatives contained in a very comprehensive Bill. It is however important to note that the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill also holds each key stakeholder in criminal justice administration to be accountable to the public while striving to eradicate delay and congestion in the criminal justice system. I therefore call upon the National Assembly to see to its speedy passage within the life of this parliament”.
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