Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, has revealed that kidnappers, terrorists and other criminals now use technology to perpetrate their nefarious activities and avoid justice.
Egbeyemi advocated a more efficient and robust administration of criminal justice to tackle such crimes and guarantee the security of law-abiding Nigerians and safety of investment.
He made the remarks while declaring open a two-day workshop for prosecutors and defence lawyers drawn from Ekiti, Ondo and Osun States on Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
According to a statement on Tuesday by his Special Assistant (Media), Odunayo Ogunmola, the Deputy Governor stressed that the justice sector needs urgent attention to match the challenges arising from advanced technology and changes in the society.
He said: “Criminals are found to have become smarter with technology, there is an upsurge in terrorism and crimes hitherto unimagined, like the senseless and brutal kidnapping of Nigerians, defilement of children less than three years were crimes never envisaged in the past.”
Egbeyemi, a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, opined that efficient administration of justice would also aid investment and economic growth of the country.
According to him, the workshop would afford stakeholders in the Bench and the Bar to be enlightened on grey areas affecting the Administration of Criminal Justice in the State.
The Deputy Governor maintained that the Criminal Justice System must uphold the principles of liberty, equality and justice for all with the sole aim of having a secured society devoid of fear and reprisals.
Egbeyemi that the purpose of ACJA 2015 was to ensure that Criminal justice Institutions are efficiently managed for speedy dispensation of justice to ensure the reign of justice and protection of the society from crime.
Earlier in his remarks, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Olawale Fapohunda, expressed the commitment of the Ministry of Justice in Ekiti State to achieving sustainable reforms in the legal system of the State.
Fapohunda, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Mr. Babatope Ojo, explained that the ministry has taken drastic steps to producing a justice system that is efficient, professional and accountable.
The Ekiti State Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, revealed that Ekiti State was one of the front runners in the enactment of ACJA in Nigeria.
ACJA 2015, according to the Chief Judge, would among other benefits promote the protection of the rights and interests of the suspect, the defendant and the victim.
The outgoing Presiding Judge of Court of Appeal, Ado-Ekiti Division, Justice Ahmad Belgore, noted that the ACJA would salvage situations where criminal cases went on endlessly for years in the court.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Director General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Prof. Adedeji Adekunle, said the two day workshop would facilitate the implementation of the ACJA in the State and at the federal level.
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