Alex Enumah in Abuja
The federal government has again reiterated its commitment to reforming the nation’s justice system and promote the rule of law in line with the National Policy on Justice.
The Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Beatrice Jedy-Agba, gave the assurance at a two-day National Workshop on the Implementation of Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015 for North-central zone in Lokoja, Kogi State.
According to a statement signed by the Deputy Director, Information, Ministry of Justice, Mrs Modupe Ogundoro, the Solicitor General, in a welcome, harped on the need for collaboration of stakeholders in the promotion of the rule of law in all states of the federation.
“In a federation and constitutional democracy such as ours, the need for the federal, states and other stakeholders in the justice sector to collaborate to drive the reform of the justice system for national development cannot be overemphasized.
“The National Policy on Justice is therefore the fulcrum of the collaboration towards addressing the various challenges millitating against the justice system and defines its principles, values, integrity, security and accountability,” she said.
The Solicitor General also stated that Section 29(1) of the Act provides a mechanism for the interface between the office of the Inspector General of Police ((IG) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), ditto states Attorney Generals and Commissioners of Police to remit quarterly to the AGF a record of all arrests made with or without warrants, in relation to federal offences within Nigeria.
“Section 33 of the Act requires an officer in charge of a police station, or an officer in charge of an agency authorized to make arrest to, on the last working day of every month report to the magistrate within the jurisdiction, the cases of all suspects arrested without warrant within the limits of their respective stations or agency; whether the suspect have been admitted to bail or not,” she added.
The SGF pointed out that the implementation of the provisions no doubt will address human rights abuses and maltreatment of suspects at police stations and detention facilities in violation of the fundamental rights of suspects enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and other international human rights instruments.
She accordingly charged stakeholders in states, magisterial divisions, jurisdictions, commands and stations to step down the knowledge gained to other colleagues across board.
In his remarks, the Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, charged states yet to domesticate the Administrative of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA 2015) to do so in the public interest, noting that the piece of legislation was key to good governance.
Bello, who doubled as Chairman and host of the two-day North-central Zonal Workshop on Section 29, 33 and 34 of the ACJA 2015, lauded the federal government for innovations brought into the country’s criminal justice system.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Chief Edward Onoja, the governor stated further that Kogi State was quick to pass the ACJA Act into law in 2017 in order to protect human rights and enhance the criminal justice system.
