Criminal Justice Laws: Courts, CSLS Urge Implementation of Standards in Tackling Insecurity

Alex Enumah in Abuja

A cross-section of stakeholders in the justice sector has called for effective implementation of the National Minimum Standards (NMS) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act/ Laws (ACJA/ ACJL), in addressing the worsening insecurity in the country.

According to the stakeholders drawn from judicial officers, lawyers, law enforcement agencies and civil society groups, crimes in the country have continued to surge because the justice system is still slow in punishing criminals.

They all spoke at a two-day hybrid sensitisation meeting on the National Minimum Standards (NMS) for the Implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act/ Laws (ACJA/ ACJL), held in Abuja.

Speaking at the occasion, the President of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS), Professor Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), while observing that the ACJA/ACJL has helped in improving the country’s justice system, especially with the adoption of the NMS in 2023, lamented the rise in cases of injustice.

“When criminals go unpunished, people lose faith. And then, they take the law into their own hands. We see it now—everywhere. Banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and violence.

“Governors raise the alarm. Citizens cry out. Criminals strike boldly. Even a former military General, the Director-General of NYSC, was kidnapped. Who is safe?

“While the federal and state authorities pass the buck, blame themselves in circles, the killers roam free, colonise the forests and take over territories.

  “How many more must die before action is taken?”, Akinseye-George queried.

As part of the solutions to insecurity, the CSLS president tasked both the federal and state governments on the proper implementation of the NMS.

He added that the measure will ensure equal treatment for every citizen through improved justice delivery, ensure faster trials, stronger collaboration across states, sharing of knowledge and strength as well as build trust and confidence in the justice system.

  Meanwhile, both the Federal High Court and the High Court of the FCT have harped on the need for a uniform standard in the implementation of the criminal justice laws in the country.

The Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Mr Sulaiman Amida Hassan, who was represented by the Head, Insolvency Unit, FHC, Mrs Mimidoo Abako, in a goodwill observed that the recent review and validation of the NMS document for the implementation of the ACJA, 2015, represents a significant milestone in Nigeria’s quest to reform the criminal justice sector by improving the administration of criminal justice and strengthening measures that ensures access to Justice.

Similarly, the Chief Registrar of the FCT High Court, Hajiya Hadiza Dodo, who described the meeting as very apt, stated that achieving the overall goals of these reforms require a “collective resolve to ensure that this National Minimum Standards are not just left idle on our bookshelves as mere policy statement”.

Dodo who was represented by an official of the FCT High Court, Munirat Folashade Oyekan, expressed delight that, “the CSLS, with the support from the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC), deems it expedient to organise this hybrid sensitisation meeting to deepen our understanding of the core elements of the ACJA toward ensuring uniform implementation by all states passing the ACJL across the country in the best interest of justice.”