By The Guardian Editorial Board
There are currently many other pending cases including that of seven young men who were arrested by the police and charged with conspiracy and unlawful possession of firearms at the Magistrate Court Yaba. Narrating their ordeal, the young men said they were picked up from various places on Victoria Island around August 2023 by police officers on patrol duty attached to the Bar Beach police station.
The seven young men mentioned that they only met one another for the first time in the police vehicle as they were abruptly picked up and taken to the police station. The matter has come up three times in court, but the police have not presented even one witness to tell the court how the young men conspired and what firearms were recovered from them. In his last ruling, the court stated that he was ordering one more adjournment before striking out the case and discharging the defendants for want of diligent prosecution.
From the foregoing and numerous other issues, it is evident that the time has come to overhaul the country’s criminal justice system—an overdue necessity. Notably, successive governments and Attorneys-General have made strong commitments in this direction, only to disappointingly fail to implement any reforms thereafter. Further rhetoric or procrastination on this matter will inflict more harm on the country.
The Tinubu government should actively implement the various recommendations presented to successive Nigerian governments regarding the reform of Correctional Centres and the criminal justice system in Nigeria. For more than 40 years, Nigerians have endured the empty rhetoric of the Federal government, claiming commitment to the reform of Correctional Centres and the enhancement of Nigeria’s deplorable criminal justice system. There are indications that funds allocated for criminal justice reform have been mismanaged or fraudulently dealt with.
Read also: Time to revamp Nigeria’s criminal justice system – Part 1
Another cause of delay in the criminal justice process, leading to prison overcrowding, is the tardiness in issuing legal advice by the DPP office. Numerous cases exist where DPP’s advice has been awaited for 12 years or more. In October 2023, the prison authorities in Lagos invoked section 12 of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019, halting the admission of more inmates due to cell overcrowding. This prompted a criminal justice stakeholders’ meeting in which measures were taken to decongest prisons and resume inmate admissions. As of December 2023, Ikoyi prisons in Lagos housed over 3000 inmates instead of the maximum capacity of 800 inmates. This situation contradicts decongestion efforts. Until the issuance of legal advice is reformed, the criminal justice system will remain a subject of ridicule among nations.
Therefore, the DPP should issue legal advice within the timeframe stipulated in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015; failure to do so should result in the immediate release of the suspect pursuant to section 264 of the ACJA.
It is strange that the Legal Aid Council, Nigeria, established to assist indigent prisoners whose fundamental human rights have been violated, is neglecting that responsibility. Hence, the Legal Aid Council, Nigeria, should awaken from its slumber and respond to the assistance needed by ATM. In 2023, Zarephath Aid and some other NGOs provided legal aid and secured the release of several ATM in Lagos, who had been awaiting DPP’s advice for up to seven years. If an NGO could achieve this feat, why can’t the Legal Aid Council accomplish more? There is need for an urgent audit of prison inmates remanded on indictable offenses to determine, on a case-by-case basis, the number of inmates awaiting DPP’s legal advice, the duration of their pending status, and updates on their case files.
The time has come for the government to begin taking this aspect of criminal justice seriously. There is a crying need to decongest the various Correctional Centres by building new facilities across the country to accommodate more inmates, improve their living conditions, and create an environment conducive to learning that will facilitate their reintegration into society after serving their prison terms. Prisoners awaiting trial, who have not been tried within the time prescribed in the Constitution, should be freed immediately. The police should release all illegally detained persons in their police stations. Granting bail for many bailable offences should be free, as it is also a constitutional right of criminal suspects. And they should stop extorting money from criminal suspects before granting them bail.
For lasting measures, the various Ministries of Justice, as well as the Attorney General of the Federation, should raise committees to audit prison inmates remanded on indictable offences. Thereafter, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should establish an ad-hoc committee of experienced legal practitioners to prepare legal advice in all pending cases. This committee can be used on key occasions to supplement the work of the mainstream state counsel who often complain of excessive workloads. Judicial officers should adopt the right diligent attitude to work. The court is considered the last hope of the common man on the basis that when every other thing fails, the court should take a stand for justice. There is no reason why this aphorism should not hold true in our criminal justice sector.
Applications that concern the rights of long-detained inmates are filed in court with documents to show the urgency of the situation, yet the judge gives long adjournments that negate the importance of the situation. These cases are lumped together and treated as regular cases even though the law has prescribed otherwise. In the same vein, instances abound where these applications are filed in court, and both the DPP and police do not appear in court to respond to the allegations. Instead of the court applying the law to ensure justice, they either refuse the application or stop short of granting the prayers as made. The resultant effect is that the inmates remain in custody without an end in sight. In some other cases, bail is granted to the inmates on terms that are practically impossible.
Apart from government intervention, public-spirited individuals, NGOs, corporate organisations, churches, mosques, and others should erect frameworks of solidarity to assist prisoners. Following the footsteps of the Chief Judge of Lagos State, the Chief Judges of other States of the Federation should carry out routine visits to the correctional centres in their respective jurisdictions to grant freedom to illegally detained prisoners there. Beyond pursuing monetary gains and seeking recognition, Nigerian lawyers can afford to, and they should render pro-bono legal services to assist in securing the freedom of illegally detained prisoners. Lawyers applying to become Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) should be required to show evidence that they have successfully defended criminal suspects and facilitated their release from illegal detention.
Nigerians have been waiting for a long time to see concrete actions and results regarding the revamping of the country’s criminal justice system. Unfortunately, all they have been presented with so far is mere rhetoric. However, mere rhetoric cannot solve the problem. There is a need for concrete actions and results. The time to act is now.
Concluded.
Culled from The Guardian
Read also: Time to revamp Nigeria’s criminal justice system – Part 1
