In its efforts geared towards reforming the criminal justice sector of the country, the Federal Government unveiled on Tuesday plea-bargaining guidelines for federal prosecutors.
While unveiling the Plea Bargaining Guidelines for Federal Prosecutors, 2023, and the maiden sensitization workshop on the Guidelines in Abuja, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said the document will guide the prosecution and the defence in reaching a plea bargain agreement that “is in the interest of justice, the public interest, public policy, and the need to prevent abuse of legal process.”
According to Fagbemi, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 was enacted to ensure that the system of administration of criminal justice in Nigeria promotes efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy administration of justice, protection of society from crime, and protection of the rights and interests of the suspect, the defendant, and the victim.
One of those innovations contained in ACJA 2015, for the achievement of its grand purpose, the AGF noted, is the introduction of plea bargaining in criminal proceedings, particularly for offences defined and prescribed by the Act of the National Assembly.
“Under Section 494(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, Plea Bargain is well described as “the process in criminal proceedings whereby the defendant and the prosecution work out a mutually acceptable disposition of the case, including the plea of the defendant to a lesser offence than that charged in the complaint or information and in conformity with other conditions imposed by the prosecution, in return for a lighter sentence than that of the higher charge subject to the court’s approval.”.
Plea-bargaining helps in the management of the caseload of prosecutors and enables the state to concentrate its limited resources on the cases considered more deserving of full prosecution.
When applied in compliance with stipulated guidelines, Fagbemi said plea bargaining can enhance the quick recovery of stolen assets and proceeds of crime and also be a mechanism that can facilitate cost-effective, timely, and sustainable decongestion of custodial centres.
“However, the practise of plea bargaining in serious and complex cases, especially when the defendant is a politically exposed person or high-net-worth individual, is often misunderstood as a means of giving a soft landing to individuals who have looted the resources of the state and the commonwealth of the nation.
“This negative perception was more common before 2015 when there was no specific statutory provision regulating the practice of plea bargaining.
“It is my conviction that these guidelines will not only enhance public confidence in the plea bargaining process in Nigeria but will also reduce the case backlog and congestion of correctional centres and ensure that the principles of accountability, equity, integrity, and transparency are observed in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion on plea bargains, in line with international best practises.
“Our conviction is that the guidelines that we are unveiling today will promote standardisation, enhance the effective implementation of the plea bargaining provisions in the ACJA, and significantly contribute to and stimulate the overall efficiency of the criminal justice system in Nigeria.
“The effective deployment of plea bargain provisions will therefore reduce the financial cost of prosecutions, hasten trial processes, eliminate uncertainty in trials, facilitate the quick return of stolen assets, and generally enhance the efficiency of the criminal justice system,” he said, encouraging states to adapt or adopt the provisions of the Guidelines, especially when dealing with plea negotiation of federal offences.
While commending the efforts of every stakeholder institution, particularly all the prosecuting agencies involved in the production of the Guidelines, for their dedication and commitment to the reforms in the Criminal Justice Sector, especially towards the development of the Guidelines, Fagbemi urged
all the critical stakeholders to embrace and use the Guidelines as a catalyst for positive change so as to boost and strengthen the effective and efficient administration of the criminal justice system in the country.
In his goodwill message at the occasion, the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Husseini Baba Yusuf, said that the quality of a nation’s criminal justice system is a reflection of the measures put in place to ensure speedy and efficient judicial outcomes that stem the tide of reactionary forces.
Represented by Justice Olukayode Adeniyi, the FCT Chief Judge said the efficiency of the court system is a prerequisite for development as it is one of the essential pillars that other structures of the state stand on.
He said, “The very idea of developing these guidelines in accordance with international best practices to enhance the administration of criminal justice is a good sign that we are on the right path.
“From our experience as a country, this paradigm shift was predicated, inter alia, on the need to reduce the caseloads of prosecutors in order to pave the way for effective prosecution of more complex cases.
“Indeed, the whole idea is geared towards accelerating the pace of justice and decongesting correctional centres. In practice, parties’ concessions underlie the basis for a successful plea bargain.”.
When successful, he said plea bargaining serves to bridge the gap in circumstances where the prosecution is perhaps unable to procure compelling and prima facie evidence against the suspect or accused necessary to secure a conviction.
Justice Yusuf said the system is beneficial to the defendant, the prosecutor, and the court, and that the Plea-Bargaining Guidelines are poised to provide the needed interventions in the form of supplemental protocol or stop-gap measures to aid prosecuting agencies on how to proceed going forward.
The FCT Chief Judge encouraged all stakeholders, especially the prosecuting agencies, to make the best use of the guidelines by effectively deploying them as power tools in the quest to set the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria on a path for permanent and sustained progress.
“But in doing so, one must caution that the simplicity of plea bargaining should not be a motivating factor for prosecuting agencies in resorting to this process as a readily preferred option to securing convictions as opposed to striving to discharge the burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt as required by law,” he added.
Earlier in her remarks, the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Mrs Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, said plea bargaining occurs when a defendant agrees to admit he is guilty of an offence, rather than making the prosecutor prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt by going through the cause of trial.
“The prosecutor makes some type of concession to the defendant in exchange for admitting guilt, such as charging the defendant with a less serious offence or recommending less serious punishment,” she said, adding that the advantages of plea bargaining far outweigh its disadvantages.
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