Oyo judiciary prepared for ACJA 2015 —CJ

· Calls for appointment of more magistrates

The Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Muntar Abimbola, has stated that the state judiciary is prepared for the successful application of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 once adopted by the state.

Abimbola also noted that efforts are ongoing, as the new legal year starts, to decongest prisons across the state

Justice Abimbola made these statements on Monday while receiving the new Comptroller of Prisons for Oyo State, Alhaji Kasali Oladipo Yussuf, at the board room of the High Court, Ring Road, Ibadan.

He said that “It is a sad development that the prisons are congested with awaiting trial inmates,” emphasising the need for appointments of more magistrates in the state.

“It touches my heart when I hear the statistics of awaiting trial inmates in our prisons. Immediately the legal year commences, certain operations will be put in place to decongest the prisons especially for simple offences. We will put in place a special court that will visit the prisons to hear minor offences.

“We are already working on the ACJA 2015 to be domesticated. The bill is before the legislature and we are waiting for it to be passed into law,” he said.