Some stakeholders have called for amendments to the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) to effectively tackle prison congestion and aid speedy administration of justice.
They made this call at an event organised by the Law Hub Development and Advocacy Centre held at the Aare Afe Babalola Bar Centre, Ibadan, to assess the implementation of the Oyo State Administration of Criminal Justice Law.
The event featured remarks from the Oyo chief judge, Justice Iyabo Yerima; state Commissioner of Police, Adebola Hamzat; state Attorney-General, Mr Biodun Aikomo: Controller, Corrections, Oyo State Correctional Service, Mr A. O. Salami; immediate past Chief judge of the state, Justice Munta Abimbola (retd), Director, Public Prosecution, Oyo Ministry of Justice, Mr S.O. Adeoye; Officer in charge (OC) Legal, Oyo Police Command, Funke Fawole; Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ibadan branch, Mrs Folasade Aladeniyi; member, Law Hub Development and Advocacy Centre, Mr Joshua Dada.
In her remarks, the Oyo Chief Judge represented by Justice R.B Akintola and Hon. Justice O.M Olagunju, posited that the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) has helped in the administration of justice.
She, however, noted that the challenges of the ACJL include the time frame given within which to conclude a criminal matter and the prescribed manner in which the Police is required to record the statement of defendants, especially where he makes a “confessional statement.”
On his part, Controller, Corrections, Oyo State Correctional Service, Mr A. O. Salami called for help from relevant individuals and agencies to help decongest correctional facilities, noting that there could easily be an epidemic outbreak with such congestion.
While noting that prison congestion was the same narrative at both the Agodi prison in Ibadan and Abolongo prison in Oyo town, he called for quick dispensation of justice to aid decongestion.
In Oyo correctional centers, he noted that there were over 1,200 people awaiting trial out of which in Agodi facility alone, over 200 had been awaiting trial for five years, 117 had been awaiting trial for four years, about 120 for about three years while the rest had been awaiting trial for less than three years.
Noting that there were even those still detained after conviction over some restitution/compensation, Salami said it would be unfair to continue to detain people illegally.
Also noting that he had continued to write relevant agencies to help with decongestion, he urged human rights groups, the state Chief Judge, state Attorney General to assist in the need to decongest correctional facilities.
Delivering his paper, the immediate past Oyo Chief Judge, Munta Abimbola, said the ACJL established a Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee which is expected to live up to its duties which include decongestion of prisons.
Abimbola cautioned that the committee is not expected to perform judicial functions.
The former Chief Judge noted that lack of adequate funds hampered the effective utilisation of the ACJL.
On prison decongestion, he noted that chief judges, in exercising their prerogative of mercy, also faced opposition in being accused by some prosecuting authorities of releasing criminals into the society.
In his intervention, Director, Public Prosecution (DPP), Oyo Ministry of Justice, Mr S.O. Adeoye acknowledged that prisons were indeed congested but admitted challenges in implementing ACJL.
He identified the challenges to include lack of adequate personnel to timeously prosecute cases, poor funding.
As a way forward, Adeoye suggested the need for special courts to try only criminal cases in Oyo, increased funding to deal with logistics challenges, strengthening of the bail system, recruitment of more personnel in the public prosecution department of the ministry of justice.
On her part, OC Legal, Funke Fawole called for amendment of the ACJL which she said favoured defendants more than prosecutors and even the state.
She advocated for amendment of the ACJL such that it is more restorative than retributive.
On delayed dispensation of justice, she decried that the police was usually flooded with petitions whereas the courts sit at well, while the DPP may, at any point, say it is no more interested in a case, thereby stalling it.
Contributing to the discourse, Chairman, NBA, Ibadan branch, Mrs Folasade Aladeniyi charged all stakeholders in the justice process to play their roles judiciously for the nation’s justice system to be better.
Mr Joshua Dada, who represented the Executive Director, Law Hub Development and Advocacy Centre, Osita Chukwuma, called for full implementation of the ACJL in Oyo State.
Though he noted that Oyo State was faring well in implementing ACJL, he assured that the centre was committed to providing technical support to update the law and ensuring better implementation of the ACJL.
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