Stakeholders seek review of Administration of Criminal Justice law

Judges, security agencies, lawyers and civil society organisations have called for a review of the Administration of Criminal Justice law to align it with constitutional provisions and address its inconsistencies. They made the call at the end of a one-day workshop on the assessment of the implementation of the law, organised by The Law Hub […]

Judges, security agencies, lawyers and civil society organisations have called for a review of the Administration of Criminal Justice law to align it with constitutional provisions and address its inconsistencies.

They made the call at the end of a one-day workshop on the assessment of the implementation of the law, organised by The Law Hub Development and Advocacy Centre with support from the MacArthur Foundation in Bauchi.

In a resolution issued at the workshop, the stakeholders recommended that the Bauchi State Government provide the necessary technical and logistical support for the effective implementation of the law.

Joshua Dada, a representative of The Law Hub Development and Advocacy Centre, read the recommendations to journalists.

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He highlighted the need for the state’s chief judge to direct judges and magistrates to conduct oversight visits to police divisions and other detention facilities.

“The stakeholders recommend that the chief judge and other principal stakeholders make concerted efforts to enact complementary laws, such as Sentencing Guidelines and Plea Bargain Practice Directions, to aid the complete implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice law,” Dada stated.

The stakeholders also urged the correctional service to promptly report individuals in custody awaiting trial for more than 180 days to the chief judge, the attorney- general of the state and other designated persons to address the issue of prolonged detention.

Dada emphasised the need to increase the number of lawyers in the Bauchi State police command, noting that the current number of three lawyers is insufficient.

They also called for the enlightenment of divisional police officers on the fact that women can stand as sureties for bail.