In this piece, Deborah Onyofufeke takes a look at the introduction and activation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and how it has helped the criminal justice system in Nigeria.
Before the introduction of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, there was a pretty much obvious void in the criminal law coupled with a series of setbacks suffered by criminal trials in Nigeria’s court in the past.
This led a former lawmaker from Kwara State, Ali Ahmad, to work towards the birth of a revolution in 2011, by sponsoring a bill that would later offer succour and redefine criminal trials in the country.
Ahmad, a former Chairman of the Committee on Justice in the green chamber of the Seventh Assembly, initiated and single-handedly pioneered the sponsorship of the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill back then.
The legislative framework, which scaled the gavel of the lower chamber of the National Assembly eventually got presidential assent in 2015 and consequently christened the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
While reminiscing on the issue after it has been passed into law, Ahmad was quoted as having said; “That is what operates in developed systems worldwide, and all stakeholders have to play their roles in ensuring implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
“ACJA is the law Nigeria presently requires not only to fight corruption but also to show to the world that the country’s criminal justice system is at par with the global standard, and to succeed it requires every hand to be on deck.
Stakeholders in the temple of justice and outside it have attested to the fact that ACJA is the best thing that has happened to the justice system, assuring that other reforms would follow.
It is worthy of note to know that, before the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), was signed into law, Nigeria’s formal compliance with human rights issues was minimal.
The ACJA was signed into law in May 2015, with 495-section law divided into 49 parts, with provisions for the administration of criminal justice and related matters in the courts of the Federal Capital Territory and other Federal Courts in Nigeria.
Before the promulgation of the ACJA 2015, Nigerian states were governed by two principal legislations derived from the British colonial administration, namely the Criminal Procedure Act, (CPA) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) depending on whether such a state was created out of the former northern or southern region.
The previous laws had significant provisions that discriminated against the rights of women, among other defects in the nation’s criminal justice system.
Section 167 of the Act, ended the restriction on the use of women as sureties. The section provides that, “a person shall not be denied, prevented or restricted from entering into a recognizance as a surety for any defendant or applicant on the ground that the person is a woman”.
With the introduction of ACJA, there was a breakthrough in the challenge of prolonged trials in the federal courts as well as an improvement in human rights in the country, under its laws.
Before ACJA, accused persons who haven’t been convicted were poorly regarded, and relatives of accused persons were arrested in the place of the accused when he is not found.
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ACJA made provisions for all these lapses to be corrected and more.
As a response to these issues, the ACJA was introduced to ensure that the criminal justice system becomes more efficient as well as responsive to the rights of the people.
The ACJA is divided into 48 parts with 495 sections. It merges the two principal legislations, the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) 1 and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC)2
While the CPC was used for states across the north, the CPA was effective in the southern parts of the country.
The emergence of ACJA, in 2015, repealed the erstwhile Criminal Procedure Act, CPA, as applied in the South, the Criminal Procedure Act, CPC, which applied in the North, and the Administration of Justice Commission Act.
But the ACJA did not completely erode the provisions of the CPC and CPA.
Substantially, the provisions of the Act preserved the existing criminal procedure systems.
Unlike the CPA and the CPC, the ACJ Act adopted a more acceptable trend used in the Evidence Act, 2011, where persons standing trial for criminal offences are not described as “accused persons”, but as “defendants”.
The provisions of the Act were made applicable to criminal trials for any offences and other offences punishable in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
It, however, does not apply to a Court Martial as stated in section 2(2) of the Act.
The Act is a deliberate shift from punishment, as the main goal of Nigerian criminal justice is to restore justice.
The Act was signed as a way to ensure that the system of administration of the criminal justice in Nigeria promotes efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the society from crime, and protection of the rights and interests of the suspect, the defendant, and the victim.
This came as a relief as the former CPC and CPA used were already mastered by lawyers who took advantage of its lapses to prolong trials.
Also, the emergence of ACJA marked the eradication of unlawful arrests, especially where security operatives arrest a suspect without providing an arrest warrant.
The introduction of ACJA ended the era of arrests of suspects’ relatives or friends, where the said suspect is said to be at large. Specifically, section 7 of the act provides that “a person shall not be arrested in place of a suspect.”
The ACJA also prohibits the arrest of persons for contract-related offences. Section 8 (2) of the act provides that “a person shall not be arrested merely on a civil wrong or breach of contract”.
The law also stated that a suspect shall not be arrested unless he is first informed of the reason for the arrest.
The security officer arresting the suspect is also under the obligation to inform the suspect of their rights to remain silent or avoid answering any questions or signing any documents until they have consulted a lawyer of their choice.
The officer shall also specifically inform the suspect of his right to consult a lawyer of his choice, as well as the right to free legal services, where applicable.
The authority detaining the suspect also has a legal obligation to inform relatives about the arrest of the suspect and to desist from charging the suspect for this responsibility.
The outgone acting solicitor general of the federation/Permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr Umar Etsu Mohammed, in 2021, at Yola, Adamawa State, described the domestication exercise as capable of enhancing cross-sector collaboration amongst stakeholders in the Justice administration.
The ACJA provisions, according to Mohammed, were aimed at promoting access to Justice and the reduction of human rights abuses.
The Federal Justice Sector Reform Coordinating Committee (FJSRCC) headed by Co-Chairman, Prof Tabiu Muhammed took the advocacy to South-South, North-West, North-East, North Central, South East, and South West.
The exercise which kicked off in 2017 after the presidential inauguration has been taken to the six geo-political zones of South-South, South-East, North-West, North-East, North-Central, and now South-West where relevant stakeholders’ capacity was built on, to go about ACJA implementation.
Justifying the initiative and its impact, Muhammed lauded the introduction, saying it was not only changing the Justice System but has also helped curb some of the challenges.
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While identifying implementation as a key challenge, Mohammed stated further that the monitoring mechanism will not only bring Stakeholders to the same table but will also enable them to identify tools to use to achieve set goals.
Thirty states have passed the law and they include Anambra, which was the first state to domesticate it in 2010, afterwards came Lagos, Ekiti, FCT, Ondo, Rivers, Oyo, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Kaduna, Delta, Kogi, Abia, Edo, Ogun, Plateau, Osun, Kwara, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Kano, Nasarawa, Benue, Jigawa, Ebonyi, Bauchi, Sokoto, Katsina and Imo most recently domesticated the Act in 2020
The Permanent Secretary and Solicitor General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, restating the Federal Government’s stance on ACJA, noted that in a federation and constitutional democracy, there was a need for federal and states stakeholders in the justice sector to jointly drive reform to enhance national development.
She said, “The Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 provided a broad legal framework for more effective cross-sector collaboration and oversight between and amongst agencies in the ACJA implementation and the protection of the rights of citizens,”
She thereafter lauded the Federal Justice Sector Reform Coordinating Committee (FJSRCC) for developing the required templates for national implementation, emphasizing Section 29(1), saying the interface between the Inspector General of Police, Attorney General of the Federation, Commissioner of Police and Attorney General of the States remain key for desired results.
Speaking on the next line of action, the Secretary FJSRCC, Mr Felix Ota-Okojie, said the committee has been building the capacity of the institutions that are saddled with responsibility, particularly under Sections 29, 33 and 34 of ACJA Act 2015.
We have gone to the entire six geo-political zones with the South West being the last and having completed this first phase, the next phase would be to engage the judges of the high courts who are also saddled with responsibilities under the ACJA.
“In addition to that, we would also start to evaluate the impact of the capacity building exercise to know the extent to which the knowledge has been deployed and its impact in their respective States. It will help us to know the strength, weaknesses, and where there are gaps to know how to fix such gaps and enhance the efficiency of their service delivery.
“As we speak, Abuja already has the national legislation; three other States are also in the process and there is no State that has not initiated. In some states, it is either at the public hearing stage or the governor’s assent.
Going forward, Okojie restated the need for an oversight visit, saying that it is very key.
He then assured that the FJSRCC team will continue to count on the support of the institutions., particularly on the need to be receptive, adding; “if people had access to justice, correctional centres, promote human rights and facilitate criminal justice administration across the country and to decongest not just the police cell but also help decongest courts dockets that are currently being overloaded with cases that should ordinarily get to court. If such was achieved, it’s going to be a win-win for us all as stakeholders.
Also speaking, the Convener Access to Justice and consultant to the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr Joseph Otteh, expressed delight that the intervention has so far produced a very worthy result within the law enforcement institutions.
According to Otteh, the programme is at a threshold level with glaring impacts, saying it was not without little challenges in terms of being operationalized in some States.
“A lot of States have not operationalised these reforms in their State. I mean that the police, judiciary, and other stakeholders have not started monitoring places of detention even though it is in their laws.
“The awareness is producing results nevertheless and growing too. Now detained persons are now being treated as human beings and not beasts.
“The investment would ultimately yield significant value for the respect of fundamental rights for those who interface with the criminal justice system in the country,” Otteh added.
Going forward, Otteh reemphasized the need to further facilitate compliance with ACJA laws, saying there is a need to find a way to reach strategic policymakers for further engagements to aid the work done so far.
The Focal Person, Samson Nduleme Onwusonye, of the Rule of Law Anti-Corruption Programme (RoLAC) of the British Council, expressed satisfaction with the capacity building; saying apart from supporting the justice sector reform, RoLAC has been lending its support since 2017.
Onwusonye lauded the transparency of the law, saying through awareness and transparent implementation, people now know that the law exists and are aware of how to seek their rights. “However, there are still some areas that need full implementation in the Correctional Service Law for instance.
“We are, according to Section 40 of the on the verge of establishing a parole Board that will look into individual cases and allows people to leave the confinement of the prison yards and complete their terms at home provided they maintain good records.
“The main aim is to reduce the population in prisons, government spending, and reduce infections and diseases. We are also supporting in other areas to reduce confinement via restorative justice. We have commenced a process in Edo and Lagos State.
“We have also supported the continuous meeting of justice reforms initiative and working around to enhance the improvement of justice reform in Nigeria,” Onwusonye explained.
