Cross section of participants at the training held at State CID, Panti, Yaba on Thursday in Lagos/ Photo: Benedicta Bassey
In a bid to ensure that fundamental human rights are protected, the rule of law upheld and to ensure swift dispensation of Justice, the Rights Enforcement and Public Law Centre (REPLACE) in collaboration with the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC), a program of the European Union, IIDEA on Thursday organised a one-day training for senior police officers on the Administration of Criminal Justice (Amendment) Laws 2021 of Lagos state.
The training held at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba Lagos State was focused on senior police officer within key divisions of the state.
In her welcome address, the Executive Director of REPLACE, Felicitas Aigbogun-Brai, said the training was apt to enlighten officers on the provisions of the Law to ensure effective implementation.
According to her, “The training present salient provisions in the law as related to victims, arrests and detention of suspects and safeguards relating to fundamental human rights and investigation while preparing a case for trial”.
She called on the Nigeria Police Force to ensure full compliance and implementation of the law to protect the right and dignity of citizens.
Earlier, the Coordinating officer, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (RoLAC), Mr Samson Onwusanya, said the training became imperative to sensitize stakeholders in the administration of justice in the state with focus on key provisions of the ACJL.
He noted that, “It is important to protect the rights of the citizens – the suspects and victims of crime. The training will assist officers to understand the content and how best to implement the law to help around crucial justice reforms and accountability.
He, however, pledge his firm’s support for projects and initiatives that assists Persons With Disabilities (PWD), the vulnerable, women as well as children, to have legal access in the country.
According to him, “Women are peculiar creatures, same with children and more importantly people living with disability. We have come to realise that those are the people who almost never have access to anything not just legal aid, hence, sensitization on the ACJL will enhance the protection of the vulnerable for a better and more responsive society.”
He noted that the law enforcement officers had a responsibility to give back to society and protect the vulnerable, especially women and children to ensure all is treated with dignity and respect in accordance with the provision of the law.
In his presentation, the Coordinator, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Lucas Koyejo while speaking on ‘Advancing justice with dignity: Overview of the key Human Rights Provisions of the ACJL, Lagos State,’ said the law was crucial to promoting fairness and justice in areas of Human rights – rights to life, property, freedom etc.
He asserted that the imperativeness of the training cannot be overemphasized considering the strategic importance and indispensable role of the police in the administration of criminal justice.
Koyejo said, “The criminal justice system consists of the police, court and correctional centers whereby the roles and functions of these institutions are intertwined and mutually reinforcing in the effective and successful administration of criminal justice of any country or state.
“The police play a critical role in the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria. They are responsible to a large extent for the success or failure of criminal prosecution in the courts.
“The Nigeria police and by extension every agency exercising police powers has enormous responsibility in the administration of justice, hence, officers must have a good grasp of what is permissible under the laws in the discharge of their duties and ensure that as law enforcement agents they are not found on the wrong side of the law.
Speaking on the law, he said, the ACJL Lagos state introduced innovations aimed at fast tracing justice delivery, with a concerted efforts at the preservation of rights of accused persons.
Focusing on key sections of the law, Koyejo said, “Section 4 of the ACJL and section 7 of the ACJA prohibits “arrest in lieu” Section 4 stated that no person shall be arrested in lieu of another person. The section criminalised the act of arrest in lieu. When a suspect is alleged to have committed an offence and his whereabout is unknown, no other person can be arrested in lieu of the suspects. The police must continue the manhunt for the suspect,” he explained.
“The provision also includes non-discrimination against women as sureties,” Koyejo added.
He identified key focus of the law to includes; the powers of chief magistrate to visit police stations, prohibition of media parade of suspects, prohibition of arrest in lieu, recording confessional statements, plea bargain amongst others.
He explained that, “ACJL was enacted to promote efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the rights of suspect and complainants and reduction of delays in trails which culminated in congestion of correctional facilities hence, police officers are centre to the law achieving its objectives.”
-Participants speak-
One of the participants, ASP Adeola Lawal, attached to the State CID, Homicide Section, commended the organizer and called for review of the law requesting the police to observe strict timelines regarding the investigation and detention of suspects.
She said, “I commend the orgniser for this wonderful program because it has helped us to understand the key focus and provisions of the ACJL to enable us know our rights as well as that of the masses. However, I called for the review of the law that states that suspect must be brought before a court within 24 to 48hours. This to some extent might not be realistically achieved, especially with cases of capital offence. That timeline might not be sufficient enough to carry out a proper investigation especially in the homicide section.
“Generally, the training will greatly shore up service delivery with accordance with the provisions of the law and the international best practices in criminal Justice administration within the State,” she added.
Similarly, the Assistant Superintendent of Police attach to Cybercrime Section of the State CID, Obuse Victor, hailed the organisers for the training.
He said, “the training is marvelous and it has added some knowledge to the ones we already have. This no doubt would aid quality improvement in the discharge of our duties to maintain and respect the rights of the suspects in accordance with the provisions of the law.
“However, I called on the organiser to also educate the public on proper procedure in approaching the police while on duty to avert violation.”
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