National Minimum Standards: CSLS Organise Capacity-Building Workshop For ACJA Rangers

…Nigeria Justice System Now Have The Right Document To Implement ACJA/ACJL With NMS Adoption — RoLAC Representative, Dr. Oluwatoyin Badejogbin

Deji Adebayo, Abuja

The Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS) on Tuesday organized a 2-Day workshop on the National Minimum Standards for the Effective Implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and ACJLs of the States (December 2024) for ACJA Rangers.

The event also saw the public presentation of the NMS document to the Rangers who were present at the capacity workshop.

In their goodwill message, Rule of Law & Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) program & International Idea representative, Dr. Oluwatoyin Akinwande Badejogbin, Project Manager, RoLAC, International IDEA commended Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George, SAN and CSLS for the initiative and for coming up with a document acceptable for all to work with.

Dr. Badejogbin highlight reasons why RoLAC decided to adopt the NMS document as their minimum standard is to have a guide on the effective implementation of ACJA/ACJL in Nigeria.

He charged everyone to be part of the project and that it is an efficient & effective way to keep the society safe for justice delivery.

Below is the remarks by Prof Yemi Akinseye-George, SAN, at the Capacity-Building Workshop for ACJA Rangers, FCT & Seven Focal States of the RoLAC/IIDEA Project themed: National Minimum Standards for the Effective Implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and ACJLs of the States (December 2024), unedited:

“I’m delighted to welcome you all to this capacity building workshop. This same workshop will also hold in the seven other locations where RoLAC is working to improve the justice system.

“The purpose is to promote a deeper understanding by the ACJA Rangers and the general public of the National Minimum Standards for the effective implementation of the ACJA.

“This workshop is a collaborative project between the CSLS, the FMOJ and ACJA Rangers in the FCT and 7 focal states of RoLAC. It is being implemented with the funding support from RoLAC/IIDEA international. We are building on the foundation built over the years with the support provided by the MacArthur Foundation On Nigeria Criminal Justice Project with various partners such as LEDAP, CLEEN, PWAN, JURI TRUST, NIALS,
NBA, FIDA, and others.

“The Rangers are ordinary citizens and stakeholders of the Nigerian justice system identified and trained by the CSLS. The ACJA Rangers work tirelessly, al beit pro bono, to promote deeper understanding of and improved implementation of the ACJA and the ACJLs of the states. By the end of this Workshop, more Rangers would emerge and be added to the growing community of ACJA/ACJL Rangers nationwide.

“Through this Workshop, we are sharing the knowledge of the NMS which is designed as a tool to consolidate the gains recorded in the implementation of the ACJA in the last few years. The Standards are drawn from the federal ACJA and the ACJLs of States. As you are aware, the body of Attorneys-General in the country under the able chairmanship of the HAGF, Prince Lateef Fagbemi has adopted the National Minimum Standards as a basis for implementing reform and measuring impact by justice sector agencies and operatives. The NMS Document has also been adopted by the body of Solicitors General and Permanent Secretaries of the various Ministries of Justice across the country.

“Although our criminal justice system continues to face challenges, there is no doubt that the country has recorded some significant improvements in the dispensation of criminal justice since the passage of the ACJA, in the last decade.

“For example, the strict enforcement by the Courts including the apex court of Section 306 has reduced the abuse of stay of criminal proceedings through interlocutory appeals. This has led to an upsurge in the return or recovery of stolen assets principally because it is more difficult to delay or derail trial proceedings.

“The National Minimum Standards have brought together in a single document the most salient features of the ACJA and ACJLs of states. These standards will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of federal and state agencies in realizing the objectives of the criminal justice system. A national Scoresheet or board will be developed in due course to show the ranking of each state in the implementation of the ACJ Legislation. The current National Scoresheet has Delta State as the foremost state in implementing the ACJ Legislation whilst Ebonyi and Zamfara occupy the lowest positions.

“Let me seize this opportunity to address some pressing national issues.

“Firstly, we commend the idea introduced by some legislators in the House of Representatives to introduce a fixed tenure of five years for heads of courts. If incorporated into the Constitution, this will make the heads of courts more accountable to their colleagues. It will provide an opportunity for other judges to use their leadership skills rather than allowing one person to remain in the office indefinitely whether he or she is performing well or not.

“Secondly, we commend the efforts of the anti-graft agencies to focus attention on public education and enlightenment. The EFCC and the ICPC have recently conducted public education and enlightenment campaigns aimed at improving public support. However, we urge to agencies to focus more on prevention of corruption and economic crimes. There is need for a more robust preventative approach and strategy. There should also be closer cooperation and synergy between the heads of the anti-graft bodies so that law breakers will not take undue advantage of any lack of communication and coordination between the agencies.

“Thirdly, we applaud the Minister of the FCT, His Excellency Nyesom Wike for embarking on the development of befitting houses for judges and justices. In our view, no matter how well judges are paid, many of them may not be able to afford accommodation in decent and secure locations without the support of the government. We therefore commend the efforts to provide befitting owner-occupied accommodation for judges in the FCT. The NJC should equally devote resources to provide more of such houses. All right thinking person must join forces to ensure that the working and living conditions of judges improve significantly.

“Furthermore, the continued practice of judges writing down court proceedings manually or in long hand is condemnable and barbaric. This is one the reasons cases are delayed and proceedings go on indefinitely. We urge the CJN to issue an urgent deadline for the introduction of E-fling, E-Service, E-Assignment and E-Recording of court proceedings. These are part of the requirements of the National Minimum Standards for the effective implementation of the ACJA.

“Let me round up by expressing our Centre’s gratitude to RoLAC and the MacArthur Foundation for their consistent support for the reform of the Nigerian criminal system in general and for partnering with our Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS).

“We also thank our friends and partners in the Media for the relentless support for the activities of our Centre.

“I thank you all once again for your attention.”