Criminal Justice: Drive Justice Sector Reforms, Prof. Akinseye-George Charged Judges, Magistrates

Deji Adebayo, Abuja

The President of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS), Professor Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), has urged Judges and magistrates in the country not to see themselves as just players in the justice delivery system, but as agents of change needed to drive reforms required to ensure effective service delivery.

Professor Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN) said this on Tuesday while speaking during the opening session of a workshop on “The Model Practice Direction on the implementation of the National Minimum Standards (NMS) for the effective implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and Administration of Criminal Justice Laws (ACJLs).”

The two-day capacity-building workshop is organised by the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, with the support of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (RoLAC).

The Senior Advocate said, “As we engage in today’s sessions, I urge each of you (the judges and magistrates in attendance) to see yourselves, not merely as interpreters of orders, but as architects of justice reform.

“Your leadership, discipline, empathy, and willingness to innovate will determine how far these reforms travel into the daily lives of Nigerians,” he said.

Prof. Akinseye-George explained that the workshop is intended to afford participants the opportunity to take a closer look at the proposed Model Practice Direction, which was developed through the collaborative efforts of stakeholders across the federation with the goal of filling gaps in the ACJA & ACJLs of the various states.

He noted that the Model Practice Direction equips judges and magistrates with powerful tools such as active case management, time-bound remand review, virtual hearings where appropriate, technology-driven record keeping, clearer standards for bail, and periodic audit of awaiting-trial cases, among others.

The CSLS President expressed deep concern about the rising number of street children in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and urged the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike to quickly address the issue.

He said, “The phenomenon of street children which appears to be rising in Abuja must be addressed with urgency.

“We appeal to the Minister of the FCT to apply his proactive approach to project improvement to address the problem of street children in the FCT.”

Prof. Akinseye-George hailed the renewed efforts of the Federal Government to address the nation’s security challenge, which he noted, has began to yield results.

He commended the recent appointments recently made in the security sector by President Bola Tinubu and his directive for recruitment of security personnel as part of efforts to end insecurity.

Prof. Akinseye-George said such efforts should be supported with capacity building for law enforcement personnel to enable them device ways preventing attacks rather than responding or reacting after attacks have taken place.

He said, “I cannot conclude without expressing support for some of the concrete actions of the government aimed at improving the security situation in the country.

“The appointment of more competent professionals to man the security sector is notable. We also note with delight the planned recruitment of more personnel for the police and proactive actions being taken by the military to address rising cases of banditry and violent extremism.

“However, it is important to build the capacity of the law enforcement personnel and the military to prevent attacks rather than merely responding or reacting after attacks have happened.

“The capacity of the personnel must be strengthened so that they are able to go after the subversive elements who are hiding in the forests and other places only to come out and launch deadly attacks,” he said.

Prof. Akinseye-George added beyond military operations, governments at all levels must ensure the provision of economic opportunities for militants, bandits and insurgents, who are willing to abandon the lives of criminality.

Such efforts, he said, must involve the provision of free and compulsory secondary education for all children and young people from all over the country.