It is worthy to note that the first official action to reform the criminal justice system in Nigeria started in 2005. Unfortunately, this action did not become law until May 15, 2015. When the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, in its last days, signed The Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 into law. We shall, henceforth, refer to this law as “the ACJA 2015”. The provisions of this Act are substantially the same as the Lagos State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2011, but with a wider application. The ACJA 2015 was designed to apply in criminal trials for offenses under any law made by the National Assembly. Also, for any other offense punishable in the Federal Capital Territory (F.C.T.) Abuja; these are known as federal offenses. Thus, the ACJA 2015 became the operative law in criminal justice and procedure in all federal courts.
Before The 2015 Administration Of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA)
This law repealed the extant Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), which applied in the southern part of Nigeria, and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) which applied mainly in the north. These two laws were handed to us by the colonial government, meaning they were in operation for well over fifty years! The CPA and CPC remained in operation despite the fact that crime and its dynamics had changed. Many nations all over the world have since upgraded their criminal procedure laws to conform to international standards.
This upgrade ensures that the fundamental rights of a person accused of a crime are not unnecessarily violated. In many countries, custodial sentences and incarcerations (imprisonment) have been de-emphasized. Many other forms of punishments have been put in place like a suspended sentence, community service, probation, etc. But, Nigeria as a nation continued with outdated criminal law practice and procedure. This obsoleteness led to prolonged and delayed trials, congestion in courts and the prisons, and a system where prisoners return more hardened than they were before being sentenced. But thank God that at last, the transformation arrived in 2015.
The 2015 Administration Of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) Application
I must remind you again that the ACJA 2015 is principally a federal law. By federal law, I mean to say that it applies in respect of offenses created by the National Assembly. Examples of the 17 offenses created by the National Assembly include corrupt practices and embezzlement of public funds, economic crimes, bribery, false asset declaration, drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, treasonable felony, smuggling, and currency counterfeiting, etc. So, the ACJA 2015 will apply to any offense created by a federal legislature. However, kindly note that in some cases, an offense may be created by both the National Assembly and a State Assembly. In that case, the criminal law procedure that will apply will be determined by whether it is a state that is prosecuting the offense or the Federal Government.
Also, you must note that several States in Nigeria have domesticated the ACJA 2015. This means that such a state has adopted the ACJA 2015 as its law. Therefore, the ACJA 2015 will apply to any criminal procedure undertaken by that State. At the last count, the following seven States have domesticated the ACJA 2015, namely: Anambra, Ekiti, Ondo, Enugu, Lagos, Oyo, and Rivers. The F.C.T is automatically included under federal administration. Lagos State was the first to enact its Administration of Criminal Justice Law in 2007 and passed a revised edition in 2011. (From now on, I will refer to the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State 2011 as “the ACJL 2011”.)
Still to come…
In the next post, I will attempt to compare some of its provisions with the Administration Of Criminal Justice Act 2015. Please mark the difference in contrast to ACJA 2015 which is the federal law. The abysmally-low number of ACJA-compliant States is contrary to the pledge made by the 36 State Attorney-Generals to replicate the ACJA 2015 in their respective States. The pledge was made at the meeting of the Body of State Attorneys General (BSAG) in Abuja sometime in August 2016.
Excerpted from Barrister Manuel Akinshola’s Know Your Rights against the Police and in Court in criminal matters