South-East Attorneys Move To Reform Criminal Justice System

State Attorneys-General and Commissioners of Justice in the South-East region of Nigeria will from November 21 to 23 converge on Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital, to propose simplified ways of criminal justice administration in the zone.

The aim, THE WHISTLER gathered, is to decongest correction centres in the region, eliminate police brutality in evidence gathering from suspects and enthrone rehabilitation of suspects rather than outright jail terms.

Dr Ben Odo, Chairman, Body of South-East Attorneys General and Commissioners of Justice, disclosed this in Enugu, Friday, while elaborating on the summit.

He attributed the insecurity in the South-East region to ineffective criminal justice administration.

He said, “One of the factors contributing to the economic downturn in South-East is insecurittly which can be addressed by making criminal justices in the concerned states tilt towards rehabilitation instead of sentencing to prison, with some awaiting trials for many years.

“We have woken from our slumber. The attorneys came together to brainstorm on how to improve the system rather than the current retributive justice.

“The proposed criminal justice will fast track litigations, eliminate technical processes that delay justice delivery, and allow less complicated matters to be resolved without going through the rigours of litigation.”

Odo, who is the Attorney General of Ebonyi state, added that if the proposal is adopted, each state in the region will have their own prisons.

“They can also domesticate federal government prisons in their localities. Most inmates in prisons are convicted by states, very few by the FG.

“At the summit, we want to remind the courts of their roles in addressing prison congestion. Courts can adopt ways to rehabilitate offenders, rather than sentencing them.

“In Ebonyi, some inmates are sent to Ebonyi farms where they are funded to embark on farming of their choice. When their term is over, they are given 60% of the proceeds from their farms, they use 20% to feed and 20% goes to the state. So a convict will return home as an empowered farmer.

“The law also mandates magistrates to examine police records to determine if suspects are arraigned in court within 48 hours. They can also pardon those in police custody if such suspects merit such.

“Police interrogation rooms will also be equipped in such a away that police commissioners and attorneys can monitor interrogations to avoid forcing suspects to accept what they did not do.”

He said governors of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states would attend, as well as the Attorney General of the Federation. According to him, “If the proposals are adopted, the governors would forward them to their state assemblies as executive bills to be made laws.”