Policemen don’t comply with Criminal Justice Laws, says NOPRIN

Akinyombo Deborah

The Chairman of the Network on Police Reforms in Nigeria (NOPRIN), Coordinating Committee, Barrister Saviour Akpan, has stated that most policemen still lack relative knowledge of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law and those that know, do not comply.

Akpan stated this recently at the public presentation of the book, “Police Compliance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015,” with support from Trust Africa, held in Ikeja, Lagos State.

According to Akpan, the book presentation was part of NOPRIN’s project, with support from Trust Africa, aimed at promoting law enforcement accountability, transparent and responsible policing and respect for human rights and rule of law.

He added: “The Lagos State Government in the bid to enhance better respect for the rights of citizens by the police in the law enforcement process, as well as ensuring speedy dispensation of criminal justice in the state, passed the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) in 2011, which four years later in 2015, got passed at the federal level as the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015. Several other states have since followed suit by passing similar laws. These laws repealed and replaced the old Criminal Procedure Laws of the various states and also at the federal level. The new law sought to regulate some daunting problems within the administration of criminal justice by introducing some far-reaching reforms.”

The Barrister explained that these reforms were expected, among other things, to ease prison congestion, end the abuse of the remand system, improve the delivery of criminal justice services by the courts, and enhance capacity of law enforcement officials to act responsibly, accountably and professionally. It was also to ensure better safeguards for the rights of persons who are processed through the criminal justice system.

He noted that research by various Civil Society Organizations (CSO) to ascertain the level of awareness, compliance, implementation and enforcement of the Lagos ACJL 2011 and the ACJA 2015 at the Federal level by law enforcement officials, particularly the Police, “indicated poor knowledge of, and low-level compliance with the laws. Almost 10 years after the amendments to the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State ACJL-2011, the creative push for reform in Lagos State and the lofty goals and the outcomes envisaged by the legislation are yet to be achieved.”

He said that one of the key factors responsible for the low-level implementation was lack of effective monitoring by the committee set up under the law to monitor implementation.

He further said: “Civil society can fill this gap by complimenting the work of the implementation committee by monitoring police compliance through documenting and tracking cases of police corruption and human rights violations and publicizing them to highlight specific areas of deviation from the law in every case.

“This is what NOPRIN, working in the areas of not only Police Reforms but in the reformation of the entire justice system, which the police serve as the gatekeeper, set out to do in this project by engaging with the ACJL monitoring committee and police oversight agencies to understand their challenges and to discuss and agree on collaborative efforts that would enhance effective implementation of the law.”