‘Uniform policies, restorative mechanisms’ — senate approves amendment to Criminal Justice Act

The senate has approved the amendment to the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).

The bill was passed on Wednesday, after the consideration of a report by the senate committee on judiciary, human rights and legal matters.

The ACJA dates back to 2015, during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Although Lagos state had, in 2007, enacted the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL), which aims to achieve efficiency in the handling of criminal cases, several states have now domesticated the ACJA.

Orji Uzor Kalu, chief whip of the senate, had, in 2020, proposed an amendment to the ACJA after his release from prison, following his conviction over money laundering.

In December 2021, the bill, which seeks to make the ACJA “more effective and humane”, passed second reading at the senate.

During the public hearing on the bill in February 2022, among deliberations on the proposed amendment included issues on fair hearings for suspects and clearly spelt-out court jurisdictions on criminal cases.

Speaking on Wednesday while presenting a report, Opeyemi Bamidele, chairman of the senate committee on judiciary, said the bill makes provision for uniform sentencing policies and more restorative justice mechanisms.

He listed the restorative justice mechanisms to include victim-offender mediation; suspended sentence and probation; and community service.

He also said the section that has ‘establishment of the administration of criminal justice monitoring committee’ has been amended to read ‘establishment of the administration of criminal justice monitoring council’.

“Stakeholders unanimously supported the passage of the bill in view of its strategic relevance to the reform in the justice sector as it is one of the policy thrusts of this administration,” NAN quoted Bamidele as saying.

“To entrench the culture of fair, efficient and effective criminal justice service delivery in Nigeria and to improve outcomes through active partnership, it is imperative that the extant Act be holistically reviewed to make all-encompassing provisions.

“This is targeted at addressing all the inherent challenges in the course of its implementation with respect to some judicial pronouncements on the subject matter.”