BY ANKELI EMMANUEL,Sokoto
The leadership of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Sokoto state chapter has promised to partner Civil Society Organization Observatory (CSOs) Forum on implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) in the State.
Giving this assurance when the Forum paid an advocacy visit to the NBA recently, their chairman, Barrister Muhammed Nuhu also promised to ensure that his members visit correctional centers in the State on a quarterly basis.
This, according to him will help decongest the prisons and reduce the cases of awaiting trial inmates significantly.
Speaking further, the NBA said they already have a committee in that direction headed by the Chief Judge of Sokoto, hence the assurance
that the either monthly or quarterly visits to all the prisons and detention centers will ensure that people are not unjustly detained or kept in custody for long periods of time.
While noting that some issues are so minor that they should ordinarily be resolved at home or out of Court, Barrister Nuhu appealed that issues of debts, or mere quarrels should go for alternative dispute resolution rather than detention or regular court trials..
”Sending people with minor issue of offences to detention centers helps nobody. This is because they will mix and interact with hardened criminals and come out to become more hardened than they were when they were sent there for correction.
In his clarification about the misconception most people often have about lawyers defending criminals, the State NBA chairman said, they are doing what is prescribed by the law and the ethics of the profession.
This, according to him, is because, “an accused person is deemed innocent until proven otherwise. Let us not also forget that these lawyers are out to present what was given to them and not to deceive the judges.
The State NBA chairman equally rated the management of the Nigeria Correctional Service high as one of the most uncompromising agencies in Nigeria.
He also advised that increasing the personnel of the police and improving the knowledge of prosecuting councils as well as setting up of more courts and appointment of more judges will help in the actualization of the goals of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) which seeks to enhance speedy and timely dispensation of justice.
Speaking earlier, the Sokoto State Coordinator of the ACJA Observatory Forum, Dr Auwal Ahmed Musa, said the advocacy has become imperative and that the NBA are critical stakeholders in the implementation of the Law.
The CSOs Observatory Forum on Implementation of ACJL comprises 20 members from different CSOs in Sokoto and was initiated by the CLEEN Foundation with support from MacArthur Foundation.
