In order to ensure speedy delivery of judgment of in Nigerian courts, the Senate has passed into second reading a Bill for an act to repeal the criminal procedure Act.
Other than decongesting the prisons through speedy trials, the Bill also seeks to introduce the plea bargain option into Nigeria ‘s criminal justice administration.
Under the title: “An Act to Repeal the Criminal Procedure Act, criminal procedure (Northern States) Act 2004, the administration of Justice Commission Act and enact the administration of Justice in Nigeria, the bill was sponsored by Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba.
Leading debate on the bill, Senator Ndoma-Egba noted: “For several decades, Nigerians have lived with a criminal justice system that is grinding slow and open to abuses, rendering it most ineffective.
“From the police stations to the courts to the prisons, the system had delivered everything but justice and the society has been worse for it.”
According to him, court cases drag on to the point that conviction becomes unlikely as witness may no longer be readily available and where they are available, some facts relating to the case would have been distorted so much so that the essence of seeking justice by litigants is lost.
The Senate Leader further explained that part of the problem of the system is its inability to apply commensurate punishment to infractions.
He said: “It is common to see a court give maximum sentence to a petty thief while those who stole billions of naira from the public coffers get far lesser sanctions for their crimes when convicted by the court.
“The primary objective of the bill is to ensure speedy and efficient administration of criminal justice in Nigeria. It seeks to bring together the criminal code and penal code in one body of law so as to promote uniformity, protect the society from crime as well as protect the rights and interests of accused and victims in criminal proceedings in the country.”
Commenting on the bill, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said any reform of criminal justice without reform of the evidence act will amount to futility.
“It is important that we look at consolidating of the criminal code and penal code,”Ekweremadu said.
After a robust debate, the Bill passed for second reading and was referred to the Committee on Judiciary for further legislative work.
The committee is expected to report back to plenary in four weeks.
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