The amended Administration of Criminal Justice Laws (ACJL) 2022 in Bauchi State will make tendencies for manipulation, through delay tactics in criminal trial is impossible.
Aliyu Idris, the Permanent Secretary, Bauchi State Ministry of Justice, made this known while unveiling the gazetted copies of the amended Violence Against Persons Prohibition Laws (VAPP) on Tuesday in Bauchi.
The permanent secretary said the amended laws has prohibit all forms of violence against persons.
NAN reports that the amended laws was signed by the state Governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed in 2022, to repealed the 2020 VAPP law.
He said also that the gazetted VAPP laws highlighted the definition of various forms of violence, protection for victims of criminalisation of harmful practices, among others.
“The law aimed to address all forms of Violence, including domestic, sexual and harmful traditional practices, discrimination against vulnerable Persons,” the permanent secretary said.
Idris, however, said that some of the innovations featured in the amended ACJL laws included the provisions for non custodial, remedial and restorative sentences.
Others are the provision for the time limit for issuance of legal advice and other directives to police from the Attorney General, the permanent secretary said.
Idris also explained that the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) was passed ACJL 2022.
He said ACJL became necessary as a result of the challenges and lacunae associated with the ACJL 2018.
“Some of the challenges of the previous enactment include the exclusion of magistrate courts in law and review sentences for offenses.
“Others are the need to harmonise the dual judicial and criminal justice that run concurrently in Bauchi state by replacing Customary Court’s with Shariah Court’s to strengthen Administration of Criminal Justice in the state,” the permanent secretary said.
Idris said that the ACJL 2022 would ensure that criminal justice was administered in a fair, efficient and effective manner in the state.
He said that the ACJL made some innovations which expanded the jurisdiction of Chief Magistrates to try rape cases.
The permanent secretary, however, called on the media practitioners to enlighten the general public on VAPP and ACJL laws in the state.
Also, the Chief Register, Bauchi State High Court, Mr Sublim Emmanuel, said the signing into law was not an easy task.
“In the case of Administration of Criminal Justice Law and Violence Against Persons Prohibition law, the repealed laws when assented to were perhaps said to be recent existing laws only in our status books.
“These laws only existed in the bookshelves of the Ministry of Justice as they could not be implemented after their assent.
“The major reasons in the legal cycle are primarily because of the multiple incurable defects associated with the laws.
“our Penal Code never saw the Right at amendment since Sept. 30, 1940 when it was signed Into law,” he said.
The chief registrar said latest figures would give an idea of where the state was as a state in the administration of justice.
“About 2,416 cases were recorded out of which 184 were Gender Based Violence (GBV) in 2022,” Emmanuel said.
He said that from January to date, the state had registered 275 criminal cases and seven were GBV.
Mrs Amina Garuba, the Executive Director, Ikra Foundation for Women and Youth Development, an NGO working in Bauchi, appreciated the state government for gazetting the VAPP laws.
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