By Abdullahi O. Haruna Haruspice
Barely two months ago Evbu Igbinedion, was unveiled as the new face of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee with her appointment as Executive Secretary. The Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee is the engine room for the implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015. She came into the job as a lawyer with good understanding of the working of criminal justice administration in Nigeria. With measured strides, meticulous insights, unmatched diligence and professionalism, in the words of the Hon Attorney General and Minister for Justice, she “hit the ground running” by breathing air to the Committee. In setting the focus of the Committee and repositioning the Committee to deliver on its statutory functions, she organized One-Day Stakeholders Engagement Summit “On The Effective Implementation Of The Administration Of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.” An event which has set the new tone for national discourse on the implementation ACJA for effective and efficient criminal justice administration in Nigeria. The summit attracted the who is who in criminal justice sector including the Chief Judge of the High Court Hon Justice Husseini Yusuf Baba, the hon Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, SAN, the President of Nigeria Bar Association, Maikyau Chonoko Yakubu, SAN and very many others. At the summit accolades and recommendations ran amok for the soft-spoken workaholic Executive Secretary.
In just two months since her appointment as Executive Secretary, tasked with driving the Committee Secretariat towards ensuring the implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), the relentless legal empress has achieved some progress. In her address at the Summit, she attributed her modest achievements to the unprecedented cooperation, guide and support she got from the Chief Judge of the High Court of the FCT, Hon Justice Husseini Yusuf Baba, who is the Chairman of the Committee and the Hon Attorney General and Minister for Justice. She equally acknowledged the immense support as well as the and collaboration of criminal justice institutions and development partners, including, the FCT High Court, the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Nigeria Police Force, UNODC, the MacArthur Foundation, INL, ROLAC, the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, PPDC, and NULAI.
Some of her achievement since her assumption of duty two months ago, which demonstrated some significant strides in implementing the ACJA within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) includes: Expanded the coverage of oversight visits by FCT Magistrates through the designation of additional magistrates by my lord the Hon Chief Judge, Upscaled the compliance level of sections 34 of the ACJA through the capacity building programmes organized for all Magistrates in the FCT, Trained all Divisional Police Officers in the FCT towards ensuring compliance with s. 15, 33 ad 34 of the ACJA, Trained Registrars from the Magistrates Courts on compliance with reporting obligations and Held the technical review meetings leading to the validation of the draft remand documents, we are gathered here today, to witness its signing by the Hon Chief Judge of the FCT; and of course,
The most remarkable of the achievements of Evbu, was the hosting of Stakeholders Engagement Summit which witnessed, the Official Signing of the Practice Direction and Guidelines and Monitoring Framework on Remanding Proceedings by the Honourable Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, Hon. Justice Husseini Baba Yusuf and the formal presentation of the Strategic Action Plan of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee for 2024 -2025 to stakeholders.
Recall that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), was enacted in May 2015, with the aim to reform Nigeria’s criminal justice system by promoting efficient management of institutions, speedy justice, crime prevention, and the protection of suspects, defendants, and victims. While the Act mandates data collection and record-keeping for arrests, trials, and court decisions, Nigeria still lacks a functional Central Criminal Records Registry, resulting in poor performance in record-keeping. Despite some success in expediting high-profile cases, the justice system continues to face significant delays due to issues like de novo trials, lack of technological support, and inefficiencies among criminal justice actors. Moreover, the ACJA’s poor implementation has not significantly curbed crime, underscoring the need for prompt punishment of offenders to deter criminality. All these are some of the challenges which the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee, under Evbu’s watch should work hard to mitigate.
Although the rights of defendants are better protected due to active defense lawyers, vulnerable defendants remain at a disadvantage. The ACJA also makes provisions for victim compensation and restitution, but these are not widely implemented due to a lack of awareness and resources. Overall, the Act’s implementation has had mixed results, with improvements needed in areas like reporting provisions and case management. To ensure the effective enforcement of the ACJA, the Nigerian Bar Association must advocate for the Attorney-General and other relevant authorities to take their roles seriously and address the existing shortcomings in the system as Evbu and her team lead the impetus towards the full implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act in Nigeria.
