The fate of inmates at Nigerian Correctional Centres has received a boost with the launch of virtual court facilities at the Kuje Correctional Centre, FCT on December 6.
The project, which will be replicated nationwide, will make it possible for suspects in custody to give evidence and follow their trial without being physically in court with all its logistical and security challenges.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), said the project is in furtherance of the implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) targeted at the speedy determination of cases by eliminating delays and displacement of denial of justice. He said it will further support the federal government’s policy of decongestion of correctional centres across the country.
Daily Trust recalls that the COVID-19 pandemic pushed various sectors of the economy of most countries of the world into a complete shutdown – both public and private sector organizations, including the criminal justice sector.
Court proceedings were delayed and there was an ensuing collapse of the prosecution of several high-profile cases. In the circumstance, the correctional centres became overcrowded and gradually sled into a very critical state.
The pandemic created a problem that basically could not be solved without the adoption of technology.
The AGF had earlier expressed the resolve of the Federal Ministry of Justice to respond appropriately to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to the administration of justice in the country in collaboration with other critical stakeholders in the justice sector.
The AGF stated that there was need for a paradigm shift in the administration of justice through the deployment of appropriate technologies to drive it.
Accordingly, on April 27, 2020, the committee on post-COVID-19 justice system in Nigeria was constituted and inaugurated.
The primary aim of the committee is to assess and identify the challenges and impact of the pandemic on the entire justice system and make appropriate and actionable recommendations on the immediate, medium and long-term measures for addressing the challenges of the pandemic.
One of the mandates of the committee is to work with the Nigerian Correctional Service to establish virtual courtrooms/studios in correctional centres to enable suspects in custody to participate in the remote hearing of cases or bail applications.
Consequently in this regard, the ministry partnered with the UNDP and Japanese government towards deploying virtual court proceedings in correctional centres nationwide with a pilot project in Kuje Correctional Centre.
“As we launch these facilities today, I am hopeful that this initiative would bring about effective virtual court sittings in correctional centres nationwide which would feed into the adoption of the National Judicial Council Guidelines on Virtual/Remote Court Sittings and Quick Access to Justice for incarcerated citizens in correctional centres across the federation,” the AGF said.
The project, according to the AGF was, therefore, initiated to ensure the hearing and determination of urgent and time-bound cases, using the digital platform.
This system would equally ensure speedy dispensation of trials in line with Section 36(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which provides that every person shall be entitled to fair hearing within a reasonable time.
It would also eliminate the issue of difficulties in conveying inmates to court and further ensure the safety and security of the inmates and law enforcement officers.
He said: “We are no longer constrained by mobility, space and time in the justice delivery on account of accommodation of the virtual court sitting facilities and deployment of incidental technology.
“Notably, our justice system is founded on the constitutional principle of fundamental rights to fair hearing that requires the court to hear and determine cases in public and the physical presence of the suspects or parties in court.
“I assure you that the virtual court proceedings are in compliance with the provisions of Section 36(3) of the constitution, which provides for public court sitting or hearing.
“This virtual court proceeding meets up with the expectation of the constitution and are not private hearings but open to the respective counsel involved, the litigants (inmates) and the general public at large.”
The AGF said further that it is important to note that the virtual court hearing will not in any way contravene the provision of Section 36(6) of the 1999 Constitution which provides for the arraignment, taking of evidence, tendering of documents, cross-examination and general conduct of criminal proceedings.
Inasmuch as these are done in accordance with the said provision, the virtual hearing would be valid.
Major stakeholders in the justice sector said the initiative would also help boost the economy by ensuring that funds meant for the movement of inmates would be channelled to other essential areas of need in the correctional centres and assist the country to meet up with global best practices in terms of the administration of the criminal justice.
Barr Bayo Akinlade, a human rights activist and former chairman of Ikorodu branch of the NBA, said the government is also working on such virtual facilities in Lagos State, adding that the technology’s implementation and sustainability matter.
What will determine the sustainability, according to him was the availability of constant electricity and ICT personnel, without which the project may not last for more than six months.
On his part, council member, NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) and former member of the NBA Criminal Justice Reform Committee, Emeka Nwadioke Esq., said the launch of the virtual court sitting technology in correctional facilities is consistent with the global move towards online court hearings.
“It is very pathetic and unacceptable that suspects spend between seven and 15 years in detention awaiting trial. This negates the constitutional guarantee of speedy trial,” he said.
According to him, there have been instances where vehicles conveying detainees to prison were attacked, security operatives killed and suspects freed. The new framework will obviate this malaise.
He however expressed hope that the project is not restricted to only sexual and gender-based cases but extended to all criminal cases.
He said public access to the trials must also be guaranteed, adding that funding is key to curing the infrastructural gap. “In particular, poor network access occasioned by low bandwidth must be addressed by the government to ensure seamless trials.
“The new framework compels criminal trial lawyers to deepen their skills and know-how vis-a-vis online dispute resolution mechanisms. This will enable them to fulfil their professional obligation of offering the best possible defence to the suspects,” he said.
Nwadioke, who is handling a defilement case that was adjourned back-to-back due to non-production of the defendant, said the issue was the confusion on whether a production warrant was issued or not while the defendant has been in custody since 2016.
