The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has said the sensitization exercise on the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) held in Kano state was to acquaint the people of the state with the law.
A statement from the national secretariat of the NBA in Abuja said the president of the association, Paul Usoro (SAN), emphasized that the objective of the programme was to sensitize people on the Kano State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, a domesticated version of the ACJA.
The NBA said the one day State Validation Public Forum on the domestication and implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Legislation in states, was also an avenue for the participants to interrogate the law.
Usoro, who was represented by Mr. Lawal Habeeb, Assistant Publicity Secretary, said the views harvested at the sensitization forum will be a great resource to Kano State, when it wants to review the law.
The highlight of the programme, according to the statement, was the keynote presentation by Mr Nuhu Musa Idris, Deputy Dean Faculty of Law, Bayero University, Kano State, where he spoke on the topic “An Overview on the key Innovative Provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law Kano State, 2019”
He said the reform of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act should be seen as a bold and courageous attempt to improve the criminal justice system in Nigeria.
He said the realization of effective criminal justice system is fundamental to democratic governance and the rule of law.
”However, the criminal justice institutions will be highly challenged by the provisions of the ACJL. Therefore there is the need to develop skills and performance culture of the personnel charged with the responsibility to implement the provisions of the Law,” he added.