Lagos Assembly Amends ACJ Law, Stops The Parade Of Suspects By Police

Lagos House of Assembly today amended the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2015 of Lagos state. With this amendment to the law, it will be unlawful for the police or any other agency to parade suspects to the media. The amendment also outlaws the arrest of friends and family in lieu of offenders.

This was revealed to pressmen by the Majority Leader of the House, Hon. S. O. B. Agunbiade, and the House Chairman on Information and Strategy, Hon. Setonji David after the sitting of the House today. Hon. Agunbiade said: ‘Today 5th of July, House of Assembly Lagos state passed a bill on the amendment of ACJ Law of Lagos state. To that extent, the bill will now be sent to the Governor for his assent to make the bill becomes a law with all intent and purposes.’

‘The bill strengthens Administration of Criminal Justice in Lagos State making so many improvement into the extant law once the Governor signs it, all the sections introduced will have force of law.’

The amendment which, Trek Africa Newpaper gathered, was aided by the recommendations of legal practitioners, social commentators and other stakeholders deletes Section 4 of the ACJ Law and replaces it to read ‘A person shall not be arrested in lieu of any other person in a criminal matter. The provisions of Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to sureties. Where a person is arrested in place of another, the Court shall upon an application on notice before it, order the immediate release of such person, where it finds that the person ought not to have been arrested.’

The amended bill will also motivate prosecutors to take cases more seriously. ‘Where there is evidence that a prosecutor is aware that a case is going on that day and that prosecutor refuses to attend, the court shall discharge the person but the discharge will not mean acquittal. The person can still be prosecuted’. Thus, the speed of cases in law courts will likely increase.

Once this amended bill is signed by the Governor, ‘a chief magistrate within a jurisdiction have the right to attend any police station, inspect the police record of cases and where he/she deem it fit that bail ought to be granted but not granted, the chief magistrate has the right to grant bail to the person where it is a bailable offence’, Hon. Agunbiade stated.