The
Chairman of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee, ACJMC,
Justice Ishaq Bello, says arrest of suspects before completion of investigation
has become a culture among the nation’s law enforcement agencies.
Mr. Bello, who is the Chief Judge of the
Federal Capital Territory High Court, stated this at the inauguration of
sub-committees of the ACJMC in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said, “The Administration of Criminal
Justice Act advocates that no arrest should be made until after completion of
investigation.
“But we have observed with pains that this has
not been the case.
“Hardly do you find a time when any of the
prosecutory agencies will come to court on the day of arraignment and say their
investigations are concluded.”
He said although the same law provides for the
arrest and detention of suspects on the order of the court, such provision was
being abused by the law enforcement agencies.
According to him, the agencies ask the courts
for extension of remand order without giving cogent reasons for their request.
“This remand culture is prevalent and that is
not the spirit of the law.
“Remand order is necessary only in compelling
situations where a suspect or the defendant is likely to move out of
jurisdictions or the investigation is so complex that you are unlikely to
finish in good time.”
Mr.
Bello also flayed the courts for making no efforts to interrogate the reasons
for the agencies’ request for extension of remand orders.
While noting that the ACJMC was set up to address
those abuses, he urged the sub-committees to hit the ground running and report
back to the parent body.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that six
subcommittees were inaugurated by the ACJMC chairman.
They are: sub-committees on Speedy Trial, Prisons
Decongestion, Technical, Investigation and Prosecution, Monitoring and Media.
The Commissioner of Police in the FCT, David
Igbodo, appealed for adequate financial and logistic provisions for law
enforcement agencies to effectively implement the Administration of Criminal
Justice Act.
Mr. Igbodo, who represented the
Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, said the law provides for the
creation and maintenance of a database of crimes suspects by relevant agencies.
He, however, said the police lacked adequate
funding and facilities to comply with that provision.
- NAN
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