The Civil Society Observatory on the Implementation of Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria has yet again called for increased sensitization of the officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force on their roles and responsibilities as provided in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, (ACJA) 2015. This call was made at a meeting with the Public Relations Officer of the Imo State Police Command, SP Enwerem, during an advocacy visit to the State Police Command which was part of activities of the Observatory group at its 5th quarterly meeting which took place on Thursday, 30th August, 2018 in Owerri, Imo State. The group also stressed that for there to be effective compliance with police roles and responsibilities, members of the public needed to be equally sensitized on their rights and demand respect for their rights from the relevant law enforcement and security agencies.
As part of its recommendations to support the Imo State Police Command in the implementation of the ACJA 2015, the Observatory group called on the police hierarchy to create an ACJA Awareness Desk within the Command to aid dissemination of information about the law to all personnel within the Command.
The group also pledged to support the Police Command in the sensitization of its officers and men on the provisions of the law relating to the police so as to further strengthen their work.
Amongst other recommendations, the Observatory group called for the introduction of new innovations such as the recently established Lagos Criminal Information System, LCIS which serves as a repository of biometric data of persons who have been in contact with the Criminal Justice System. This, the group said, would be useful in advancing the implementation of the ACJA 2015 at state and federal levels.
The Observatory pledges its continued commitment to contributing towards the implementation of the ACJA, 2015 in Nigeria.
Signed:
The Civil Society Observatory on the Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria
