AGENDA SETTING FOR THE NEW REGIME OF GMB

AGENDA SETTING FOR THE NEW REGIME OF GMB, PRESENTED AT TECHNICAL MEETING AT ROCKVIEW HOTEL ABUJA 21^ST-22^ND APRIL 2015: by Nathaniel Ngwu of the Legal Resources Consortium 2A Eleruwa Str. Wemabod Estate Ikeja-08038739781

The Legal Resources Consortium (LRC) is a Public Interest Law Centre set up to provide leadership in advancing the rule of law in public policy. The Consortium works with law, including international law, as a tool for ensuring accountable governance, addressing poverty, and empowering local communities.

Basically, the LRC’s priority concern for the new government as from May 2015  is for a new system of justice in Nigeria that gives every person fair and equal access to justice and guarantees the dignity, rights and security of every person and of all communities regardless of gender, money or any other difference. We recognize that the fall out of our history might pose some serious challenges for the new government. The old framework for justice and the laws of the country have to be reviewed to reflect the desires and needs of the people, especially as it relates to the human rights protection for all.

Priority issue:  

The incoming government will have to make the criminal justice system work as an integrated system by ensuring that all the role players including the victims of crime and their communities, the police, the courts, the Nigerian Prisons Services act together to make sure that there are no obstacles in the system, and that it works efficiently and effectively. 

ü  Prisons and Penal Reforms: The Nigerian prison system is an extreme symptom of a chronic illness afflicting our criminal justice system: it suffers from a basic lack of humanity. Our prisons have over the years been a source of concern due to overcrowding. This has frequently led to poor health conditions including frequent outbreaks of epidemics. Nigerians would prefer a humane system of imprisonment that aim to imprison only those Individuals who could not be dealt with by any other means. The care of the staff and prisoners would aim to treat people with respect as individuals, help them to retain their human dignity, establish their rights and obligations, provide opportunities for self- employment, and assist them to maintain contact with the outside world and build a way back to the outside community.

The new regime should endeavour as a matter of priority develop a sustainable process that will establish a new legal framework and administrative modalities that will give the Nigerian Prisons a humane and rehabilitative form while emphasizing on the core values of the principle of imprisonment.

Reviewing statutory criteria relating to sentencing. This should allow prison sentences, only when the are necessary, to protect the public from serious harm or when the offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence is justified.

Laws applicable to bail should be reviewed and tightened. More   detailed guidance on bail decisions should be issued to inferior courts.

The remanding of juveniles to adult prisons should be discontinued.

Sustainable alternatives to Prison should be explored

Enhancing professionalism among prisons staff. Continuous education of prison staff. Training Institutions should be expanded and equipped with modern facilities. Promotion of staff should depend not only on attendance of training courses but also on passing them.

Re-designating the actual capacity of all the prisons for the purpose of effecting distribution of prisoners to ameliorate some of the consequences of congestion. Re-classification of existing prison in consonance with contemporary prison classification based on status and security.

Decongestion of prisons decongestion especially the Awaiting Trial Persons by regular consultation with all the agencies associated with criminal Justice administration to ensure that cases are speedily disposed of. Enhancing the capacity and efficiency of the court escort duty. Enhancing the instruments of bail and payment of fines. Empowering the Social Welfare Section of the Service to enhance their capacity for establishing social contacts between the inmates and their significant relatives and agencies that could facilitate the processing of bails and payment of fines for the inmates. Transfer of more prisoners to prison farm centers, the cottage industries and the open prison camps. 

Ensuring the welfare of staff by regular and prompt payment of staff salaries and other entitlements. Prompt and timely promotion of qualified officers. Re-organizing the prisons Multi-purpose cooperative society (PRISCO) to provide better services for prison staff.  Strengthen the Welfare Unit of the Service to enhance their capacity in ensuring vital services that will promote the Welfare of staff and their families.

Enhancing the corporate image of the service by strengthening and expand the scope of the public Relations Unit of the Service. It shall be establishing Public Relations Unit in all Zonal and Headquarters as well as in all our training Institutions. Public Relations Officers to Zones, State commands and the training Institutions.

Re-integration and Rehabilitation of Discharged Prisoners through enhancing the capacity of the Prison Service to provide constructive regimes which will address the offending behaviour in prisoners; improve educational and skill acquisition programmers; promote an effective after-care service for discharged offenders. Enlist the support of civil society organizations in working towards an attitudinal shift from discriminatory practices with regard to the employment of ex-offenders by government and employers of labour. Solicit the assistance of non-governmental organizations in the training and re-integration of offenders.

ü  Access To Justice: the incoming government of GMB will have to create a justice system that is simple, fair and accessible as well as be effective, efficient and responsive  to the different needs of the various communities in Nigeria at the same time.  This is because access to Justice is essential for any legitimate system. It strengthens public respect for the law and gives people confidence in the legal system. Despite the advent of democracy in Nigeria, many people and communities see themselves completely alienated from the legal system. Legal services are generally expensive and intimidating. Also, they are concentrated in urban areas. This means that rural communities seldom have the services of lawyers or legal advice offices. In many cases, this has lead people to take the law into their own hands and to administer their own brand of justice- something that no government can encourage. Access to justice involves resources, understanding, responsiveness to peoples’ needs, speed and efficiency, effectiveness.

ü  The Courts and the Administration of Justice: Having a system of independent courts and other structures that administer justice efficiently and effectively is one of the conerstones of any democracy. The court and other structures in the justice system must also operate openly and fairly, so that every person can protect their rights and interest and resolve their disputes. The Courts must operate on the basis that everyone is equal before the law. Disputes must be resolved using procedures that are in line with the Constitution. Court facilities and services must be available when and where people need them. This means that courts must cater for the needs of all people who use them, including those who are not familiar with the Courts and their procedures.

In Nigeria, more than 80% of criminal cases are dealt with at the magistrates courts. These courts therefore play a critical role in building public confidence in the law and justice system. We are challenged to pay particular attention to the magistrates courts in the reform process. The Nigerian legal system has been severally described as intimidating. This is largely because it uses, highly technical processes, difficult and unfamiliar legal terminology, the English Language that is not understood by everybody. This means that people can seldom participate meaningfully in the legal process. It also erodes peoples’ confidence in our justice system.

To overcome this, the government will have to simplify court language and procedures so that people understand what is happening, and can participate more meaningfully in the process. The government will also have to empower individuals and communities by making them more legally literate. In this way, they themselves will be able to minimize conflict and will have less need of the courts.

ü  Human Rights: The Constitution obliges the justice system to protect all people and not to discriminate unfairly against any individual or community. To fulfill this obligation, this new government will have to actively promote human rights, Awareness and appreciation of diversity. The government will also have to make sure that there is a meaningful way of dealing with human rights violations when they happen. This means that the government will have to commit sufficient resources to promote human rights awareness and education.

In the promotion and protection of human rights, the new Government has to take deliberate steps to strengthen institutions that support human rights. These include: the National Human Rights Commission, the Legal Aid Council, the Public Complaints Commission, Civil Society Organizations etc.