By Diana Omueza
Abuja – Cleen Foundation has called on the Federal Government to prioritise the training of the Nigeria Police officers on the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
The foundation’s executive Director, Mr Benson Olugbuo said on Monday in Abuja that the training would position the nation’s police as gate keepers in the implementation of the act.
Olugbuo said that the police, as gatekeepers, deserved to be trained and retrained to effectively discharge their constitutional responsibilities of maintaining law and order.
“They need constant training in order to effectively protect lives and property in a professional manner and within the confines of the laws,’’ he said.
Olugbuo said that periodic training of police officers was important due to the increasing incidences of crime and reports of human rights violations in the country.
He also called for the expeditious hearing of criminal cases in the country, adding that there were complaints on law enforcement agents’ non-compliance to laws.
Olugbuo said that the ACJA was a fundamental reform to the country’s criminal justice system, designed to preserve and strengthen existing legal frameworks and enhance efficiency of the institutions within it.
“The legislative purpose of the ACJA is to have a nation-wide application, thus, to introduce a national criminal procedure law that will regulate the investigation and prosecution of offences throughout the federation.
“There is low level of awareness among criminal justice institutions and with the increase in the number of states adopting the ACJA law, it is expedient to create more awareness,’’ he said.
According to him, it is expedient to ensure adequate awareness on the provisions of the law and their applicability in criminal proceedings.
The executive director said that the foundation had commenced a training programme for officers of the Nigeria Police, adding that the training would increase their understanding of the act.
“The trainings and workshop would draw from the experiences of senior police officers and look at the roles that law enforcement and security actors are expected to play in promoting the implementation of the ACJA.
“The trainings and workshop would also focus on the associated challenges that officers of the Nigeria Police face while on field and proffer mitigating strategies.“It is also expected that at the end of the trainings, the trained personnel will be better equipped and positioned to handle criminal cases from an informed and the enlightened perspective of the law,’’ he said.