From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
Stakeholders in the judicial system have blamed underfunding, poor monitoring, lack of conducive courtrooms and personnel as challenges hindering the successful implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) in Nigeria. The stakeholders from different sectors who gathered in Osogbo, Osun State, to discuss the topic: “Strengthening The Effective Implementation Of Administration Of Criminal Justice Law In States Through The Administration Of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee Structure,” harped on the need to raise the bar of justice delivery through the implementation of ACJL.
Executive Secretary, Administration Of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (ACJMC), Federal, Sulayman Dawodu, in his remarks at the one-day workshop, lamented underfunding and poor monitoring of funds allocated to the criminal justice system.
He said: “If you look at all the criminal justice sector, you will discover that it is underfunded, or where ever it is being funded, no one is there to oversee how the money is being deployed. If the government really must get serious about intervening, they should also put an oversight system in place to manage how that money will be well utilized. There should be checks and balances and with this, we can fix the whole criminal justice system.”
He explained that the workshop sponsored by MacArthur Foundation was to enlighten some states that are just inaugurating their monitoring committees and those who are not performing well on the implementation of ACJL. Chief Judge Of Osun State, Justice Oyebola Adepele-Ojo, also berated the lack of conducive courtroom and shortage of personnel among others, saying the implementation of ACJL is facing many challenges.
She commended the committee and the foundation for organising the workshop, saying it would enable the committee to evaluate the performances of their sectors in the administration of Criminal Justice.
Comptroller of Correctional Service, Osun, Olanrewaju Amoran, pledged the readiness of his command to support the stakeholders to ensure that ACJL achieved the desired goals.