Law Hub Development and Advocacy Centre, an independent non-governmental organisation, has urged stakeholders to collaborate and share information, knowledge, and skills to enhance the country’s justice administration system.
The Executive Director, Osita Chukwuma, appealed during a workshop on ACJL implementation assessment and training for criminal justice stakeholders held yesterday in Lagos State.
In his opening remarks, Chukwuma said that a good partnership among all the stakeholders in the justice sector would help the country achieve a robust sector and further deepen the dispensation of justice delivery in the country.
He highlighted the collaborative efforts with Law Hub and the MacArthur Foundation in addressing gaps and ensuring the smooth dispensation of justice.
According to him, the workshop also called for continued support and collaboration among stakeholders to achieve landmark success in criminal justice reform, benefiting not only Lagos State but also the entire country.
He said Law Hub is committed to supporting Lagos and other states in the federation to achieve remarkable landmark success stories.
According to him, “We are happy to confirm that Lagos is the first state in which the Law Hub Development and Advocacy Centre is implementing the second phase of this MacArthur Foundation-supported project, having successfully implemented the first phase in 2023.
“This project by Law Hub focuses on popularising and disseminating the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws of States and continuously updating the Laws to reflect amendments. Law Hub successfully implemented the first phase of this project in the six states of Nasarawa, Kano, Akwa Ibom, Oyo, Enugu, and Adamawa.
This project aims to assess the needs of individual states and deliver technical and logistical support to their criminal justice sectors. Over the two-year duration, we will organise training and technical workshops, share knowledge and experiences, conduct capacity-building sessions, and carry out assessments and performance appraisals across the target states.
“The recognition of these cross-cutting challenges is the stimulus required to energise us to discharge our responsibilities dutifully and passionately with the hope that our names will be emblazoned in the annals of history as champions of criminal justice reforms in the country.
“We recognise and consistently advocate the imperative need for all states in Nigeria to adopt and adapt the ACJA 2015 to suit their peculiarities, and we are particularly excited that Lagos State has not been left out of this but has done the needful by adopting the ACJA 2015 and passing it into law.”
He urged all the stakeholders to deliberately and consistently make use of the practice direction made pursuant to the ACJL, as this would greatly improve the prospects of implementing the law and would have practical implementation possibilities in the courts within which the rules apply.
According to him, Law Hub wants to know what aspects of the law have so far been implemented and what challenges have been experienced so far with its implementation.
Chukwuma said: “Law Hub would also want to know the sections of the law that have not been implemented and what challenges have been experienced with implementing the said sections.
The assessment aims to facilitate knowledge and experience sharing. Law Hub seeks insights from stakeholders in the Lagos State justice sector to inform the type of support that can be offered throughout the project’s duration.
“The outcome of this assessment would also be helpful to other states where Law Hub is implementing this project, as the lessons learnt here can be cascaded to other states around the country for national implementation.
In his goodwill message, Lagos State Chief Judge Justice Kazeem Alogba, represented by Justice Hakeem Oshodi, emphasised the importance of the workshop for improving criminal justice administration, ensuring balanced justice, and safeguarding rights and public interest.
