Human rights law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana has criticized “the persistent violations of the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) by law enforcement agents and other criminal justice actors”, stating that “judges, prosecutors and investigators should face clear sanctions for violation of ACJA provisions.”
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According to Falana, “the next phase of ACJA reform must integrate human rights and social justice. Equality before the law will remain fiction if the poor cannot access justice in Nigeria.”
Falana stated this last week in a paper titled ‘A Decade of the ACJA; Charting the Course of Criminal Justice Reform in Nigeria’, and presented at the public lecture organised by the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 in Lagos.
Falana said, “Legal aid must be constitutionally guaranteed and funded. ACJA implementation should be aligned with Chapter II rights on welfare, education and social justice.”
Falana also said that, “a silent but undeniable truth is that the Nigerian criminal justice system disproportionately targets the poor. The offences that fill Nigerian prisons are overwhelmingly poverty related such as petty theft, street trading offences, minor property crimes and failure to pay fines.”
The paper, read in part: “Courts may enforce Chapter II where there is supporting legislation. The ACJA is one such vehicle for making justice accessible to all.”
“The ACJA is more than a procedural reform. It is a social justice instrument. Every society is judged not by how it treats the powerful but by how it treats the poor, the weak and the vulnerable.”
“Criminal justice in Nigeria is deeply intertwined with socio-economic realities. As long as poverty, inequality and systemic corruption continue to shape who gets arrested, who gets detained and who gets justice, the criminal justice system cannot claim to be fair or constitutional.”
“Corruption in the justice sector sabotages procedural integrity. Reform must introduce compliance audits for all criminal courts.”
“Socio-economic inequality and abuse of judicial discretion continue to undermine access to justice. Despite the progressive safeguards in the ACJA, vulnerable citizens remain easy victims of oppressive remand practices.”
“A clear illustration of the abuse of remand proceedings contrary to the provisions of the ACJA is found in the case of Commissioner of Police v Chinedu Agu.”
“Mr. Agu had been granted administrative bail by the police, yet he was later arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Owerri on a charge over which the court had no jurisdiction. After the charge was read to him and he pleaded not guilty, his counsel applied for bail.”
“The prosecutor opposed the application and urged the court to remand him for 40 days. Shockingly, the Magistrate refused bail and ordered his remand for 40 days at Owerri Correctional Centre.”
“Assuming without conceding that the Magistrate acted under Section 293 ACJA, the order was patently illegal since Section 295 expressly limits remand orders to 14 days in the first instance.”
“Worse still, the prosecutor failed to show probable cause as required by Section 294 ACJA before a remand order can be granted.”
“The Magistrate also ignored Section 295(2), which empowers the court to grant bail instead of remand where detention is unjustified.”
“By proceeding to take Mr. Agu’s plea despite lacking jurisdiction, the Magistrate engaged in an unconstitutional holding charge—a practice condemned in Enwere v Commissioner of Police. The denial of bail also amounted to wrongful judicial discretion contrary to the principle laid down in Ebute v State.”
“Furthermore, justice delivery cannot succeed without dedicated funding. Nigeria must adopt a Justice Sector Development Fund backed by legislation to support court infrastructure, prosecution, legal aid and digital justice systems.”
“Capital investment is needed to modernise courtrooms and deploy recording technology. Public private partnerships should be encouraged in areas such as forensic services, ICT systems and legal aid capacity.”
“In contrast economic crimes involving large scale financial fraud or public corruption rarely result in meaningful conviction or accountability.”
“This disparity reveals a class bias in criminal justice enforcement. Justice becomes a privilege influenced by resources and connections instead of a guaranteed constitutional right.”
“The ACJA attempts to cure this injustice by protecting human dignity through provisions such as humane treatment of suspects under Section 8 and prohibition of unlawful arrest and detention under Sections 15 and 17.”
“However, these protections are only meaningful when linked to socio-economic justice. This connection is rooted in the Constitution itself. Section 14 subsection 2 paragraph b of the Constitution declares that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”
“Access to justice is an essential component of welfare. Without justice citizens cannot defend their rights property liberty or livelihood.”
“Despite this constitutional guarantee socio-economic rights remain non justiciable under Section 6 subsection 6 paragraph c. This limitation has hindered litigation on justice access, prison conditions and legal aid funding.”
“However, the courts have increasingly held that where legislation gives effect to Chapter II rights those rights become enforceable. The ACJA therefore becomes a legislative pathway for enforcing social justice even in the face of constitutional limitations.”
“Linking ACJA to socio-economic justice requires three strategic approaches. First access to justice must be treated as a legally enforceable right supported by public funding for legal aid under Section 36 subsection 6 paragraph c of the Constitution.”
“Second, equal justice demands that non-custodial sentencing under Sections 401 to 404 of the ACJA be prioritized to prevent the criminalization of poverty.”
“Third, criminal justice reform must be aligned with national social welfare policy so that pre-trial detention and unfair prosecutions no longer perpetuate structural poverty. A humane and equitable criminal justice system is not a favour. It is a constitutional obligation and a measure of national development.”
“A decade after the enactment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, one truth has emerged with clarity: the ACJA was not merely a statutory reform but a constitutional intervention. It restored faith in the possibility of justice in Nigeria.”
“It redirected criminal procedure from technical obstruction toward substantive justice, from impunity toward accountability, and from punitive excess toward restorative fairness.”
“Yet the work is far from complete. The real legacy of the ACJA will not be measured by the number of states that have domesticated it but by the number of lives it has transformed. Justice must not remain an elitist commodity.”
“It must reach police cells, magistrate courts, correctional centres, and rural communities. Laws do not enforce themselves. Institutions must be compelled. Rights must be defended. Victims must be heard. The poor must not be buried under the weight of legal delay and systemic neglect.”
“The next decade demands courage. Reform must move from paper to practice. Implementation must become a matter of national priority. The judiciary must assert judicial leadership. The police must align investigations with human rights.”
“Prosecutors must act as ministers of justice, not agents of conviction. Lawmakers must amend constitutional obstacles that shield injustice. Civil society must intensify watchdog engagement. The people must insist that justice is not negotiable.”
“As we reflect on ten years of the ACJA, we are called to a national commitment. Justice must no longer wait. Liberty must no longer be delayed. Dignity must no longer be denied. The ACJA has given us the legal foundation.”
“If we must build a society where the law protects the innocent, punishes the guilty, and upholds human dignity, then our criminal justice system must be rooted not only in procedural efficiency, but also in constitutionalism and human rights.”
“A criminal justice system that jails the poor for survival offences while ignoring structural inequality cannot deliver justice. Justice must be holistic—legal, constitutional, and social.”
“The ACJA was not enacted merely to accelerate trials; it was enacted to humanise the administration of justice and to align criminal procedure with the fundamental democratic values of fairness, accountability, and respect for human dignity.”
“What remains is the political will and institutional discipline to build a just society. That is the challenge of this generation. That is the duty of history. And that is the promise we must deliver. If we reform justice, we reform Nigeria.”
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