President Bola Tinubu has transmitted to the House of Representatives a bill seeking to repeal the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, proposing sweeping reforms to Nigeria’s criminal justice system, including the abolition of the controversial trial-within-trial procedure in criminal proceedings.
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The proposed Administration of Criminal Justice Bill, 2026, also seeks to establish a national Sex Offenders Register, create a Witness Support Fund, strengthen judicial case management and expand the powers of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Council.
In a letter addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, President Tinubu said the proposed legislation was designed to address legal, procedural and institutional deficiencies that have hindered the effective implementation of the existing law over the past decade.
“I am pleased to transmit to the House of Representatives for consideration, a Bill for an Act to repeal the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and enact the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2026,” the President wrote.
He added that the overall objective of the bill is “to provide for the administration of criminal justice in the courts of the Federal Capital Territory and other Federal Courts in Nigeria and the establishment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Council for effective and efficient administration of criminal justice in Nigeria.”
According to the President, the legislation is intended to ensure that Nigeria’s criminal justice system promotes “efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of society from crime and protection of the rights and interests of the suspect, the defendant and the victim.”
Among the most significant reforms contained in the proposed law is the abolition of trial-within-trial proceedings, a procedure traditionally used by courts to determine whether confessional statements were obtained voluntarily before admitting them as evidence.
Instead, the bill proposes that prosecutors establish the voluntariness of confessional statements while allowing such statements to be provisionally admitted during trial.
Objections to their admissibility would thereafter be determined at the point of judgment, rather than interrupting proceedings with a separate mini-trial.
The proposal is aimed at reducing delays that have become a recurring feature of criminal trials, especially in high-profile corruption and terrorism cases where trial-within-trial proceedings sometimes last several months.
The bill also proposes “the establishment of a Sex Offenders Register to be domiciled in the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, with provisions for the registration and publication of particulars of convicted sex offenders and mandatory transmission of information by prosecuting and law enforcement agencies.”
In addition, it seeks to establish “a Witness Support Fund to guarantee the prompt payment of witness expenses by the Attorney-General of the Federation and other prosecuting agencies.”
Other reforms include the introduction of a Plea Form to facilitate arraignment and reduce delays, empowering courts to determine no-case submissions within 21 days after the close of the prosecution’s case, encouraging written witness depositions where appropriate, and requiring objections raised after plea to be determined alongside substantive issues at judgment.
The legislation further proposes measures to strengthen judicial case management by encouraging concise presentation of evidence and streamlining criminal proceedings before magistrates’ courts through the filing of witness statements, exhibits and other relevant materials alongside criminal charges.
Tinubu also seeks to strengthen the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Council by establishing a governing board comprising representatives of the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, prosecuting authorities, correctional institutions, the Nigerian Bar Association and civil society organisations.
The proposed law empowers the President “to appoint the Executive Secretary of the Council on the recommendation of the Attorney-General of the Federation,” while also authorising the Attorney-General to make regulations for the effective implementation of the Act.
The bill introduces modern procedural concepts such as case management and plea forms, while also making transitional provisions, including measures to eliminate fresh trials arising from the death, retirement or transfer of judges.
Explaining the rationale behind the repeal of the 2015 Act, the President identified persistent delays in criminal investigations and prosecution, inadequate deployment of technology, weak coordination among criminal justice institutions, ineffective case management mechanisms and poor monitoring of compliance with the law as major challenges confronting the current legal framework.
“The bill has extensively addressed the above challenges. The bill also reflected developments in criminal justice administration, judicial pronouncements, technological innovations, and international best practices relating to criminal justice reform,” Tinubu added.
He added that the proposed legislation had been reviewed by a team of law officers with extensive experience in criminal law, criminal procedure and legislative drafting.
“In light of the above, it is my hope that the House of Representatives will consider the bill expeditiously,” the President urged.
Signed into law by the late President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act was widely regarded as Nigeria’s most ambitious criminal justice reform legislation. It was enacted to accelerate criminal trials, curb unnecessary adjournments, protect the rights of suspects and victims, and improve coordination among criminal justice institutions.
Over the years, however, legal practitioners, prosecutors and judicial officers have raised concerns over implementation gaps, prolonged criminal trials, inadequate use of technology and procedural bottlenecks that continue to slow the administration of justice despite the reforms introduced by the Act.
If passed by the National Assembly, the proposed Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2026, would become the most comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s federal criminal procedure law since the enactment of the ACJA more than a decade ago.
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