ACJA: AGF Inaugurates NWC On National Minimum Standards

The attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, alongside key stakeholders, converged in Abuja yesterday for the inauguration of the National Working Committee on National Minimum Standards for the Implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (ACJMC).

The Federal Ministry of Justice organised a three-day event with the European Union-funded Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC II) Programme of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).

International IDEA implements the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) Programme Phase II, which the European Union funds.

The RoLAC II Programme aimed to enhance the performance, quality, and oversight of Nigeria’s criminal justice system and justice service delivery.

According to a statement by the Manager of Component 1 – Criminal Justice Reform under the RoLAC II Programme, Mr Badejogbin Oluwatoyin said the project highlighted the event’s objectives.

Deliverables from the event include National Minimum Standards for the Implementation of ACJA, 2015; strategies for raising awareness of ACJA/ACJL among the general population; and a list of key legal documents related to ACJLs for translation into various local languages and printing.

It was also designed to consolidate the rule of law and anti-corruption reforms, a key component of the programme to enhance the performance, quality, and oversight of the criminal justice system and justice service delivery across the Federal Capital Territory Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Edo, Kano, Lagos, and Plateau states.

At a high-octane gathering, Professor Yemi Akinseye-George of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS), during his presentation, harped on the need to deepen the implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice (ACJA) and the ACJLS of States, among other things.