Anambra’s Criminal Justice Sector Hampered by Forensic Lab, Data Bank Deficiencies, Stakeholders Claim

Stakeholders of the justice delivery sector in Anambra State have identified lack of forensic laboratory and data bank among some of the challenges of the sector.

Stakeholders of the sector stated this during a workshop organised by a non governmental organization (NGO), Law Hub Development and Advocacy Centre, on Thursday on popularising the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL).

The stakeholders which included officers of the Nigeria Correctional Services (NCS), members of the bench and bar, and police operatives met at the workshop under the theme: popularizing and disseminating the ACJL of states and continuously updating the law to reflect amendments.

One of the resource persons, Mr Michael Anyadiegwu who is the Chief Magistrate in Anambra State, while speaking on the innovations, successes and challenges of the ACJL identified lack of forensic laboratory and data bank as part of the problem.

He said: “In a society like ours where there is no forensic laboratory, no reservoir of data, how do we fight crime? Without some of these necessary things, you can not fight crime effectively.

“We have no criminal record registry where people who have run afoul of the law before can be easily identified. We have cases where people who are serial offenders have their release advocated for by parole committee who see them as first offenders.

“Everyday we talk about the correctional centers being overstretched, but the ACJL has empowered us (judges and magistrates) to use our discretion in handing out sentence.”

Another participant at the workshop, Justice D.A Onyefulu, an Onitsha High Court judge urged members of the bench to embrace the use of ACJL in their practice.

He said: “We have the ACJL to aide our practice, but the question is do we use it? The guidelines gives us the empowerment to use our discretion in awarding sentences.

“The ACJL is here to help us reduce the population of people in our correctional centers, and we have been empowered to use our discretion, so what is stoping us. There are minor cases you can award punishment and let the offender go. People must not be sent to correctional centers for very small offences.”

Earlier, the Executive Director of Law Hub Development and Advocacy Centre, Mr Osita Chukwuma and the attorney general of Anambra State, Prof Sylvia Ifemeje in their separate goodwill messages agreed  that it was not enough to churn out good  laws without putting them to use. There is need to ensure that the drivers of the law are equipped to be able to implement it. 

David-Chyddy Eleke

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