The Attorney General and Commissioner for justice in Oyo State, Oluseun Abimbola, has said that the reason behind the enactment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law was to fast track the process of criminal prosecution.
Abimbola, stated this in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Thursday during a workshop organised by the Oyo state Ministry of Justice in collaboration with Partners West Africa on effective administration of criminal justice in the state.
He, therefore, appealed to all stakeholders to ensure all officers and men, prosecutors, councel and judicial officers, familiarise themselves with the workings of these new laws to ensure the criminal justice system takes full benefit of these innovations.
“No doubt, these new laws do not just introduce new stragtegies in dealing with criminal prosecution, they represent a paradigm shift from the status quo. It is therefore my hope that the stakeholders assembled here today will actively join this revolutionary train to transform our criminal justice system to give full effect to the vision of this administration to create a truly a responsive criminal justice sector.” Abimbola posited.
Abimbola, also, specifically called on the police to rise to the reality of the need for thorough investigations and recognise that the work of the security agency does not end at transferring files to the office of the Director of Puplic Prosecution (DPP), but includes diligent attendance to the prosecution as dire consequences may visit cases plagued with either the continuing absenteeism of witnesses and investigating officers, sloppy investigation or non-compliance with the statutory requirements of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law.
The Oyo state Attorney General concluded that:”Let me assure this august gathering that we are prepared, under my watch to implement and test the provisions of this law to achieve our collective goal of prison decongestion and effective criminal justice administration in the state.”
