Crime
THE Deputy Governor of Ekiti, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, on Tuesday said that kidnappers, terrorists and other criminals now use technology to perpetrate their nefarious activities and evade justice.
Egbeyemi said this while declaring open a two-day workshop for prosecutors and defence lawyers drawn from Ekiti, Ondo and Osun States on the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) in Ado-Ekiti.
He advocated a more efficient and robust administration of criminal justice to tackle such crimes and guarantee security of law abiding Nigerians as well as safety of investment.
The Deputy Governor stressed that the justice sector needed urgent attention to match the challenges arising from advanced technology and the changes in the society.
“Criminals are found to have become smarter with technology; there is an upsurge in terrorism and crimes hitherto unimagined such as the senseless and brutal kidnapping of Nigerians.
“Defilement of children less than three years was crimes never envisaged in the past,” he said.
Egbeyemi, a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, opined that efficient administration of justice would also aid investment and economic growth of the country.
According to him, the workshop would afford stakeholders on the Bench and in the Bar to be enlightened on grey areas affecting the administration of criminal justice in the state.
He maintained that the criminal justice system must uphold the principles of liberty, equality and justice for all with the sole aim of having a secured society devoid of fear and reprisals.
Egbeyemi said that the purpose of ACJA 2015 was to ensure that criminal justice institutions were efficiently managed for speedy dispensation of justice to ensure the reign of justice and protection of the society from crime.
Earlier, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Olawale Fapohunda, had expressed the commitment of the Ministry of Justice in Ekiti to achieving sustainable reforms in the legal system of the state.
Fapohunda, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Mr Babatope Ojo, explained that the ministry had taken drastic steps to produce a justice system that was efficient, professional and accountable.
The Chief Judge of Ekiti, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, revealed that the state was one of the front runners in the enactment of ACJA in Nigeria.
According to Daramola, ACJA 2015 would among other benefits promote the protection of the rights and interests of the suspect, the defendant and the victim.
The outgoing Presiding Judge of the Court of Appeal, Ado-Ekiti Division, Justice Ahmad Belgore, noted that the ACJA would salvage situations where criminal cases went on endlessly for years in the court.
Earlier in his address of welcome, the Director General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Prof. Adedeji Adekunle, said the workshop would facilitate the implementation of ACJA in the state and at the federal level. (NAN)
– Jan. 29, 2019 @ 17:59 GMT |
Tags: kidnappers terrorists now use technology to evade justice – Ekiti Govt
