By; AMOS MATHEW, Kaduna
National Secretary of the Administration of criminal justice management committee (ACJMC) Sulayman Dawodu has declared that it is unlawful to deny suspects under arrest their human rights
Dawodu also said the fact that a convict is serving jail term at any custodian center in the country does not mean the convict has lost his constitutional rights as a citizen.
He said the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 has enough provisions to guarantee the protection of the constitutional rights of persons under arrest, awaiting trial, or sentenced.
Dawodu who stated this in his opening remarks at the stakeholders conference held at Silk Suite, Rayfield Road Jos, noted that the seminar was necessary to sensitise stakeholders on the need to implement the Administration of Criminal Justice laws effectively.
Stakeholders at the one day seminar were men and officers of the Jos Custodial Centers, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), NSCDC and magistrates.
The secretary particularly urged the magistrates to ensure they carry out their oversight functions regularly by visiting the police cells, and prisons to ensure that rights of the detainees are not abused by law enforcement agencies.
“You are to ensure that suspect are not detained longer than 24 hours, no suspect is tortured and prisoners are given adequate medical care and adequately fed in accordance to the new laws”
Plateau state Commissioner for Justice Chrisantus Ahmodu in his remarks pointed out that under the new criminal law, all detainees have rights and their rights must be protected irrespective of the alleged crime of the detainees.
The Commissioner who noted that the new laws has been domesticated in Plateau state applauded the choice of Jos for the seminar saying the training will go a long way in sensitising the stakeholders on how to apply the new laws in the state.
