By Valentine Utulu
A group, the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (ACJMC) has decried the lack of funding for the effective implementation of the ACJ law in Delta.
The group, which consists of major state actors and civil societies was inaugurated by the Delta State government in 2013 with the mandate to monitor implementation of the provisions of the ACJ law in Delta.
Executive Secretary of the Committee, Mr Patrick Osisioma made the complaint on Thursday in Asaba at a town hall meeting of stakeholders at the end of a 3-day workshop organised by the CLEEN Foundation with support from the MacArthur Foundation.
“The ACJMC was inaugurated two years ago by the Delta State government, though there is budget allocation to the committee, however the budget has never bee n realesed for the past two years.
“The non-release of budgetary allocation has hampered the capacity of committee to function effectively even after several memo to the appropriate quarter”, Osisioma said.
Also speaking at the meeting, Mr. Anthony Ororhoro, the State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), emphasized the need for virtual hearing in all the high court in the state to boost speedy trial of criminal cases.
He observed that if the court rooms are installed with virtual hearing facilities, it would in the long run help to decongest custodian centers across the state.
Ealier in a welcome remark, the Executive Director of the CLEEN Foundation, Mr. Peter Maduoma had noted that the lack of funding for the ACJMC had no doubt posed a serious challenge to the work of the committee.
Represented by Mrs. Esther Ezebuiro-Anozie, CLEEN’s assistant programme officer, Maduoma regretted that the non release of budgetary allocation to the committee had slow down the process of implementation of the ACJ law in the state.
He disclosed that the 3- day workshop organised by the foundation for major stakeholders was focused on institutional strengthening and sustainability engagement of stakeholders on the ACJ law.
“The workshop underscores our collective commitment to advancing justice sector reforms and ensuring the sustainability of the remarkable gains in strengthening the criminal justice system in Nigeria.
“However, here in Delta state, we have observed that implementation of the ACJ law has been very slow and this has remain a major concern to all stakeholders.
“Challenges has persisted, particularly in the release of budget for the ACJMC to work effectively, in order to ensuring sustainable monitoring mechanism for justice sector reforms.
“This no doubt calls for deeper institutional strengthening, broader stakeholders coordination and long-term commitment to sustaining the reforms.”
The executive director further stated that over the past two years, the CLEEN Foundation in collaboration with critical stakeholders across eight states in Nigeria, has been deeply engaged in promoting the effective implementation of the ACJ law.
According to him, the engagement and collaboration provides the stakeholders an opportunity to reflect on their journey so far, share experiences and develop strategic pathways that would help consolidate progress made and ensure long-term impact.
Maduoma said the agenda for the workshop was carefully designed to equip civil society organisations, legal professionals, law enforcement agencies and others state actors with the needed tools, knowledge and collaborative framework to drive the reforms.
He expressed the foundation’s appreciation to all stakeholders who attended the workshop, just as he urged redouble their effort at actualising the full implementation of tge ACJ law in the state.
The CLEEN Foundation team at the workshop was led by Mrs Theresa Okoro, a senior programme officer, while Mr Ebere Mbaegbu facilitated the various sessions of the workshop.
The 3-day workshop was attended by representatives from the Delta State Ministry of Justice, the Nigeria Police, the Nigerian Correctional Service and NBA, FIDA, the Media and civil society groups.