Ebonyi Government says it has domesticated the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, which was signed into law by the Federal Government in 2015.
Mr Cletus Ofoke, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, disclosed this on Friday in Abakaliki while interacting with newsmen.
Ofoke said that this would assist in speedy dispensation of justice and efficient management of cases, among others.
He said that the domestication, which became effective on Sept. 6, had become imperative so that Ebonyi would not be left behind, as several states had joined the era of criminal justice system.
“The state government instituted the Justice Reform Committee, drafted its proposed Administration of Criminal Justice Law and sent it as an executive bill to the House of Assembly.
“We are, therefore, using this medium to inform the public and other critical stakeholders in the justice reform sector such as the police, the army and the Nigerian Correctional Service, among others, of the domestication of this act,” he said.
The attorney-general said that all criminal procedural laws hitherto applicable to the magistrate and high courts in the state had been repealed with the domesticated criminal justice law.
“All criminal procedures and proceedings in magistrate and high courts in the state are henceforth to be regulated by the administration of criminal justice law.
“The copies of this law can be found in the ministry of justice for the public to access and be properly guided,” he said.
Ofoke said that with the domestication of the law, criminal proceedings in courts in the state might not last more than three months, with cases disposed with ease.
“Police officers, who are not lawyers, will no longer prosecute criminal matters in our courts; they will rather be prosecuted by lawyers from the ministry of justice known as state counsels.
“The law also provides for compensation for crime victims, as the end point of criminal proceedings is usually sentencing and incarceration.
“Apart from sentencing, one can also be asked to embrace other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, with the victims being adequately compensated.
“This justice system will assist in the efforts being made by the government and relevant stakeholders to decongest the prisons and make to them efficiently correctional,” he said. (NAN)
