CJ warns Nigerian policemen - 'Stop writing statements for suspects'

The Chief Justice of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Ishaq Bello, has cautioned police officers, particularly Investigating Police Officers against writing statements for crime suspects.

Bello said it was not proper for policemen to write statements on behalf of suspects in criminal cases, and warned them to desist from doing so.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of a 2-day workshop for Nigeria Police on Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015 on Monday in Abuja, the CJ stated that police officers who are not lawyers can no longer prosecute criminal cases in FCT courts.



Bello blamed the lack of effective prosecution of criminal cases on obsolete criminal and penal codes, which he described as relics of colonialism, noting that the society had changed.

He said, “One issue that we must check is the issue of IPO writing statements for suspects. Please, IPO, be wary of taking certain decision to write statement for somebody. This has been constituting a lot of bottlenecks in proceedings.”

The CJ stated that the passage of the Criminal Justice Act 2015 and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015, stand out as resounding leap forward in the reform of the criminal justice system in Nigeria.

Bello called for the establishment of monitoring committee to ensure that criminal matters are speedily dealt with, reduce congestion of criminal cases in courts, reduce congestion of prisons, and end detention of persons awaiting trials in prison custody, among others.

He said, “The need for reform is obviously informed by the fact that hitherto, our laws underpinning the criminal justice system are quite outdated. The criminal and penal codes are both colonial legislation as are the criminal procedure Act.

“The police Act was re-enacted as a military decree in 1967. Together, all these pieces of outdated legislation are disconnected from the standards established by Nigeria’s 1999 constitution and Nigeria’s international obligations.”

The Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, noted that the two laws would advance professionalism and efficiency in the trial of criminal cases, reduce congestion in the prisons as well as promote protection of human rights.

He stressed that the workshop would acquaint Divisional Police Officers and the police legal department with the provision of the Acts and enable them to address grey areas.