Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) on Tuesday said that the effective deployment of the provisions of plea bargain will enhance the recovery of the country’s stolen assets and hasten the trial of corruption cases.
Malami made this known while speaking at a virtual roundtable for the review of the draft guidelines on Plea Bargaining for federal prosecutors.
He maintained that the concept of plea bargaining, when properly applied, would eliminate the uncertainty of trials, enhance the quick return of stolen assets, and generally enhance the efficiency of the criminal justice system.
Represented by the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata (SAN), the minister said, “The effective deployment of Plea Bargain provisions will therefore, reduce the financial cost of prosecutions, hasten trial process, eliminate uncertainty of trials, enhance the quick return of stolen assets, and generally enhance the efficiency of the criminal justice system”.
He stated that the country’s justice system “is presently fraught with a lot of challenges which prolong adjudication time and most times frustrate parties”.
He said: “You will recall that the purpose of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, as detailed in section 1(1) is to guarantee that the system of administration of criminal justice in Nigeria: promotes the efficient management of criminal justice institutions; ensures speedy dispensation of justice, protects the society from crime; and protects the rights and interests of the suspect, the defendant and the victim.
“One of the major innovations of ACJA aimed at achieving these objectives is the introduction of a plea bargain which is defined in section 494(1) as:
‘the process in criminal proceedings whereby the defendant and the prosecution work out a mutually acceptable disposition of the case, including the plea of the defendant to a lesser offence than that charged in the complaint or information and in conformity with other conditions imposed by the prosecution, in return for a lighter sentence than that of the higher charge subject to the court’s approval.
“Section 270 of the ACJA (2015) provides the general legal framework for the application of Plea Bargain.
“I believe that this provision can also be effectively deployed to address the compounding of offences which features in some statutes but without any procedural detail to aid its application.
“This lacuna is responsible for abuses in compounding of offences which had strengthened the current public scepticism about plea bargaining in general”.
Malami described the development of the Draft Guidelines as one of the strategic interventions by the Federal Ministry of Justice towards ensuring lasting reforms in the Criminal Justice Sector in Nigeria.
“The purpose of the Draft Guidelines is to promote standardisation and consistency in Plea Bargain (including compounding of offences) by Federal Prosecutors as well as ensure that the principles of accountability, equity, integrity, and transparency are observed in reaching plea bargain agreements across board.
“The Draft provides further support to the existing Code of Conduct and Prosecutorial Guidelines for Federal Prosecutors which generally regulate the conducts and actions of Federal Prosecutors in the exercise of their prosecutorial discretion.
“I am informed that the purpose of this roundtable is to obtain the input of stakeholders, particularly with regard to foreseeable challenges in the implementation of the Draft Guidelines, for my consideration in finalising the document.
“This is indeed, a welcome development and a step towards fostering a healthy synergy amongst Federal Prosecutors for the overall benefit of the Criminal Justice System”, he said.