BILLS TO STRENGHTEN CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINSTRATION UNDERWAY IN OGUN – AG

      The Ogun State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Olumide Ayeni, has expressed confidence that the State House of Assembly Bills  seeking for a law to provide for the Resolution of Disputes by Arbitration and for other Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms as well as the Establishment of the Ogun State Court of Arbitration and For other Related Matters’’ will strengthen Administration of Criminal Justice in the State.
          Ayeni stated this while lending his voice to the two bills at a stakeholders’ forum held at the State House of Assembly Complex, Oke-mosan, Abeokuta.
          The AG stressed that it was important to review the existing law passed in 1964, which was now outdated to adequately tackle rising cases of kidnapping, juvenile defilement  and land-grabbing amongst others for proper administration of justice.
          He said ‘’ the bill seeks to regulate the sector, meaning, in certain types of disputes such as civil dispute , certain rights, it is admissible but in crimes against the State and  matters relating to elections it is not, while emphasizing that the bill was not a replacement or addition to the formal court settings or institution already in existence.’’
          The Commissioner observed that the inability of criminal justice administration to meet the desire of the society already had adverse effects on it as it had given room for people to perpetuate jungle justice among others, saying this has necessitated the new bill, noting that the Ogun State Government would still retain capital punishment and death sentences as long as it remained part of the laws of the land.
          Meanwhile, stakeholders in the administration of Justice have expressed optimism that the proposed bills on Ogun State Court of Arbitration as well as the Resolution of Disputes by Arbitration and other Alternative Dispute Resolution will enhance the process of justice administration in the State in line with international standards.
          The stakeholders who spoke at the public hearing held at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta on the two bills included the State Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Olumide Ayeni, the Brigade Commander of the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala Barracks, represented by an officer from the legal Department, Lt. Victoria Dongoyaro and her Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps counterpart, Olusanya Olawale, lauded the Assembly  for putting strategies in place to ensure that all stakeholders contribute to the process of justice administration in the State.
          The two bills are: “HB. 17/OG/2017 “A Bill for a law to provide for the resolution of disputes by arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms as well as the establishment of the Ogun State Court of Arbitration and For Connected Purposes”; as well as “HB No 18/OG/2017 “A Bill for a law to make provisions for the Administration of Criminal Justice in the High Court and Magistrates’ Courts of Ogun State and for other related matters”.
          They noted that the bill to provide for the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms as well as the establishment of the State Court of Arbitration would serve as a means of resolving disputes using arbitration and alternative mechanisms at a minimal cost with an assurance that it would reduce the burden of cases at the courts to quicken justice dispensation.
          Other participants including the Chairman, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ijebu-Ode Branch, Mr. Adeniyi Lawal and his Ota counterpart, Otunba Olumide Akinbinnu, representatives of the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Adebesin Abiodun and Kemi Adenugba, posited that the State Court of Arbitration was long overdue as the existence of such would assist in resolving minor and civil cases, while seeking for the inclusion of community leaders in the handling of cases at the court.