••Signs criminal justice bill into law

 

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state has assented to the State Criminal Justice Administration Bill, declaring that the Law would strengthen the protection of rights of citizens and ensure fair and speedy administration of justice.”
Obaseki, who described the Law as “historic,” said the comprehensive review and modernisation of the Criminal Law procedure had been undertaken.
According to him, the Law will address a number of bottlenecks which, hitherto, delayed dispensation of justice.
“Our focus in the justice sector is informed by the deep conviction that there would not be a modern society, particularly the type we seek to build, without respect for the rule of law.
“The Criminal Justice Administration Law is designed to take us beyond the colonial era rules of criminal procedures and introduce innovative legal procedure, which will ensure fair hearing in the court of law with due consideration of time,” he said.
He commended the Committee on Judiciary for the efforts put into the drafting the Bill, saying “the state government will ensure that sufficient copies of the law would be made available.”
The chairman, Edo state chapter of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Barrister Ede Asenoguan, commended the domestication of the Law, adding that “as of last year, only six states had such a law in place.”

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