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Professor of Law at Babcock University (BU), Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Dr. Adekunbi Imosemi, has called for sweeping reforms to steady the pendulums of Lady Justitia and restore the balance of justice in Nigeria.
Prof. Imosemi made the call while delivering the 63rd BU Inaugural Lecture, titled “The Dangling Pendulums of Lady Justitia: Re-echoing Justice for the Victims, the Criminals and the Law in a Permissive Society.”
On the protection of the vulnerable, the professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Administration called for the establishment of a specialised family court system in all states of the federation to deal specifically with cases of domestic violence, child abuse, child marriage and human trafficking.
To strengthen this protection, she urged states to adopt the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015, which currently applies in the Federal Capital Territory and has partially criminalised marital rape.
If nationalised, she said, the act would help curb marital rape.
Imosemi noted that Lagos State has notably specified that a husband can be guilty of sexual assault by penetration, with life imprisonment as the penalty, if found guilty.
On corruption and governance, she argued that the fight against corruption cannot succeed without truly independent anti-corruption agencies.
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She, therefore, advocated genuine institutional independence for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) through security of tenure for their leadership, adequate funding and protection from executive interference. In the same vein, she said the asset declaration regime must be strengthened through public disclosure and independent verification, while the legislation of a comprehensive whistle-blower protection statute was long overdue.
The BU don also called for the amendment of the constitutional immunity provision in Section 308 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 to exclude economic crimes from its scope.
On the administration of criminal justice, Prof. Imosemi said there is an urgent need for the domestication of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 in all states of the federation.
She added that a comprehensive programme of training on the ACJA 2015, as well as the Nigeria Police Force Establishment Act 2020, would ease the delivery of justice to all stakeholders in the criminal justice system, including judges, magistrates, police officers, prosecutors, defence lawyers and correctional officials.
On correctional services, Imosemi called on the government to increase budgets for correctional services management and to hold correctional officials accountable for compliance with the law.
She added that prisons should be decongested and independent monitoring by civil society organisations and faith communities should be facilitated.
