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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
A new report by the CLEEN Foundation has warned that Nigerians continue to face widespread rights violations despite the enactment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) across many states.
This raised concerns over the country’s ability to deliver people-centred justice.
According to the policy brief released at the weekend by the Foundation, unlawful arrests, arbitrary detention, and other abuses prohibited under the ACJL remain prevalent, largely due to weak enforcement and low public awareness of legal protections.
The report showed that although 86 percent of justice sector officials claim to understand the ACJL, citizens continue to suffer from practices the law was designed to eliminate.
One of the most troubling findings is the persistence of “arrest in lieu,” a practice in which law enforcement detains relatives or associates of suspects instead of the actual individuals wanted by the police.
Despite being expressly outlawed by the ACJL, the study found that the practice still occurs in several jurisdictions, exposing innocent people to detention and abuse.
The report also notes that many Nigerians remain unaware of their fundamental rights, including protections against unlawful arrest, the right to timely arraignment, and access to bail.
This lack of knowledge, the researchers warn, weakens accountability and allows abuses to go unchecked.
Beyond public ignorance, institutional shortcomings were identified as key drivers of rights violations.
The report showed gaps in police investigations, slow trial processes, overcrowded custodial centres, and the continued use of paper-based documentation systems, which hinder transparency and make it difficult to track compliance with legal safeguards.
Despite these challenges, the report acknowledges some gains made under ongoing justice-sector reforms.
These include the training of over 1,000 justice actors, the establishment of 12 monitoring committees, and the release of 107 inmates through improved oversight.
