Move to revise ACJA unconstitutional – lawyer
A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Nkereuwem Anana, has described as unconstitutional, a senator's proposal for amendment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) to presume convicts innocent until determination of their appeals.
Anana told the newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos that the proposal was also a misnomer.
The Supreme reports that the Senate, on Dec. 7, began deliberations on a bill seeking amendment of the ACJA to allow persons convicted by lower courts to be presumed innocent until determination of their appeals.
The bill sponsored by Sen. Chukwuka Utazi seeks to avert possible sufferings which convicted persons will undergone between the period they are sentenced by lower courts and the time of their possible acquittal by an appellate court.
Utazi said that a situation where a person convicted by a lower court served out his term but was eventually acquitted by an appellate court amounted to a breach of his rights.
However, Anana said that such a proposal was contrary to extant constitutional provisions.
"There are so many things we do not need to embark on as a country because of their far-reaching consequences."
"If this proposed amendment succeeds, then the psychological impact on prosecutors and even judges cannot be remedied."
Section 4(8) of the Constitution provides: "Save as otherwise provided by this constitution, the exercise of legislative powers by the National Assembly or by a House of Assembly shall be subject to the jurisdiction of courts of law and of judicial tribunals established by law."
"Accordingly, the National Assembly or a House of Assembly shall not enact any law that ousts or purports to oust the jurisdiction of a court of law or of a judicial tribunal established by law," he said.
Anana said that the contemplated legislation seemed to oust the jurisdiction of courts in criminal matters.
"Section 35(1) provides that every person shall be entitled to his personal liberty, and no person shall be deprived of such liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure permitted by law: in execution of the sentence or order of a court in respect of a criminal offense of which he has been found guilty.
"More so, Section 36 (5) provides that every person who is charged with a criminal offense shall be presumed innocent until he is proved guilty," he said.
Anana noted that the constitution stated the circumstances under which a person should be convicted, saying that the same was not on appeal.
"It is only in football that a goal scored is not celebrated in some circumstances until the verdict of the VAR."
"Such a system cannot be adopted in the Nigerian legal system, such as to await the appeals court's decision before a conviction is effected," he said.
