RoLAC concludes Lagos anti-corruption and justice programme

The British Council’s EU-funded Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) program has completed its six-year implementation cycle in Lagos State where it helps to reform the general criminal justice system in the country.

Speaking on Thursday during the closing ceremony of the program, Danladi Plang, the national program coordinator of RoLAC, said that the organization has different initiatives to strengthen the country’s capacity in the administration of criminal law. He also noted that the RoLAC program set up statement-taking rooms in the country to help police officers adhere to global best practices in criminal justice procedures.

He said the program received pushback from the state government over the implementation of the freedom of information (FoI) law, adding that most government affairs were conducted in secret.

“One of the things that was mentioned today is plea bargaining. The plea offer is to ensure that it can improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system because it can reduce the time it takes people to try a case. If the accused comes to plead, the case is finished as soon as possible. One of the problems what we are experiencing in the criminal justice system is the delay in trying cases. That increases the congestion in the courts and prisons. Data from the Ministry of Justice said when we arrived, only 26 were dealt with, last year it increased to 300,” said Mr. Plang.

“The second thing that we have done in Lagos in terms of criminal justice reform is the work that we have done with the police in terms of setting up a confession room, which is the first of its kind in the country. It is important to ensure that when people are interrogated by the police, they are not using unorthodox methods like torture to get confession statements because they are recorded on video.This is a mechanism to reduce torture and delay in the trial of cases.

Funded by the European Union, the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Program (RoLAC) works to strengthen the application of the law and prevent corruption. Its main objective is to support the government’s justice and anti-corruption agenda by supporting the adoption and implementation of relevant laws, policies, and strategies in the sector. RoLAC focuses on:

1. Reform the criminal justice system
2. Ensure women, children and disabled people have access to justice
3. Improve the performance of anti-corruption agencies and how they work together
4. Increase the voice of Nigerians in curbing corruption.
The program is delivered from 2017 to 2023.

Speaking at the event, Moyosore Onigbanjo, the state attorney general, said Lagos State has plans to support the initiative presented by RoLAC.

“RoLAC has been very supportive of the ministry especially in the area of ​​criminal justice reform. RoLAC has helped in the training of investigators, especially police officers who are responsible for investigating the accused. We will continue to cooperate with RoLAC even after it is out.

Mrs Onigbanjo was represented by Adetutu Oshinusi, a director in the state ministry of justice,

The RoLAC program operates at the federal level as well as in five focal states including Lagos, Adamawa, Anambra, Edo, and Kano. The program is delivered from 2017 to 2023.

“In the area of ​​supporting access to justice for women, children, and people with disabilities, what we have done is increase access points for people who have been sexually violated,” said Plang. “We created an additional sexual assault referral center at Alimosho General Hospital. We also encourage civil society to be a surveillance referral line. We also support the child protection network, because from our data there are more children who are harmed today. More than 700 children have been helped in that regard.

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“Our work in the anti-corruption component is not progressing as expected. There are several interventions that we think will be implemented. One is to support the reform of the public procurement system. The second is to ensure the freedom of information law passed by the federal government is implemented to give more access to information for citizens and to ensure transparency in the management of government affairs. The third is to help Lagos develop an anti-corruption strategy. The procurement work has really progressed.

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Mr Plang said the program was received from the state government on the implementation of the freedom of information (FoI) law, adding that most government affairs are conducted in secret.

“The other two areas in terms of FoI and anti-corruption strategies are not progressing well. States feel that they are not doing what they want. So, they are focusing more on the public procurement aspect. But other states are progressing in that aspect. We have Adamawa, Kano, Anambra, with anti-corruption strategy. In fact, they have created a unit in the ministry to drive it.