CLEEN Foundation seeks Expression of Interest (EOI)
from qualified Civil Society Organizations and Law Firms working in the area of
administration of criminal justice in Nigeria to be part of a team who will be responsible
for data collection on the digitization of courts proceedings and rulings on
corruption cases across selected states in Nigeria (Lagos, Anambra, Ekiti,
Abuja, Kaduna, Enugu, Oyo, and Ondo states).
2. Background
Information on court proceedings and court rulings relating
to corruption cases is not readily available in the public space. This is
coupled with the fact that government actors are yet to embrace the culture of online
record keeping. The opportunity presented by this project is that proactive
disclosure of information pertaining to court proceedings on corruption will be
tracked, documented and disseminated for the use of relevant stakeholders. It is
also aimed at improving the efficiency, transparency and impartiality of the
Judiciary and other stakeholders in processing corruption cases with respect to
the administration of criminal justice system in Nigeria.
It is against this background
that a competent and reliable state level data collection team is proposed
on the CLEEN Foundation Project- “Promoting Accountability and
Transparency in the Administration of Criminal Justice System in Nigeria”,
for the purpose of collation and documentation of corruption cases at the
state level. The team will drive the implementation of the project on the
Digitization of Court Proceedings and Rulings. The uwazidocs open source application (a web/mobile-based
platform) will be deployed and adapted to enable the data collectors to
scan, upload, publish documents and create table of contents while end
users can search, filter documents, track changes, cross reference and
download documents/court rulings. The data is to be sourced from the state
and Federal High Courts in the focal states on a weekly basis.
3.
Objective of the Project
To make credible information on the proceedings and
rulings on corruption cases available and easily accessible online to
stakeholders.
4.
Scope of Work
The members of the team will be responsible for the
following:
Work with court
officials and selected partners in the focal states to obtain credible
data on court proceedings and rulings relating to corruption,
accountability and transparency in the administration of criminal justice
system in Nigeria,
The collected data on court rulings on
cases of corruption will be uploaded on the online platform.
Enhance judicial accountability
and transparency in the criminal justice system in Nigeria in line with
the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
5.
Requirements
All interested organizations and firms must submit the
following:
1. A Cover Letter with evidence of relevant past work
experience(s) in the area of criminal
justice administration;
2. Certificate of Registration in Nigeria;
3. A recent annual report/newsletter; and
4.
2 Referees conversant with the work of the organization or law firm.
6.
Submission of Expression of Interest(EOI)
All submissions should be sent to cleen@cleen.org
no later than close of business on Friday,
15th September, 2017. Interested
organisations in the selected states are strongly encouraged to apply.
If you have any additional questions about this
Call for Expression of Interest (EOI), please email ruth.okugbeni@cleen.orgNo phone calls please.
CLEEN Foundation at the
Stakeholders' Summit on the Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria held
at Denis Hotel, Abuja on Tuesday, 9th August, 2017 presented a preliminary
report from the first Round of Public Perception Survey on Criminal Justice
Administration in Nigeria. The aim of the
survey was to obtain a better
understanding of the perception and assessment of the criminal justice system
and the implementation of the Administration of Criminal justice (ACJ) Act,
2015.
The survey which was conducted
in Adamawa, Cross River, Imo, Kaduna,
Lagos States and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja respectively had a total
of 5,099(2,669 males and 2,430 females) respondents interviewed between 6th of
March 2017 and 16th of March 2017 when the survey was conducted.
The released findings show that
responses were received on a number of areas which included familiarity with
the criminal justice agencies; demand for services provided by the criminal
justice agencies; their level of effectiveness and trend of performance;
constraints affecting the agencies and criminal justice administration in
Nigeria; suggested approaches to effective criminal justice administration
amongst others.
Summary of findings
·According to the findings of the survey,
police(41.0%) and lawyers(25.4%) were the criminal justice agencies whose
services were most sought in the previous twelve months;
·More than 50% of the respondents in each state
surveyed perceived the criminal justice and law enforcement agencies to be
effective;
·On the trend of performance, majority of the respondents
across the states reported improved performance of the criminal justice
agencies in the previous twelve months;
·Lack of proper investigation and prosecution and
corruption by the police were identified as prominent constraints affecting
criminal justice administration in Nigeria;
·Proactive investigation methods, training and
retraining of personnel, better community collaboration, coordination and
supervision of criminal justice and law enforcement personnel, adequate funding
and facilities were identified as measures to enhance criminal justice
administration in Nigeria
The preliminary
survey report was presented to the public by Professor
Etannibi Alemika of the University of Jos and Chairman of the Board of
Directors of CLEEN Foundation at the Stakeholders' Summit on the
Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria organized by CLEEN Foundation in
collaboration with the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee
(ACJMC) as part of activities under its project on Monitoring the Criminal Justice
Administration Reform Process in Nigeria The project is aimed at strengthening
the implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act in Nigeria
through the systematic monitoring of key agencies and advocacy to ensure the agencies
fulfill their new roles under the Act.
……………..
For
further details and complete report:
www.cleen.org or http://cleenfoundation.blogspot.com
Project: Monitoring
the Criminal Justice Administration reform process in Nigeria
A component of the project is to conduct two
perception surveys on the effectiveness of administration of justice in
Nigeria.
This first round of public perception survey on Administration of
Criminal Justice in Nigeria was conducted in February 2017 by CLEEN Foundation
in collaboration with Practical Sampling International (PSI). The purpose of
the survey is to:
·To
assess the ACJA effectiveness and strengthen its implementation
· Provide reliable and credible data and information
for the public on the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria.
The aim of the study was to
obtain a better understanding of the perception and assessment of the criminal
justice system and the Implementation of the Administration of the Criminal
Justice Act (ACJA).
Data collection
The survey consisted of 5099 respondents drawn from five states and
Abuja (Federal Capital Territory, treated as a State in North Central for this
Survey). The survey was conducted Abuja and Adamawa, Cross River, Imo, Kaduna
and Lagos States. The sample consists of two sub-samples: respondents drawn
from the public and special professional group comprising police, lawyers,
judicial staff etc.
The
basic methodology employed for data collection was in-home, face-to-face
personal interview using a modified, multi-stage random selection
procedure to achieve a representative sample.
The
Questionnaire was in CAPI format in which Tablet- Devices were used to elicit
information on the project.Respondents
in the sub-sample drawn from the public were males and females aged eighteen
years and older, who had stayed in the selected household for a period of not
less than six months. Non-citizens of Nigeria and people living in
institutionalized settings were not part of the respondents.
Sub-sample
comprising professionals consists of Lawyers, Registrars, Police,
Judges/Magistrate, Civil Servant (MOJ), Office of Directorate of Public
Prosecutions.
There
were 2669 males and 2430 females in the sample. The sub-sample comprising
professionals had 420 males and females. The public sub-sample comprise 2,249
males and 2,240 females, almost an equal representation.
The
fieldwork commenced in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Imo, and Cross River State on the
6th of March 2107 Only Adamawa started on 7th of March
2017 due to Logistic. Fieldwork and quality control activities on this project
end across the study on the 16th of March 2017. Therefore, Fieldwork for the project lasted
for 11 days including weekends i.e. from 6th of March 2017 to 16th
of March 2017.
Sampling
Procedure
Respondents’ selection followed
a clustered, stratified, multi stage random selection process thus:
Stratify and random selection of Sector
Random selection of sampling start points
Random selection of households
Selection of eligible respondents.
Samples
were drawn from the following Local Government Areas of the States
§Abuja:
Abuja Municipal, Bwari
§Adamawa:
Yola North and Yola South
§Kaduna:
Chikun, Kaduna North and Kaduna South
§Imo:
Owerri-Municipal, Owerri North and Owerri West
§Cross
River: Odukpani, Calabar South and Calabar Municipality
§Lagos:
Alimosho, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Kosofe, Mushin, Oshodi-Isolo, Surulere, Agege,
Ifako-Ijaye, Shomolu. Amuwo-Odofin, Ikeja, and Lagos Island
Sample size = 5099
Abuja – 764
Adamawa – 714
Kaduna – 1239
Imo – 643
Cross River – 770
Lagos - 969
Field work by Practical Sampling
International (PSI) Lagos
ANALYSIS
Familiarity with the police,
courts and prisons in Nigeria
Familiarity
with police
A little more than one-fifth
(21.9%) of the respondent were very familiar with the police; 47.2% were
familiar with the police; 16.8% were somewhat familiar and 13.9% were not
familiar. More than two-third (69.1%) were either very familiar of familiar with
the police.
There were variations in the
extent of familiarity with the police by respondents in the six states. Those
who responded being very familiar and familiar with the police across the
states were 73.8% (Abuja, FCT); Adamawa (70.6%); Kaduna (74.8%); Imo (78.7%);
Cross River (57.2%) and Lagos (60.3%). Familiarity of citizens with the police
was highest in Imo State and lowest in Lagos State.
Familiarity
with the Courts
More than one-half (55.3%) of
the respondents were either very familiar (15.4%) and familiar (39.9%) with the
courts. Less than a fifth (18.9%) of the respondents were somewhat familiar
with the courts and 25.0% were not familiar with the judicial agency. Extent of
familiarity with the courts vary across the states covered by the study. Those
who were either very familiar or familiar with courts in the states were 60.4%
(Abuja FCT); 57.8% (Adamawa); 62.2% (Kaduna); 71.2% (Imo); 41.5% (Cross River)
and 41.6% (Lagos State).
Familiarity
with prisons
Less than a half (48.7%) of the
respondents from the six states were either very familiar (12.6%) or familiar
(34.2) with the prisons in the country. In contrast, 22.0% were somewhat
familiar and 24.9% were not familiar. Extent of familiarity (very
familiar/familiar) in the states were 52.0% (Abuja, FCT); 50.5% (Adamawa);
56.0% (Kaduna); 63.2% (Imo); 35.8% (Cross River) and 36.2% (Lagos).
Significantly, 44.3% of the respondents in Cross River State and 47.9% in Lagos
State said they were not familiar with the prisons.
As expected, citizens were most
familiar with the police which is the gatekeeping agency in the criminal
justice system. Surprisingly, respondents in Lagos State, the most urbanized
state in the country, consistently exhibited lowest familiarity with the three
criminal justice agencies.
More than two-fifths (41.0%) of
the respondents demanded for the services of the police in the previous twelve
months and a quarter (25.4%) demanded for the services of lawyers. More than
one-fifth demanded for the services of the courts. The high level of demand for
services of criminal justice agencies may be partly explained by the existence
a sub-sample of legal practitioners and law enforcement agencies.
Services of the criminal justice
agencies were utilized more by respondents in Imo and Lagos states and Abuja
(Federal Capital Territory).
Effectiveness of criminal
justice and law enforcement agencies
Criminal justice agencies were
generally considered effective by more than a half of the respondents in each
state covered by the study. The only exception was in Abuja where 38.0%
considered the prison effective (table 3)
Trend of performance of criminal
justice and law enforcement agencies over past year
Majority of the respondents
across the states reported improvement in the performance of the criminal
justice agencies over the past year. Respondents in Imo and Lagos States
reported the highest and lowest levels of improvement of performance by
criminal justice, judicial and law enforcement agencies (table 4)
Most important constraint
affecting criminal justice administration in Nigeria
Respondents across the states
reported that lack of proper investigation and prosecution as well as
corruption by the police were the two most important constraints affecting
criminal justice administration in the country. Several other constraints were
identified by the respondents (table 5).
Police behaviour and rule of law
Majority of respondents did not
think that police always or often act according to law, respect the rights of
citizens and receive punishment for violating the law. More than two-fifths,
however, reported that they sometimes act according to the law and respect the
rights of citizens, and assist citizens in distress (table 6).
Effectiveness of police in
investigation, arrest and prosecution
More than a half of the
respondents said police were very effective or effective in timely and thorough
investigation of crimes apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators of crime
(table 7)
Perceptions of police actions
and rule of law
Less than a third of the
respondents across the states believed police always or often act according to
law, respect the rights of citizens and receive punishment for violation of law
(table 8).
Perception of effectiveness of
the police across states
Respondents in Adamawa, Imo and
Cross Rivers States rated effectiveness of the police in timely and thorough
criminal investigation as well as apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators
of crime. In contrast, respondents in Lagos were more critical of the effectiveness
of the police in performing these tasks (table 9).
Corruption
was consistently identified as the critical constraints affecting police
carrying out timely investigation. This view was held more by respondents Imo
and Adamawa states. Other major constraints identified were incompetence and
inadequate funding (table 10).
Critical factors affecting
police carrying out thorough investigation
Corruption and incompetence were
the two factors identified by respondents across the states as critical
constraints affecting thorough investigation by police (table 11).
Critical constraints affecting
apprehension and prosecution of offenders
Most important constraints
affecting effective apprehension and just prosecution of offenders consistently
identified by respondents across the states were corruption, inadequate funding
and incompetence (table 12).
Measures for improving
apprehension and prosecution of offenders by police
Four measures recommended by
greater proportion of respondents across the states for improving apprehension
of offenders were proactive investigation method, working closely with
communities and collaboration with other security agencies and retraining of
personnel. Three major measures recommended for improved prosecution of
offenders were adoption of proactive investigation method, working closely with
communities and use of scientific and technology aid to investigation (table
13).
Effectiveness of courts in
charging suspects and fair administration of justice
Majority of respondents in the
states, apart from Abuja, reported that magistrate courts were effective in
charging suspects brought before them. The courts were particularly rated very
highly by respondents in Imo (72.5%) and Kaduna (67.7%). Asked about the
effectiveness of courts in ensuring fair administration of criminal justice,
more than a half of the respondents across the states said the courts were
effective. More than 70% of the respondents in Imo (75,0%) and Adamawa (70.1%)
said the courts were effective in fair administration of criminal process.
(table 14).
Usefulness of jail delivery
visits to prisons by Chief Judges
A measure designed to ensure
that remanded inmates are not unduly detained, and prevent prison overcrowding
associated with awaiting trail inmates is visit to prisons by Chief Judges of
States. Respondents were asked if such visits are useful and serve the intended
purposes. Majority of the respondents believed it was not much or very much
useful. However, more than two-fifths (43.1%) of respondents in Adamawa were of
the view that such visits were much or very much useful (table 15).
Approaches to effective criminal
justice administration
Respondents were asked about
measures or approaches to enhance effective criminal adjudication in Nigeria.
Measures that were frequently measured by respondents across the states were
greater discipline and supervision of judges and lawyers, adequate funding,
better training of judges and adequate facilities and equipment (table 16).
Trend of prison break in Nigeria
Prison
break was reported to have increased in Imo State by more than two-thirds
(43.7%) while respondents in other states reported less increase, for example,
Lagos (23.9%) and Adamawa (22.4%) (table 17).
Several incidences of prison break were
reported in the country over the past decades. During such jail-break, violent
and dangerous criminals, including suspects of terrorism, kidnapping and
robbery were released. Respondents were asked what they think were the most
important causes of prison breaks in the country. Most frequently identified causes across the
states were lack of proper management and oversight of prisons (24.7%); overcrowding
and congestion (23.6%) and lack of basic amenities due to inadequate funding
(22.7%) (table 18).
Adequacy of services and
facilities in Nigerian Prisons
Inadequacy
of services and facilities in Nigeria were often reported by officials,
government, inmates, human rights advocates. Facilities such as health care,
feeding, clothing, recreational facilities and vocational training were
generally regarded as grossly lacking. Respondents were asked about adequacy of
facilities in Nigerian prisons. Less than half said facilities and services
were very adequate of adequate. While respond dents in Adamawa (48.8%); Cross
River (46.4%) and Kaduna (44.2%) said the facilities and services were adequate
or very adequate, fewer respondents in Abuja (22.3%) and Abuja (28.6%)
described the services as adequate or very adequate (table 19).
Best approach to increasing
effectiveness for correctional system in Nigeria
Respondents
were asked what approaches will increase effectiveness of correctional system
in the country. Most frequently identified measures were adequate funding
(24.6%); better training of officials (20.1%); better welfare of prisons
officials; adequate facilities and equipment (11.8%) and better monitoring and
oversight of prisons (table 20).
More
than two-thirds of the respondents in each of the states identified the
following factors (table 20) as the critical problems of criminal justice
administrations in the states where they lived:
a.Lack of pro-active investigation
b.Defective mechanisms for
obtaining evidence
c.Inadequate witness protection
d.Incompetence of investigators
e.Corrupt police investigators and
prosecutors
f.Lack of prosecutorial
independence
g.Non-adherence to due process and
suspects’ rights
h.Lack of witness support
i.Inadequate
modern equipment
j.Inadequate facilities
Critical problems of courts in
respondents’ state of residence
Respondents were asked about the
critical problems affecting the effectiveness of courts in their states of
residence. They identified several factors (table 21) as follows:
a.Excessive pre-trial detention
b.Delay of cases
c.Lack of effective monitoring of
case status
d.Poor facilities
e.Poor judicial decisions
f.Inadequate resources
g.Inadequate criminal defence
h.Inadequate legal aid assistance
i.Corruption
of judges and lawyers
j.Lack of impartiality amongst
judges
k.Lack of judicial independence
At least a half of the respondents
in each of the states identified these problems as critical or very critical
(table 21).
Critical problems of the prisons
in respondents’ state of residence
Respondents were asked about the
critical problems confronting prisons in their states of residence. They
identified several factors (table 22) as follows:
a.Inadequate resources
b.Poor facilities
c.0vercrowing and congestion
d.Delay in presentation of
suspects in court for trial
e.Lack of proper documentation of
awaiting trial inmates
f.Incompetent prions officials
g.Corruption of prison officials
h.Lack of proper management and
oversight of prisons
i.Poor
welfare of inmates
j.Poor condition of service for
prison officials
No less than one-half of
respondents in each state identified these factors as critical or very critical
(table 22).
Assessment of performance of
office of State DPP
Office of the DPP at the federal
and state levels play critical roles in the prosecution of serious cases,
especially in higher courts. Prosecutors in the offices vet case files; offer
legal advice on whether to prosecute cases, and undertake prosecutions when
required. Respondents were asked about the performance of the DPP in the state.
Their performance was rated highly in Imo (73.1) and Adamawa (71.2%) while
rated as such by 43.8% in Abuja, the only state where less than 50% rated the
performance of the offices as good or very good (table 23).
Reasons for delay in issuance of
legal advice by DPPs
In serious cases, there were
allegations of delay in rendering legal advice to the police and other law
enforcement agencies by the offices of the DPP. Respondents were asked what
they considered to be reasons for such delays. Several reasons were offered
(table ) as follow:
a.Delay in transfer of case files
by CID
b.Lack of effective coordination
between CID and DPP office
c.Delays caused by bureaucratic
bottlenecks with DPP office
d.Poor investigation by police
Effects of delay in issuance of
legal advice by DPPs
Delay in issuance of legal
advice by DPPs impacts on suspects, victims and law enforcement agencies who
require them to further process a case. Respondents were asked of the effects
of delay in rendering advice on whether to prosecute. They identify the
following factors (table 25):
a.Long pre-trial detention
b.Violation of suspects’ human
rights
c.Prison overcrowding and
congestion
d.Delayed trial
Violation of human rights was
the most cited effect of delay in providing legal advice for prosecution by the
offices of DPP
ASSESSMENT OF ACJA
Sample size = 5099
Belong to any of the criminal
justice agencies?
% Yes, across sample = 8.6%
(439)
Abuja (9.3); Adamawa (10.8%);
Kaduna (6.9%); Imo (10.0%); Cross River (8.7) and Lagos (8.6%)
Heard
of ACJA?
18.1% of the entire sample
- Abuja (24.6%); Adamawa
(19.5%); Kaduna (16.3%); Imo (17.1%); Cross River (18.1%) and Lagos (15.2%)
Familiarity
with ACJA
Among the respondents who said
they heard about ACJA, 40.3% were familiar with it and 25.7 were very familiar
with it. Overall, two-thirds of those who heard about ACJA were familiar with
it
Level of familiarity with the
law among those who have heard about it was generally high. Comparing the level
of familiarity at the state level, those who responded that they were
familiar/very familiar were as follow: Abuja (76.4); Adamawa (55.4%); Kaduna
(74.8%); Imo (65.4%); Cross River (64.0%) and Lagos (66.0%).
Knowledge
of implementation of ACJA
More than two-thirds (68.0%) of the
respondents who said they heard about ACJA reported that they knew that it was
being implemented.
Those who reported awareness of
the implementation of the law in the states where the study was conducted were
Abuja (71.7%); Adamawa (68.5%); Kaduna (73.6%); Imo (45.75); Cross River
(71.1%) and Lagos (68.0%)
Satisfaction
with the implementation of ACJA
Respondents were satisfied with
the implementation of the law. Among the respondents who reported hearing about
the law, 86.0% were satisfied {28.3% very satisfied and 58.7% satisfied) with
its implementation. Level of satisfaction by respondents across the states were
Abuja (82.3%); Adamawa (77.9); Kaduna (92.3%); Imo (93.4%); Cross River (84.8%)
and Lagos (94.0%).
Inauguration of the CSO Observatory on ACJA
View
of respondents on whether ACJA will improve criminal justice administration
Most of the respondents (93.1%)
across the states said the law will improve criminal justice administration
system in Nigeria. Respondents in the states were also optimistic that the
administration of criminal justice in the country will be improved by the
implementation of ACJA as follows: Abuja (96.8%); Adamawa (93.0%); Kaduna
(94.7%); Imo (88.9%); Cross River (88.2) and Lagos (92.8%).
Knowledge
of existence of ACJA in state where respondents lived
Only a minority (20.6%) of the
5099 respondents in the sample knew of the existence of administration of
criminal justice laws in their state of residence. Proportion of respondents in
the states who were aware of existence of any such laws in their states where
they were living was Abuja (26.35); Adamawa (20.9%); Kaduna (19.2%); Imo
(17.1%); Cross River (21.0%) and Lagos (19.8%).
Satisfaction
with the implementation of ACJA in state where respondents resided
More than two-thirds (70.8%) of
the respondents were satisfied with the implementation of administration of
criminal justice laws in their state of residence. Respondents in the different
states were also generally satisfied as follows: Abuja (62.8%), Adamawa
(67.9%); Kaduna (80.4%); Imo (71.5%); Cross River (64.1%) and Lagos (75.8%). You can watch the videos
By Liberty TV
By Oak T.V
Link to Inauguration of the CSO Observatory on ACJA Pics
