CJ frowns at high incidence of brutality, illegal detention

By Tajudeen Hamzat

Against the backdrop of widespread reports of the rising incidence of illegal detention and police brutality, the Chief Justice of the Federation of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen has directed magistrates in the country to wade in.

In a ‘practice direction’ document released from the Office of the Chief Justice of the Federation on June 20 and addressed to the Chief Judges of the different states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, the Chief Justice instructed them to direct Chief Magistrates in every judicial jurisdiction to visit police detention centres at least once every month with a view to determining whether persons were being wrongly detained therein and to grant bail to those that had been so denied as if they had come before their own courts to request same.

The directive is based on the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA.

Nigeria’s Chief Justice, Walter Onnoghen