The Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, Hon. Justice Ishaq Bello, has advocated a uniform criminal justice regime act to be adopted by the respective states.

This, according to him, should however be done “without affecting the very substance intendment of the Act.”

Justice Bello who spoke on Tuesday when he led members of the Presidential Committee on Prisons Reform and Decongestion to pay a courtesy call on the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, at the Government House, Enugu, commended the Governor for facilitating the adoption of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act in the state.

He described the adoption of the criminal justice administration act in Enugu State as “revolutionary” stated that the Governor deserves to be congratulated for the adoption of the Act in the State.

“Your Excellency, you deserve to be congratulated for that. We are very happy that you have made it possible; that you are among the states that have adopted the act. Many others are following suit because it is in that act that you find the road that will expedite delivery, eliminate delays, among others,” he said.

The FCT Chief Judge said that the committee was in Enugu in exercise of its “sole mandate of visiting Nigerian Prisons to release inmates who have option of fines associated to their various sentences and also to review cases of inmates that have stayed over five years awaiting trials before various courts, adding that “in a situation where they have overstayed the period of sentences they were convicted, we take instant decisions to let them go.”

Earlier, the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Hon. Justice Priscilla Emehelu, told Gov. Ugwuanyi that the delegation deemed it necessary to pay him a courtesy visit before embarking on the assignment because of his interest and commitment in ensuring that justice is done to people who are kept away in prisons unlawfully.

Responding, Gov. Ugwuanyi, who welcomed the FCT Chief Judge and other members of the committee to the Government House, Enugu, stated that his administration appreciates the efforts of the Federal Government in fast-tracking the decongestion of prisons in the country.

The Governor disclosed that his administration has in many ways supported the rehabilitation of prison infrastructure in the state, to improve the environment and has assisted in the payment of fees to lawyers to represent inmates who could not afford legal representation, assuring the presidential committee of the state’s firm support to their noble assignment.

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