The Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in Ebonyi state, Dr Ben Uruchi Odoh, has said his ministry plans to build and equip a statement taking room for the Ebonyi state police command in order to guard against torture of suspects by the police during confessional statement.
Speaking exclusively with Blueprint in Abuja, Wednesday, Odoh advocated for a paradigm shift from prevalent retributive justice system to restorative justice system, whereby criminal defendants are reintegrated into society after serving their jail terms, instead of stigmatization.
He said: “The Ministry of Justice is going to be partnering with the Nigeria Police Force, especially the Ebonyi State Command. One of the things I promised the Commissioner of Police, Augustina Ogbodo, during a courtesy is that we are going to assist the police to build statement taking room, which will have security gadget that will be domiciled in the CP’s office.
“So, whenever you are going to be taking confessional statement from an accused person or the suspect, all the CP needs to do is to switch on his or system and be watching the officer taking the statement.
“So, if you torture a suspect, the CP will look at you there and order for your arrest as a police officer. That is the only way we can take away torture as part of obtaining confessional statement. This is because when you torture someone in the name of obtaining a confessional statement, the person will end up admitting offence he did not commit. So, when we are done with building and furnishing this statement taking room, it will eliminate torture.”
He added: “The justice system we have in Nigeria is a one-way traffic justice system. It is a justice system that uses two approaches in crime management, including punishment and vengeance. Our justice system uses vengeance to dispose or manage crime. If the Nigeria justice system is not using vengeance, it is using punishment in crime management. It is not after the welfare of a victim of crime.
“For example, if someone dispossesses you of your phone, our law, especially in Ebonyi, is after arresting that person that dispossessed you of your phone. After the arrest, arraign him in court. After the arraignment, try him. After the trial, convict him. After convicting him, sentence him to prison. Our law is not after what happens to you/ the victim or your phone that was stolen. So, once that person that dispossessed you of your phone is arrested and jailed, he can go to prison with your phone.
“Our law is not after how to return your stolen phone to you, while the thief goes to face the law or imprisonment. So, it is a one-way traffic justice system that is after an accused, using punishment and vengeance in the management of crime. It has no remedy for the victim of a crime.
“At the Ebonyi State Ministry of Justice, we are intentionally creating a paradigm shift from this retributive justice system, which is a one-way traffic justice system, to restorative justice system, which is a three-way traffic justice system. The beauty of this restorative justice system is that, instead of using two approaches, that is punishment and vengeance, in crime management, it is going to be providing four approaches in crime management, including Restoration, Reconciliation, Restitution and Reintegration.”
