Recently, stakeholders converged on Lagos and advocated plea bargain as a way of reducing congestion in the Nigeria prisons.
KEHINDE OSASONA writes
Background Plea bargaining is the process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to the court’s approval.
In other word, it usually involves the defendant pleading guilty to a lesser offence or to only one or some of the counts of a multi-count indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that possible for the graver charge.
In 2017, Lagos State Controller of Prisons, Mr Tunde Ladipo, appealed to well-meaning individuals and groups to assist inmates in paying fines imposed on them to decongest prisons.
According to him, prison congestion should be the concern of all stakeholders in the interest of the society.
He argues that the recently launched plea bargain option will also help decongest prisons.
“The command was holding meetings with the Lagos State Judiciary and some other stakeholders to ensure speedy trial of inmates because it is of utmost concern,” Ladipo discloses.
Bold move To achieve this, the state government has activated moves to considerably bring down the number of inmates on awaiting trial in prisons across the state through the implementation of plea bargain aspect of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law.
Speaking recently at an awareness visit to Ikoyi Prison, the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem, said the huge population of inmates in prisons in the state was of serious concern to government, stressing that there was dire need to implement initiatives such as the plea bargain concept to drastically reduce the figures.
Kazeem, who was represented by the State’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mrs TitilayoShitta-Bay, specifically encouraged the inmates guilty of the alleged offence for which they were facing trial to embrace plea bargain, and thereby save time as well as serve lesser punishment.
According to her, “plea bargain will help to reduce the punishment for inmates, save public funds and time, and that is the reason why the state government is purposely using the initiative to also decongest prisons in the state.” Giving details on how the initiative works, Shitta-Bay said applicant for plea bargain has to state the reasons and it would then be considered only on merit and based on the seriousness of the offence which the applicant is to be sentenced.
Speaking further, she said: “The lawyers would write their recommendations too and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice would consider the facts of the matter and circumstances.
“Also, the granting of the application for Plea Bargain is at the approval of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.” Quoting relevant sections In line with the introduction of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 (ACJA), other legislations like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act 2004 and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Act, have successfully made use of the concept.
For instance, Section 270 of the ACJA gives an exposition on the practice of plea bargain under this law.
This section gives room for the prosecution to consider a plea bargain from a defendant or to offer such plea bargain to the defendant.
The section goes further to state that the consent of the victim of the crime needs to be sought before such plea bargain may be entered into, subject to some other conditions laid down in sub-section 2.
How it’s done Furthermore, Section 270(8), (9) and (10) also states the role of the Judge or Magistrate in a plea bargain agreement.
It provides that such agreement reached must be in writing.
The judge will then confirm directly from the defendant whether or not the said plea was entered into under duress.
Having done that, the judge will ask the defendant if he admits to the charge to ascertain whether the defendant admits the allegation or whether he entered into the agreement willingly and without duress.
Having done that, the judge will consider the sentence agreed on and look into its appropriateness.
If the court is satisfied with all these conditions, then it becomes the judgment of the court.
The court may make a forfeiture order where there are monies, assets or properties involved.
Legal opinions In the word of legal experts, practice of plea bargaining could also be the end game in helping to decongest the courts as this would reduce the number of cases having to go to trial, arguing that even where the matter goes to court, it would only be for the adoption of the plea bargain agreement already agreed upon.
It is also believed that the cost of conducting new cases will drastically reduce, with more effective and proactive solutions.
Lagos CJ example Meanwhile, in attesting to the workability of the proposed “Plea bargain” Kazeem, had at a presentation of plea bargain manual to stakeholders in the state’s criminal justice system urges them to make more use of the plea bargain provision in the law as opposed to always opting for full trial.
According to him, it would go a long way in helping to decongest the prisons, where awaiting-trial inmates account for not less than 75 per cent of the population.
He noted that though plea bargain had been part of the criminal justice system in the state for over a decade, it had yet to be adequately exploited.
He therefore reiterated the commitment of his office towards promoting the use of plea bargain, which, he noted, saves time in criminal cases and reduces the time spent in custody by awaiting-trial inmates among other merits.
He said: “Section 75 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State 2015 empowers my office to consider and accept plea bargain proposals on behalf of a defendant.
Given that the length of time that awaiting-trial inmates remain in the prison custody is dependent mainly on the length of court proceedings, it is important, as stakeholders, to embrace creative provisions in our law to decongest the prisons.
It is against this backdrop that the plea bargain protocol/manual was designed.
Advising further, he urged private counsel to imbibe the culture of counseling and encouraging their clients to opt for plea bargain “in the face of overwhelming evidence rather than the usual practice of encouraging them to plead ‘not guilty’.” Continued, he said, “The prosecutorial powers of this office will not be used as a platform for settling commercial disputes, family quarrels or land tussles and we will not be pressurized to act in the interest of one party against the interest of another party or any party where no criminal offence has been committed.” Prison Comptroller, FIDA’s posture In the meantime, the Comptroller in charge of Ikoyi Prison, DCP Tolu Ogunsakin has commended the Lagos State Government for its proactive approach in decongesting Prisons in the State, just as he advised inmates to make use of the wonderful initiative by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice through the office of Director of Public Prosecutions.
Addressing the inmates, Ogunsakin said: “You have always been praying for freedom and Lagos State Government has brought you the opportunity so embrace it and confess to the crime that brought you to Prison instead of wasting your time and energy here.” Also speaking at a fora, the Chairperson, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Nigeria, Lagos branch, Ngozi Ogbolu noted that the area of congestion in prisons need to be taken care of, as it will help the implementation of the ACJL, which would lead to “a better country with a better judiciary system Going forward, stakeholders’ are of the views that the concept of plea bargaining be continually preached by defence counsels so that all and sundry may have easier access to justice