Revolutionizing Nigeria’s Criminal Justice System: The Impact of the Court Administration and Case Management Project in Nasarawa State. 

Revolutionizing Nigeria’s Criminal Justice System: The Impact of the Court Administration and Case Management Project in Nasarawa State. 

by | Feb 19, 2024 | Access to Justice, Blog Post, CACM

By Nnenna Eze

To strengthen Nigeria’s criminal justice system, the Public and Private Development Centre’s Court Administration and Case Management (CACM) project, supported by the US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement  Affairs (INL), represents a significant effort to enhance Nigeria’s criminal justice administration. The project focuses on improving capacity, efficiency, and accountability within the Nigerian courts, with key objectives including enhanced case management, evidence control, scheduling systems, and overall court administration processes.

In 2023, upon assessment of the select courts in the 3 pilot states, Nasarawa Plateau and Kaduna, our findings revealed significant challenges plaguing the judicial system. Judges grappled with the daunting task of writing judgments, taking notes, and simultaneously observing litigants’ body language. This multitasking burden resulted in delayed judgments, exacerbating an already overburdened system. Concurrently, correctional officers faced logistical hurdles in transporting inmates from correctional centers to courts. Weather conditions, transportation costs, and security risks compounded the difficulties, further impeding the legal process. Additionally, inadequate case and evidence management practices led to disorganized and unsupervised case files, hindering effective tracking and monitoring of case progress.

Another key challenge we saw was the lack of secure facilities in magistrate courts for typing and printing confidential court proceedings, which posed significant security and confidentiality risks. Clerical activities conducted in external business centers outside court premises increased the likelihood of leaked court judgments before official pronouncements.

During our recent visit to our stakeholders in Nasarawa State, we visited all of the project’s interventions to assess their impact and ensure their sustainability.  One of the project’s pivotal interventions is the deployment of speech-to-text facilities in select courtrooms in Nasarawa State. Recognizing the challenge faced by judges in simultaneously writing judgments and observing litigants’ body language, the introduction of the speech-to-text facility accelerates court proceedings, eliminates manual transcription delays, and enhances transparency. This initiative not only streamlines administrative tasks but also fosters a swift dispensation of justice.

PPDC and INL team with the Comptroller of Corrections, Nasarawa state  

PPDC and INL team with the Attorney General, Nasarawa state  

PPDC and INL team with the Chief Justice Nasarawa state  

“We are not taking the interventions for granted, as they have aided our work in the courtroom, and we are committed to ensuring the expansion and sustainability of the speech-to-text and virtual courts.” -Chief Judge of Nasarawa State, Honourable Justice Aisha Bashir

The implementation of virtual courts in custodial centers has addressed significant logistical challenges faced by correctional officers. By enabling remote hearings, this innovative solution reduces the need for physically transporting individuals in custody to courtrooms, saving time and resources and minimizing security risks. 

A virtual court hearing from the Nasarawa State Custodial Center 

I had a case that was heard virtually from the custodial center, and it was like a dream come true.  To be able to use such technology will improve the justice sector in Nasarawa State.” –  Honourable  Justice Simon Aboki  

The project also addresses the critical issue of case file arrangement and management. By meticulously sorting, indexing, and cataloging criminal case files in the High Court across pilot states, the initiative enhances the reliability and security of legal documentation. Standardized case-filing units not only ensure easy retrieval but also significantly reduce the risk of loss or damage, thereby improving overall case management efficiency.

We had the issue of unsecured case files; however, with the intervention, case files are sorted and kept in secure racks for easy retrieval  –  Nicholas Abunduga, chief state counsel, Ministry of Justice, Nasarawa State. 

Case files before and after PPDC’s intervention 

Additionally, establishing a magistrate secretarial pool equipped with essential facilities for typing and printing confidential court proceedings addresses security and confidentiality concerns. This initiative not only enhances the secure handling of sensitive court documents but also provides a source of revenue for magistrate courts. It signifies a significant step towards ensuring a more robust and confidential judicial process.

The commendable support and adoption of the project by the good people and various government arms of Nasarawa State highlight a commitment to sustainability. Provisions for the maintenance of deployed facilities in subsequent budgets and the provision of subscriptions for virtual hearings and SMS messaging in the 2024 budget underscore a proactive approach toward ensuring the long-term success and impact of these transformative interventions. Additionally, the invitation extended to PPDC to join the ACMC committee further emphasizes the collaborative nature of the project, paving the way for continued innovation and improvement in Nigeria’s criminal justice system.

Before PPDC’s intervention, lawyers were hesitant to handle cases; however, with the implementation of the Case Management System, case files are uploaded and notifications are sent. The AG can see when a case’s limit has elapsed. This has resulted in a stronger synergy between the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary. Nicholas Abunduga, chief state counsel, Ministry of Justice, Nasarawa State. 

The Public and Private Development Centre is committed through its Access to Justice program to ensure speedy dispensation of justice across our pilot states. The  Court Administration and Case Management (CACM) project, is paving the way for Nigeria’s criminal justice system to become more efficient, transparent, and equitable by addressing systemic issues and leveraging cutting-edge technologies.

One Community VOICE For Improved Standard Of Living

One Community VOICE For Improved Standard Of Living

by | Jan 30, 2023 | Case Study

In Nigeria rural communities face several challenges, and one of those challenges  is access to clean and potable water. According to the world bank, “In 2018, Nigeria’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector were declared to be in a state of emergency by the Government. In 2019, a combination of inadequate infrastructure, a lack of required human capital, poor investment, and a deficient enabling regulatory environment – amongst other challenges – meant that approximately 60 million Nigerians were living without access to basic drinking water”.

For a long time, Mr Bala, a resident of Buzunkure local government, Kuje area council, Abuja, lacked access to basic infrastructure in his community. 

“We have to go to the river far away to fetch water and for some of us who have little money, we pay people who have boreholes in nearby estates to get water every day. This has caused a lot of suffering for us, every day you see children going to fetch water” Mr Bala’s

Lack of water, good roads, electricity, and standard healthcare facilities, to name a few, have affected his and his community members’ well-being. This has resulted in a lower standard of living, an increase in crime rates and out-of-school children, as well as poor hygiene and sanitation in their homes.

Mr. Bala at the community town hall

For years, the people of Buzunkure had to get water from a stream 45 minutes away because their only borehole had been damaged.  This meant that their living conditions were deplorable and required immediate intervention.

Old Abandoned community borehole 

The public and private Development Centre with support from VOICE sort to address this challenge with our ongoing project Promoting Inclusive Governance through Civic Engagement (PIGCE). The main purpose of our project is to empower rightsholders with the required skills, knowledge, and access to engage with their representatives and demand improved service delivery. 

Community engagement and town hall in Buzunkure 

To that end, we launched a series of advocacies.  We visited the community to speak with the community head, youth and women leaders, and community members. We held a town hall meeting where they identified  some of their basic needs. During this town hall, they highlighted the lack of water, good roads, security, and school classrooms and healthcare facilities among other things. We also noticed a huge communication gap between members of the community and their representatives. Most of them didn’t know the right channels to lay complaints, and they also lacked adequate procurement information on projects that have been approved and awarded for construction. 

The town hall meeting allowed us to educate residents and develop their skills in engaging their representatives and using the upcoming general elections to ensure that the community’s needs are met. We trained those who were computer literate on how to use the Budeshi open contracting platform to stay up to date on contracting information, while we provided the rest of the community with our Budeshi toll-free number to enable them to reach us for project updates and contact information. The Budeshi platform gives users access to procurement data such as budget amounts, contract amounts, contractor details, project location, etc. from over 90 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria at the federal level.

Following our training, we organized  courtesy visits and advocacies alongside members of the community to their representatives. This was a significant outcome of the sensitization. Members of the community wrote letters to their representatives outlining their urgent needs as well as the importance of addressing them. Additionally, PPDC provided them with a radio platform to share more details about their needs and the urgency for intervention. The radio appearance allowed our listeners to learn how to better engage  with their representative to achieve their desired outcome of an improved standard of living.

After our advocacy, the people of Buzunkure finally received good news in December 2021: a borehole was built in the heart of their community, eliminating the daunting task of traveling a long distance to get water. Though there are still several challenges that require immediate attention, our intervention campaigns, in collaboration with rightsholders, have enabled us to provide clean water in Buzunkure today.

The Newly constructed borehole 

At PPDC, we believe that increasing citizen participation in governance is the only way to improve service delivery. This project demonstrates that when citizens band together to demand better, changes occur in their immediate community. Your voice is the only thing stopping you from a better life. Demanding accountability and transparency from our representatives are critical to improving Nigeria’s standard of living.