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| Lydia Ehisuoria Ohonsi |
The Lagos State Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) 2015 addresses the issue of pre-trial parade of suspects primarily through a recent amendment which explicitly abolishes the public parade of suspects before the media by security agencies. This is embodied in Section 9(a) of the amended Lagos State ACJL, which states:
“As from the commencement of this law, the police shall refrain from parading any suspect before the media.”
This reform aims to uphold the constitutional rights of suspects, including the presumption of innocence until proven guilty as guaranteed under Sections 34 and 36(4) and (5) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. The amendment is intended to prevent the violation of suspects' rights to dignity, fair hearing, and protection from inhuman or degrading treatment. Before this reform, pre-trial media parades were common, often prejudging suspects and violating their fundamental rights under both the Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
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