THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 2015 AS CATALYST TO EFFECTIVE JUSTICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The divide in the Nigerian legal system between the South and North extend to the process each zone utilizes in bringing offenders to justice. The Administration of Criminal Justice Act however unifies the Criminal Procedure Act and the Criminal Procedure Code for both the South and North respectively into one Federal enactment and further repeals the Administration of Justice Commission Act. It is hailed as a major advancement of the criminal procedure in terms of unification and the access to justice by addressing the provisions of the administration of Criminal Justice Act which specifically provided a better access to justice in Nigeria. The authors therefore argued that the operation of the Act portend the tendency to revolutionize the justice and rehabilitation system in Nigeria, notwithstanding the fact that the Act failed to address certain issues on women and children as well as created certain loopholes inclusive of not being applicable to courts that are not Federal courts. The paper therefore concluded that the thorough application of the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act will operate to expedite delivery of justice and the ultimate common good of the society.