‘Stop forcing suspects to make confessional statements’— Justice Garba

The presiding justice at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division,
Justice Mohammed Garba, has urged operatives of the Nigeria Police
to do more investigation rather than waiting for a confessional
statements to unravel a crime.

Justice Garba lamented that Nigeria appears to have the highest
number of confessional statements used as the basis of making
findings during police investigation.

The appellate court justice said this while speaking on the
topic, ‘Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015: Innovations,
challenges and the way forward’ at the annual seminar/workshop of
the National Association of Judicial Correspondents which held in
Lagos.

Justice Garba, who was represented by Appeal Court Justice
Ugochukwu Ogakwu, appealed to the police to step up and keep pace
with the high standards of crime investigation which obtains in all
civilised countries of the world.

“They owe Nigeria and Nigerians this duty of care,” he said.

The justice said it was time for safeguards to be put in place
to guarantee transparency in criminal investigations by ensuring
that suspects’ statements were only taken in the presence of their
lawyers.

He also absolved the judiciary of blame in the parade of
suspects by law enforcement agencies.

He said, “Sadly, most of the agencies we have now, which have
both investigative and prosecutorial powers, like the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission in particular, engage so much in media
trial.

“But, if they don’t blow their trumpet, nobody will blow it for
them and it’s only when they blow their trumpet as to what they are
doing that we’ll know that they are actually working.

“What can the judiciary do? The judiciary only works on what is
brought before it. Unless there is a case that has been brought for
judicial pronouncement, the judiciary will not make any
pronouncement on whether it is wrong or not.

“So, the judiciary is not self-activating; the jurisdiction of a
court is only invoked when such a matter comes for judicial
pronouncement and until such matter comes, the judiciary cannot do
anything.”

The presiding justice at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division,
Justice Mohammed Garba, has urged operatives of the Nigeria Police
to do more investigation rather than waiting for a confessional
statements to unravel a crime.

Justice Garba lamented that Nigeria appears to have the highest
number of confessional statements used as the basis of making
findings during police investigation.

The appellate court justice said this while speaking on the
topic, ‘Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015: Innovations,
challenges and the way forward’ at the annual seminar/workshop of
the National Association of Judicial Correspondents which held in
Lagos.

Justice Garba, who was represented by Appeal Court Justice
Ugochukwu Ogakwu, appealed to the police to step up and keep pace
with the high standards of crime investigation which obtains in all
civilised countries of the world.

“They owe Nigeria and Nigerians this duty of care,” he said.

The justice said it was time for safeguards to be put in place
to guarantee transparency in criminal investigations by ensuring
that suspects’ statements were only taken in the presence of their
lawyers.

He also absolved the judiciary of blame in the parade of
suspects by law enforcement agencies.

He said, “Sadly, most of the agencies we have now, which have
both investigative and prosecutorial powers, like the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission in particular, engage so much in media
trial.

“But, if they don’t blow their trumpet, nobody will blow it for
them and it’s only when they blow their trumpet as to what they are
doing that we’ll know that they are actually working.

“What can the judiciary do? The judiciary only works on what is
brought before it. Unless there is a case that has been brought for
judicial pronouncement, the judiciary will not make any
pronouncement on whether it is wrong or not.

“So, the judiciary is not self-activating; the jurisdiction of a
court is only invoked when such a matter comes for judicial
pronouncement and until such matter comes, the judiciary cannot do
anything.”