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Administration of Criminal Justice: CLEEN FOUNDATION Set Up Observatory, Monitoring Group In Edo

Published

2 years ago

June 21, 2023

Joseph Ebi Kanjo, Benin

Against the back drop of challenges affecting the full implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), a civil society organisation, CLEEN FOUNDATION, on Wednesday established and launched a CSO observatory group aimed at monitoring the full implementation of the Act in Edo State.

The independent group set up is also expected to monitor the progress and challenges in the implementation of the ACJA , the state ACJL and the “compliance rate of the criminal justice actors to the unique provisions of the ACJA/state ACJL.”

In his opening remarks, Executive Director, CLEEN FOUNDATION, Mr. Gad Peter, said the group was set up as an advocacy for the full implementation of the laws which, according to him “is a critical step towards promoting transparency, accountability and rule of law in the state and country as a whole.”

Mr. Peter, represented by Mrs. Blessing Abiri, Programme Officer, CLEEN FOUNDATION, added that the group which composed of diverse range of stakeholders including civil society organizations, human rights groups, legal experts, and other relevant stakeholders, would also serve as “a platform for knowledge sharing and continuous learning on the implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law in Edo state.”

He said: “We’ve been over time monitoring the implementation, and from the data we have from our past programmes similar to this, we discovered there is need to scale up the project, and this why we are in Edo State.

“We all know if the criminal justice system is not functioning well, there will be a problem.”

According to him, “… It will lay the foundation for more interaction and collaborative relationship amongst stakeholders in monitoring the implementation of the Criminal Justice Reform process in Edo state and ultimately improve the Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria.

“With the launch of the CSO Observatory group, members will be capacitated on key thematic areas that would support it to deliver on their mandate.”

In his good will message, Chief Judge of Edo State, Hon. Justice Daniel Okungbowa, described the coming of ACJA as a fresh air to the judiciary, adding that the Act made possible the innovative electronic taking of statement in police station.

The Chief Judge represented by Hon. Justice M.E. Itsueli, while commending CLEEN FOUNDATION for taking the bold step, urged stakeholders to work as a chain that cannot be easily broken.

He expressed the state judiciary readiness to partner with the stakeholders for the success of the group.

Also in his goodwill message, the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Dankwara, represented by Officer in Charge Legal Department, CSP Peter Ugwemba, while commending the Foundation, said the introduction of ACJA has speared the police of litigation against human rights violation, adding that the police in Edo is complying by the Act.

On her part, Adesuwa Ehimuan, Chairman, Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Edo State, urged the media to be more involved in enlightenment of the public on the act and also expose those perpetrating violence against women and children.

She also urged stakeholders to always involve the media in gender base violence GBV cases with a view to bringing such to the public notice, so it serves as a deterrent to others.

News

Gombe Wins Northeast Quiz Competition On Legislature, Democracy

Published

16 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Gombe State has emerged as the winner at the 2025 North East Zonal Quiz Competition on legislature and democracy organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) for senior secondary schools across Northeast on Friday.

Speaking before the commencement of the 2025 edition of the zonal debate which focuses on the legislature, democracy and governance, the Director-General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, said the exercise was to deepen the knowledge of legislative and democratic governance among secondary school students and youth.

According to him, it was also to broaden their knowledge on the history, practice and procedure of the legislature and encourage deeper understanding of civic and democratic governance.

The competition, he added, would stimulate the interest of the young students in politics and make them more proactive in matters relating to the legislature and democracy.

He explained that enhancing the knowledge of young Nigerians in the legislature would not only foster an inclusive and participatory legislature in Nigeria but would also serve as an avenue for citizen engagement in the legislative process.

Represented by Mr Jeremiah Agada, NILDS Northeast Zonal Quiz Coordinator, Sulaiman added that the quiz competition would take place in all the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“It is also to inspire young Nigerians to cultivate the interest to participate in legislative governance.

“This 10th edition of the competition is therefore the fourth time the competition has been held at the national level.

“As the 2025 NILDS Zonal quiz competition is declared open, I therefore urge all competing students and their teachers to abide by the rules of the game so that the desired objectives of the competition are achieved,” he said.

Also speaking, the Bauchi State’s Commissioner for Education, Dr Muhammed Lawal, said the exercise was a welcome development in the circle of education, adding that it was a ground where students in the zone could be tested among other students in the country.

“This will enable us to improve the quality of our delivery in our various schools to our teeming students across the zone.

“I want them to take it upon themselves that in an engagement like this, there is no loser. You put in your best, and if at the end of the day, you don’t make it up to the top, your efforts will be crowned.

“I hope this will be well covered because it will stimulate other schools to be part of and perform better so that they can come up to this level as well,” he said.

Mohammed appreciated the commitment of teachers and moderators who coached the students to fully participate in the competition and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to revamping the education sector under Gov. Bala Mohammad’s leadership.

Announcing the winner of the competition, the Quiz Master Mr. Lucky Tongs, announced Gombe State as the overall winner of the debate with 75 points

He also announced Taraba State as the first runner up with 55 points and Yobe State as the third position with 50 points, adding that the winner is expected to represent the Northeast sub-region at the National competition in Abuja.

Other states that participated in the competition included Adamawa and Bauchi.

News

Police Arrest Nollywood Production Manager For Assaulting Crew Member

Published

19 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Police have arrested a Nollywood production manager, Anierobi Courage, for allegedly assaulting a crew member.

Anierobi Courage, better known as Nwa South, reportedly assaulted the head of makeup, Mary Chizzy Eze, on October 28, 2025, while on the set of the film “Lagos to Opulence.”

A trending video of the physical altercation showed the production manager pressing Mary’s throat after slapping her, an act that has sparked widespread outrage on social media.

Reacting to the public condemnation, the Nigeria Film Crew Community (NFCC), in a statement released on Thursday, described Courage’s actions as “animalistic behaviour.”

Announcing his arrest, NFCC called on Nollywood producers and other stakeholders to blacklist Courage across all productions.

“The production manager violently hit and strangled Mary Chizzy Eze for speaking up against unequal treatment among the crew. While she has received medical care, he has been arrested.

“This level of disregard for human dignity is unacceptable. We stand firmly against all forms of abuse, assault, and crew maltreatment,” the NFCC said.

News

‘EFCC Collected N10m Before They Released Me’ – Oladips Alleges [VIDEO]

Published

20 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Popular Nigerian singer, Oladips has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of collecting N10 million from him.

The rapper made this known nearly a year after he was arrested by EFCC during a midnight raid in his estate.

Oladips was arrested with some of his neighbors for alleged fraud in November 2024.

He was released after spending five days in detention.

Speaking about his experience with the EFCC, Oladips in his latest interview on Trending podcast, stated that nothing was found on him after the EFCC investigations.

While revealing that the EFCC collected N10 million from him before his release, he lamented that “Nigeria just happened to me”.

“It’s just one smelling place like that. They just packed us there like sardines and they gave us nonsense food. Funny enough it was Zlatan that was sending me food. Zlatan is not even a friend, that’s my blood.

“He was sending someone to buy good food for me because the food there is bad. They just packed us there like sardines. I’m not even supposed to be there first of all. Like, why did I spend four to five days there when you people (EFCC) didn’t find anything on me, not even a single thing. And they still collect N10 million from me before they released me.”

When asked “Is it a thing you can take up against the EFCC later, or you will just allow the sleeping dog lie?”, the singer responded “Who is my father?”

“Who is my father now? At the end of the day, who is my father? It’s just me and my truth. It’s not something I will want to. I don’t just know how the system works. I for dey their page now if to say I dey do Yahoo. They didn’t find anything on me. If they are watching this, they know that I’m saying the truth.

“They collected money from me before they released me. They didn’t find anything on me. So, what was the money for? What was all that stress and suffering for? It’s just Nigeria. Nigeria just happened to me,” he said.

https://x.com/i/status/1983504280972615813