Aftermath of the End SARS movement- focus on legal reform

By Julia Myron

It is imperative that we reconstruct our legal and judicial systems. We could follow the steps of countries like Cameroon that are rebuilding their penal code to create a more equitable society. Nigeria needs to start its development from the criminal justice systems as this is the backbone and foundation of any successful democratic institution. There needs to be an aggressive review that will implement human rights principles as a standard practice in our policing and detention programs.

Nigeria is at a pivotal point in our history where democratic ideals and human rights principles are at an all time low. Indeed, Nigeria has been ranked 12th by the fragile state index list curated by the Fund for Peace . Nigeria is currently experiencing a high level of insecurity such as terrorism in the North, banditry and kidnapping, conflict between the herders and farmers in the north and separationist groups. It is true that these conflicts have been caused by an increase in poverty, unemployment, and a vacuum in leadership. However, we must also acknowledge the lack of legal structures that has escalated the conflict in Nigeria. It is easy to complain about the president and political officers in Nigeria but the truth is that Nigeria has been a failing country even before President Buhari assumed office. This is not in any way an attempt to absolve him from blame, however, this article is an invitation to look deeper at the structural and systematic failures in our institutions that give bad leaders the ammunition to do the worst kinds of damage before their tenure is over.

The biggest examples of such structural failure is the criminal justice and judicial systems in Nigeria. The end sars protest of 2020 was a small manifestation of the problem in the criminal justice system. Police brutality, arbitrary detention, lack of adequate legal representation, torture and degrading punishments, poor prison facilities,corrupt judges, amongst others are some of the problems in the justice system. It is common knowledge that there cannot be peace without justice and strong institutions. Indeed a strong criminal and judicial system are the benchmarks of any successful democracy. Therefore, one has to wonder what kind of democracy Nigeria is when the criminal justice system is virtually non-existent. It is evident that the only people who have access to justice in Nigeria are the mega rich.

Of course, there are consequences to the inequalities in access to justice and these consequences are exhibited in facets of the society. For example, jungle justice is still widely practiced in Nigeria: this is a practice which dictates that a petty thief can be stoned, beaten or burned to death. It is clear that citizens do not trust the legal system to administer justice. This mistrust allows for anarchy and chaos in a society. Further, the conflict between the herders and farmers in the North is also proof of the failures of our legal system. Both parties should have the forum to cite their grievances in a court of law and have their disputes settled by judges; however, this has not been the case. Property law in Nigeria is highly underdeveloped. This is the reason why Nigeria is not the first choice for foreign investors e.g Twitter and other tech companies.

It is imperative that we reconstruct our legal and judicial systems. We could follow the steps of countries like Cameroon that are rebuilding their penal code to create a more equitable society. Nigeria needs to start its development from the criminal justice systems as this is the backbone and foundation of any successful democratic institution. There needs to be an aggressive review that will implement human rights principles as a standard practice in our policing and detention programs. There needs to be a robust anti- corruption program to be implemented for criminal justice workers including judges, lawyers and police officers. This will also include a reporting system for gross misconduct and a system of transparency for all civil officers. This reform program will take time and effort but the only way to save Nigeria from becoming a failed state is to revive its justice system.

Julia Myron is an International lawyer, Transitional justice practitioner. She has experience working in human rights advocacy across three continents.