The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, is to launch nationwide deployment and use of Virtual Court Proceedings in Nigeria’s Correctional Centres.
This is made known in a statement issued by Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations to the AGF, Dr. Umar Gwandu.
According to the statement, Malami is to launch the pilot project for the deployment and use Virtual Court Sitting facilities at the Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja on Monday 13th December, 2021.
It states that the initiative is one of the strategic interventions by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and indeed the Federal Government towards engendering lasting reforms in the Criminal Justice Sector in Nigeria.
The statement explains the development of the Consolidated Sentencing Guidelines (Custodial and Non-Custodial) Practice Directions, 2020.
It stresses that the development is part of the process to implement the Post-Covid-19 Justice Sector Plan marshaled out by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in April, 2020.
It adds that the Ministry in collaboration with the Presidential Committee on Correctional Reforms and Decongestion expedite engagement with the Nigerian Correctional Centres to make it possible for evidence of suspects in custody to be taken without their physical presence in court to avoid disruptions.