Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has urged the National Association of Women Judges to provide practical and meaningful ideas that would facilitate justice delivery without sacrificing the well-being of vulnerable witnesses in the process

Osinbajo stated this in a goodwill message delivered on his behalf by his Senior Special Adviser on Research, Legal and Compliance matters, Prof. Bulkisu Saidu at “the Hybrid Virtual Conference on “Protection of Child & Vulnerable witnesses in Nigeria”.

According to him, such protection must not only address the overwhelming cultural and social norms and barriers to exposing criminals, but must also address the problems that the witnesses may face before, during and after trial.

He said: “At all times, the protection of their privacy and their identities should be paramount. It is not enough to pass laws for the protection of the child and other vulnerable witnesses, there is the need to have in place clear implementation and enforcement mechanisms aimed at actualising the intendment of the law.”

Prof. Osinbajo also stressed the need for appropriate protective measures for children, saying that the prevalence of sexual and gender-based offences against children has further brought to the fore the imperative of designing appropriate protective measures for children, who are sometimes the only witnesses to the offences” Osinbajo stated.

The President of the National Association of Women Judges, Nigeria, Justice Mary Ukaego-Odili, explained that the association consistently advocated for the protection of children and vulnerable witnesses, noting that no single legislation in the country provides for their protection in incidences of sexual abuses and other related offences.

She lamented that the hesitation by some states to domesticate the Child’s Right Act, which has been passed by the National Assembly, has created a gap in offering protection to children and vulnerable witnesses in Nigeria.

Speaking at a hybrid virtual conference in Abuja, with the theme: ‘Protection of child and vulnerable witnesses in Nigeria’ Justice Ukaego-Odili said: ”The essence of this Hybrid Conference on Child and Vulnerable Witnesses Protection in Nigeria is to create the awareness, stimulate discussions, cross-fertilize ideas and opinions and congregate experiences towards enhancing and charting a new course for child and vulnerable witnesses within the context of the Nigerian legal system.

“The context of this protection for Child and Vulnerable witnesses has become imperative having regard to the indices which has shown that Nigeria is behind in the protection of Child and Vulnerable witnesses when compared to her Commonwealth counterparts.

“It is important to draw the attention of all participants that no single legislation in Nigeria provides for the protection of Child and Vulnerable witnesses in Nigeria. The situation is further compounded by the challenge of defining who is a child under the Nigerian law. The Child’s Right Act has been passed by the National Assembly, however, some states of the Federation are yet to domesticate this legislation. This hesitation in domestication has in some ways put a peg in the process of development of practices and systems deliberately aimed at offering protection to child and vulnerable witnesses in Nigeria.

“Albeit, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 made some provisions for witness protection such as sections 231 and 232(1)(2)(3) regarding delaying in_ disclosing the identity of prosecution witnesses and sometimes a complete denial of opportunities of the Accused having knowledge of the address and other details of the witnesses testifying. It is imperative to point out that under the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act, offences relating to Economic and Financial Crimes; trafficking in Persons and related offences and; any other offence in respect of which an Act of the National Assembly permits the use of such protective measures or as the Judge may consider appropriate in the circumstances.

“Most Commonwealth jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and South Africa have all made credible advancements in this regard. It is in view of the lacuna and almost non-existent frame work for the protection of the child and vulnerable witnesses that the discussions in this Conference have become a sine qua non to drive law makers, legal practitioners and Judges towards a deliberate legal framework for child and vulnerable witness protection in Nigeria.”

Speaking with The Nation afterwards, Odili added: “Some of the witnesses, especially in these young children, as a result of memory and a lot of intimidation that may have taken place, when the matter gets to court five or seven years after the incident, you can’t get all the facts as they were. In fact, some times the facts are lost.”

In her address, the First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, said: “These days, cases of abuse have skyrocketed due to many factors including insurgency, banditry, and the COVID-19 lockdown. For as many of the victims that have found justice, many more have remained traumatised and unserved. Even those who have ventured to speak out have drawn opprobrium and stigma from the community and lack of compassion from the system that is meant to protect them.

“I understand that some of the recorded barriers in delivering justice to victims include unnecessary and long delays in processing cases in the courts, poor questioning practices and hostile physical environment in which the administration of justice takes place. It is my hope that these barriers will be addressed adequately by this conference.

“Various international instruments and a pantheon of laws on violence against women, children and other vulnerable persons abound, all of these dovetailing in the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015, which has provided a semblance of hope to victims. It is my ardent hope that the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of the Act will validate our expectations.”

In her remarks, the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, noted that recent surveys reveal that children under the age of 15 years constitute over 40 percent of Nigeria’s population and are considered to be one of the most vulnerable groups.

“A considerable level of effort is therefore required to ensure their survival, development, care and protection. The National Child Rights Implementation Committee is working very hard to coordinate issues of child protection in Nigeria,” she said.

Also speaking with The Nation, Justice Binta Nyako, International Vice President of Women Judges, said: “At the international level, this issue of child molestation came about not just from Nigeria but also from more advanced climes, because when they started shouting about it, then we the so-called developing countries started talking about our own.

“Internationally, what we are trying to do is to get United Nations to say something about it so that it can now become a policy statement, and so that states can now domesticate it. In the absence of that, domestically, we can be very innovative because the judiciary even though it is not legislature, has also some kind of legislative making power because once a judgement is given in a matter, then it becomes a law. If the judges are proactive and are able to take these things seriously, then we will be able to take it to another level.

“I know there are a lot of financial implication because if you are going to do witness protection and rehabilitation of the child, it revolves around finances. But sometimes we need to forego some things that are not too necessary to our lives and face those that are necessary. The protection of our children should be a priority over and above some other things that may not be that important.

“Witness protection has been provided for in the administration of Criminal Justice Act, but the facilities have not been put in place for the Act to even work. Where are the safe houses for the protection?”

endsarrrs:
Brb

Zeesugar:
Some of the witnesses, especially in these young children, as a result of memory and a lot of intimidation that may have taken place, when the matter gets to court five or seven years after the incident, you can’t get all the facts as they were. In fact, some times the facts are lost.”.
This is because of the fear of stigmatization

happy200:
This shows how backward some of this people are.
Science has gone beyond relying on people to come and testify against anybody now in Court.

rexesq:
I recommend a thesis by Solomon Ayangkong Ikongshul (2020), "THE DEFENDANT’S CONFRONTATIONAL RIGHT AND THE INTEREST OF THE ALLEGED VICTIM UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW"

It is a research work that covers that field. Even though it focuses on International law, it also delves into the national and regional jurisprudence on that issue.

Nkpitime:

What is the new way?

happy200:
For example through finger print you will detect a murder suspect. Instead of organizing people who will come to testify against innocent person.