Lagos to halt 566 cases being prosecuted by police

The Lagos State Government has sought to stop 566 cases being prosecuted by the police, that are non-active in court up to 2015, TopNaija.ng can confirm.

It was gathered that the decision followed the review of the recommendations of the committee on the decongestion of non-criminal cases in the state high courts and magistrates’ courts.

The committee had recommended that cases that had become impracticable due to delays and attendant factors or were appropriate for plea bargain should be discontinued.

A statement on Wednesday quoted the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), as saying that the committee was inaugurated on February 21, 2020, to review the recommendations of the advisory committee on police prosecutorial power in magistrates’ courts.

The committee, led by Fola Arthur-Worrey, had recommended that the state government should review the role of lay police prosecutors in the criminal justice system of the state.

Onigbanjo, in the statement by the Director of Public Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Kayode Oyekanmi, stated that he had ordered the Directorate of Public Prosecutions to file a notice of discontinuation in respect of 566 non-active cases at the registry of the state high court and magistrates’ court after examining the committee’s first phase review.

He said, “On February 21, 2020, I inaugurated a committee to review the recommendations of the Arthur-Worrey-led Advisory Committee on Police Prosecutorial Power in Magistrate Courts.

“Recall that the Authur-Worrey-led committee, in its communiqué, recommended that the state government should review the role of lay police prosecutors in the criminal justice system of Lagos State.

“I have critically examined the committee’s first phase review and I have instructed the Directorate of Public Prosecutions to immediately file a notice of discontinuance in respect of 566 non-active cases at the registry of the state high courts and magistrate courts, and I have further directed the immediate commencement of the second phase of the exercise.”