The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has launched the Rivers State Plea Bargain Guidelines as part of efforts to strengthen the administration of criminal justice and ensure fair and efficient dispensation of justice in the state.
Justice Amadi said this during the event organised by the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Council, Rivers State, at the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt.
The Chief Judge, represented by Justice Augusta Kingsley-Chuku said the guidelines would help reduce unnecessary delays in criminal proceedings and promote better utilisation of judicial and prosecutorial resources.
According to him, efficiency must not be pursued at the expense of fairness, stressing that the process must be guided by transparency, accountability, due process and respect for the rights of all parties.
He said plea bargaining, when properly applied, was not a compromise of justice but a recognised mechanism for facilitating the timely and efficient resolution of appropriate criminal matters.
In her address, the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Justice, Ibisoye Lolomari-Nwankwo, said plea bargaining, when properly applied, was not a compromise of justice but a recognised mechanism for facilitating the timely and efficient resolution of appropriate criminal matters.
She said the guidelines were designed to promote consistency in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion and provide clear guidance to stakeholders involved in plea bargaining.
“Plea bargaining, when properly applied, is not a compromise of justice. Rather, it is a recognised mechanism for facilitating the timely and efficient resolution of appropriate criminal matters, reducing unnecessary delays and making better use of our judicial and prosecutorial resources”.
Lolomari-Nwankwo also called for the cooperation of the Judiciary, Ministry of Justice, law enforcement agencies, Correctional Service, the Bar and other stakeholders for effective implementation of the guidelines.
She commended the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Council for its commitment to criminal justice reform, noting that the guidelines were the outcome of extensive research and work aimed at improving justice administration in the state.
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Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the Rivers State Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Council, Chief Magistrate Ilanye Brown, said the guidelines would provide a structured framework for prosecutors and defendants to negotiate the resolution of appropriate criminal cases.
Brown explained that plea bargaining could help prevent cases from remaining in court for many years where the conditions for the process were met.
“If you know that you actually committed an offence and there is no point going through the technicalities, you can own up and then ask for mitigation in one way or the other. Instead of taking 10 or 15 years to prosecute the crime, you can negotiate with the prosecutor,” she said.
She, however, stressed that plea bargaining was subject to conditions prescribed by law, particularly in cases involving serious offences.
According to her, the new guidelines apply across different stages of criminal proceedings and are not limited to private arrangements between prosecutors and defendants.
She said the court must be carried along throughout the process, whether plea bargaining is initiated before a charge is filed or while a matter is already before the court.
Brown also said the guidelines provided for more appropriate and conducive venues for plea-bargaining discussions, rather than restricting such engagements to the office of the Attorney-General or state prosecutors.
The Executive Secretary urged criminal justice stakeholders to study and comply with the guidelines, stressing that their effectiveness would depend on practical implementation.
“The provisions should not just remain in books. We must put them into practice if we want to improve the criminal justice system and build a better society,” she said.
She identified speedy resolution of criminal cases as one of the major objectives of plea bargaining, alongside other reforms, including the use of technology, aimed at improving the efficiency of criminal justice administration.
