Judges may face sanctions for delaying criminal cases

Ade Adesomoju, Abuja

Judges are likely to be queried and sanctioned if they fail to conclude criminal cases assigned to them within set time.

This is contained in the new National Judicial Policy inaugurated by the National Judicial Council in Abuja on October 24.

The NJP came into force earlier in April, 2016.

There have been instances before the advent of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, when criminal cases, involving politically-exposed persons or other influential Nigerians, dragged on for over a decade.

But the new NJP requests federal and state judiciaries to set targets for the completion of various categories of cases, including criminal matters.

Sub-section 2.5.2 of the policy provides that judges must be made to provide reasons for failure to dispose of criminal cases within the target time.

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