President Bola Tinubu has moved to reshape the way justice is administered in Nigeria, sending lawmakers a proposal that could rewrite the rules governing the country's courts. According to Channels Television, the president transmitted a legislative proposal to the Senate seeking to reform the country's criminal justice system, placing the issue squarely on the agenda of the National Assembly.
At the heart of the proposal is a wholesale replacement of the existing law. As reported by Channels Television, the bill seeks to repeal the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015 and enact in its place a new Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2026, a step designed to strengthen the country's criminal justice framework rather than simply amend the current statute.
One of the most significant features of the bill is the creation of a new oversight body. Channels Television reported that a key provision is the establishment of a Criminal Justice Monitoring Council, which would oversee the implementation of the law in courts within the Federal Capital Territory as well as other federal courts across the country, giving the system a dedicated mechanism to track how the law is applied.
The president set out the reasoning behind the proposal directly to lawmakers. According to Channels Television, in a communication to the Senate during plenary, Tinubu said the proposed legislation is designed to address procedural gaps and long-standing challenges that have hindered the speedy dispensation of justice, issues that have long been a source of concern within the Nigerian judicial system.
Beyond closing those gaps, the bill also looks to modernise the justice system. As reported by Channels Television, the proposed legislation seeks to align the Nigerian criminal justice system with emerging developments by promoting the use of technology, introducing innovative measures and enhancing the effective implementation of the law by the relevant institutions.
The proposal now enters the parliamentary process, where it will be scrutinised in detail. According to Channels Television, the proposed legislation is to undergo legislative consideration by the Senate's Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, the panel that will examine the text before any further steps are taken towards passage.
If enacted, the measure would mark the most substantial reworking of the framework introduced a decade ago under the 2015 Act. Channels Television reported that the drive to speed up justice, plug procedural loopholes and embed modern tools reflects an attempt to make the system more efficient, with the outcome now resting on how the Senate handles the bill in the weeks ahead.