Business Post Contributor
By Sodeinde Temidayo David
The law enforcement agencies in Nigeria have been warned to stop parading suspects within the jurisdiction of the Enugu State High Court.
This caution was made by a jurist of the state high court, Mr Cyprian Ajah, at the ongoing three-day training on the Implementation of Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015 and Human Rights for Officials of Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigeria Police Force and Judiciary in Enugu.
According to the judge, parading suspects goes against fair hearing and the good ethics of the court.
Mr Ajah noted that parading suspects, even when they are seen in the face of the law as innocent, was equivalent to a media trial, which is unfair as it could result in mental torture for accused persons.
As stated by him, parading a suspect or the media trial of a suspect endangers the chances of the suspect getting a fair hearing in the minds of right-thinking members of the public.
The judge noted that the media trial ends up as a psychological torment to the suspect, especially if he is finally proved innocent by the court.
He added that mental torture was deeper and last longer than physical torture, noting that the constitution believes every accused person is innocent until proved guilty from the point of the law.
From his statement, when a person is presented before the public or displayed through the television, radio and newspapers, the public sees such person as a criminal and most times are treated as one.
The law interpreter stated that when the person undergoes court trial and is discharged and acquitted, there will be no opportunity of parading him again to say that he is innocent.
This, as a result, gives no opportunity for the change of face has the public have labelled a suspect to be a criminal.
“The innocent person in question continues to suffer torment and mental torture throughout his lifetime and become a subject of humiliation and scorn even among his own people,” he said.
Mr Ajah further stated that situations like these were unfair, which is bad as the constitution and the laws of the land are wholly against all forms of media and the sensational trial of any suspects outside the court.
He also called for a functional record system within offices of law enforcement agencies and courts in order to properly track activities of criminal elements in the society
Also at the event, the federal government was urged to increase the number of police personnel, adding that having a police strength of about 400,000 in the face of over 200 million people was grossly inadequate.
