Orji Kalu Pushes For Criminal Justice System Reform After Prison Spell

Chief whip of the senate, Uzor Orji Kalu has proposed some amendments to the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) of 2015.

The bill is entitled, ‘administration of criminal justice act 2015 (amendment) bill’, 2020.

The was introduced on Wednesday after Nelson Ayewoh, senate clerk, read its short title.

The former governor of Abia state was released from the Kuje Correctional Centre on June 2. He had spent five months in prison.

The whip attended his first plenary session after his release from prison on June 9.

The bill is Kalu’s first since he resumed the plenary session.

Although the details of the amendment bill have not been made public, it may border on decongesting the prisons.

After the court nullified his conviction, Kalu lamented that over 70 percent of the population in prison are awaiting trial.

Also Read: BREAKING: Orji Kalu Regains Freedom As Prison Authority Releases Him

“I shall be dedicating my time henceforth to ensuring there will be justice for all Nigerians whether they are in Sokoto or Akwa Ibom or in Lagos or Maiduguri or in Jos or Enugu, or wherever they may be,” he said in a statement in May.

“A system whereby over 70% of all prison inmates population is made up of people awaiting trial cannot be allowed to continue. Situations where innocent people are falsely charged with murder just to get them out of the way does not dignify our country and cannot continue.

“Justice must now mean justice for all. That is my pledge to Nigerians.”