LEADERSHIP COURSE IN CRIMINAL LAW AND CIVIL JUSTICE COURSE 2

The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended guarantees the fundamental rights of every citizen, including equal treatment and protection of law and access to legal mechanisms and institutions (civil and criminal). Access to justice should be available to all. If equal justice under law is to be a reality, there must be equal access to courts, institutions, and legal mechanisms. An effective criminal justice system is fundamental to the maintenance of law and order.

There is an ongoing discourse regarding the apparent strain experienced by the judicial system, compounded by the demanding and intricate circumstances encountered by security agencies in their pursuit of justice. Presently, a discernible "crisis" concerning access to justice looms over the nation's legal framework. The accessibility to courts is characterized by exorbitant costs, protracted timelines, procedural complexities, technical intricacies, and challenges in comprehensibility, collectively deterring disadvantaged and susceptible individuals from availing themselves of judicial remedies. Justice should be made accessible for the accused, the society and to the victim. For a criminal justice to be effective, victims of criminal acts should be catered for