RoLAC Tasks Edo State Police Command on Statement Taking Room.

By Lucky Isibor

The Rule of Law and Anti-corruption Programme (RoLAC) has tasked the Edo State Police Command on the use of the newly built Statement Taking Room it donated to the command.

The Edo State Coordinator of RoLAC, Miss Uche Nwokedi gave the charge on Wednesday, 24 August at the commissioning and handing over of the ultra modern statement taking room RoLAC built for the Edo State Police Command.

DCP Dantawaye Millar Gajere, representing CP Abutu Yaro cutting the tape to declare the Police statement taking room open while Hon. Justice Mary Itsueli looks on.

RoLAC programme in Nigeria is financed by the European Union and implemented in some states, including Edo, by the British Council.

The RoLAC Coordinator pointed out that the setting up of the statement taking room is aimed at ensuring that statements of suspects in criminal matters under police investigation are recorded electronically and that interview of suspects are done in compliance with standard procedures to eliminate what is known as trial within trial in Court and enhance speedy dispensation of Justice. 

Miss Nwokedi disclosed that RoLAC has trained about fifty Police officers in the state on the use of statement taking room in line with the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) of Edo State adding that it is expected to reduce the number of confessional statements being challenged in Court.

According to her, "one of the key provisions of the ACJL is the setting up of statement taking room to ensure that suspects' statements are recorded electronically and to ensure that the interview of the suspects are done in compliance with standard procedures and protocols.

"To ensure the effective take off of the statement taking room, RoLAC have trained fifty Police officers on interview skills so that the way suspects are interviewed will not be abusive and violate their human rights which sometimes results into trial within trial.

"It is our expectation that after today's handing over of this statement taking room we hope to see officers of Edo Police Command begin to utilise it effectively and also utilise modern interrogation techniques in interviewing suspects.

"We also hope that this is going to reduce the number of conffessional statements being challenged in Court under the grounds that they were not voluntarily given by the suspects."

In his remarks, the Chief Judge of Edo State, Hon. Justice Joe Acha thanked RoLAC for building capacities in the Justice sector in the state. 

The Chief Judge who was represented by Hon. Justice Mary Itsueli regretted the escape of justice by criminals on technicalities predicated on faulty statement taking.

"By this singular feat, RoLAC has given refreshing life to the cold letters of the statute for the benefit of all Nigerians, especially the common man who is often at the receiving end of improper Police procedure deployed in statement taking that we had before now. It is always painful to see criminal offenders escape justice on technical grounds predicated on faulty taking of their confessional statements or lack of proof of voluntariness as required by law."

The Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Wole Iyamu (SAN) in his remarks pointed out that the Ministry of Justice stands to benefit more from the statement taking room.

According to Iyamu who was represented by  Orobosa Okunbor (Esq), "I want to say that we in the Ministry of Justice stand to gain more from this project. This is because we're the prosecutors, we go through the rigors of trial within trial."

The Secretary of Edo State Justice Reform Team (JRT), Imonitie Omokhodion who is also the Edo State Programme Officer for RoLAC, while stating that the JRT is ensuring reforms in the justice sector in the state pointed out that the team has been championing the development of such facility noting that studies have shown that over 70% of criminal trials in the country, including Edo State take well over four and five years from start to finish because of trial within trial as "many suspects come to Court to say when my statement was being taken by the Police, it wasn't taken properly; I was beaten, I was tortured."

Thanking RoLAC for the donation of the statement taking room, the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, CP Abutu Yaro assured that the command will commence the use of the facility immediately. 

The Commissioner of Police who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, DCP Dantawaye Millar Gajere, appealed for training and retraining of officers of the command for effectiveness in the discharge of their duties just as he appealed for replication of the statement taking room in the Area Commands and Police Divisions across

 the state.

High point of the event was the handing over of the statement taking room by RoLAC to the Edo State Commissioner of Police represented by DCP Dantawaye Millar Gajere.

The statement taking room is equipped with modern gadgets including electronic recording instruments and a control room with close circuit television cameras.