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Barrister Adaze Emwanta is the Special Adviser to Governor Okpebholo on Legal Matters. In this interview with FRANCIS ONOIRIBHOLO, he speaks on the recently established special criminal court of Edo State, how Governor Monday Okpebholo’s approach to tackling kidnapping and cultism has been unparalleled, demonstrating a unique commitment to addressing societal menace. According to him, unlike previous administrations, Okpebholo’s efforts have shown a remarkable difference in strategy and impact. Excerpts:
Is the Special Courts to try criminals, not supposed to be a Federal Law like the defunct Armed Robbery and Firearms Tribunal which was then a federal court?
Nigeria operates a constitutional democracy with a federal structure or if you like, system of government. Within that federal structure, we have a federal government at the centre and federating units at the subnational level, which we call states. The drafters of our constitution, in their wisdom, ensured that some important agencies or organs they created at the federal level are replicated at the state level. For example, the electoral umpire at the federal level, which we call the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is replicated at the state level to conduct local government elections. Also, federal courts like the Federal High Court, National Industrial Court, exist to deal with matters contained in the exclusive legislative list of our present constitution in Nigeria. While at the state level, the same constitution provides for courts like the State High Court, the Customary Court of Appeal, and we also have the Sharia Court of Appeal, for States in the Northern part of Nigeria. The present administration of Senator Monday Okpebholo just recently re-established the Customary Court of Appeal of Edo State. These are courts at the state level. It’s important to now highlight the offences for which the recently established special criminal court of Edo State was set up to handle, namely, the state offences of kidnapping and cultism. It’s a state law that has created these two offenses and as such they can only be tried at the level of the state High Court. The Federal High Court lacks criminal jurisdiction per say, but it deals with matters like terrorism and certain offenses contained in the exclusive legislative list that the federal high court has jurisdiction to handle. It’s important to add that the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court is sort of exclusive to federal matters, so that the Federal High Court cannot dabble into criminal matters at the state level and that is why murder cases related to armed robbery or kidnapping don’t go to the Federal High Court, but State High Court. Currently in Edo State death penalty is the ultimate punishment for the offences of kidnapping and cultism under two separate state laws prohibiting kidnapping and cultism in the state. So, to that extent it’s the Edo State High Court that has jurisdiction to handle those criminal cases, if they arise. Again this new Special Criminal Court meant to try kidnapping and cultism related cases, is under a special criminal division of the State High Court, presided over by a State High Court Judge. Kidnapping and cultism at the moment constitutes what the American jurists would call “a clear and present danger”, because it affects the very fabric of our society. What is then the primary duty of the government? Section 14 sub 2(b) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended states that, the security and welfare of the people is the primary purpose of government and that’s what informed the decision of Governor Monday Okpebholo to ensure that an executive bill was sent to the Edo State House of Assembly after he came into office as Governor on November 12, 2024, which placed kidnapping and cultism as offences attracting death penalty, because we believe that there’s a causal link between cultism and kidnapping. Intelligence study from recent investigations conducted Has shown that some kidnappers are also secret cult members and their membership of cult groups gives them the boldness to take up firearms for criminal activities like kidnapping for ransom payment.
It’s at the level of the cult groups that some of these things are agreed on and they illegally obtain firearms, because in the past in Edo State we had a government that encouraged cultism, but the present government headed by Senator Monday Okpebholo has zero tolerance for cultism hence the passage of the Edo State Cultism Prohibition Law of 2025. No matter who you ***are you’ll face the ultimate punishment, which is death by hanging if found guilty of both offences. The reason for the setting up of this Special Criminal Court was primarily to deal with the problem of delay in criminal litigation. The regular High Court was too busy with other cases and so there was need for a special court to be established and that is why the Governor wrote to the Chief Judge, indirectly asking him to exercise his powers under Section 69 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Edo State 2016, which allows him to designate a judge to handle special criminal cases as they arise. So, on the 1st of July this year, Special Criminal Court 1 started its hearing of kidnapping and cultism related cases.
Does a person convicted by that Special Criminal Court have a right of appeal?
Of course, yes. The right of appeal is a right created under the Nigerian Constitution. Just like any other case in the High Court, an aggrieved person or party has a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal. If there’s any further grievance by any of the parties, a further appeal will go to the Supreme Court in Abuja, which is the final bus stop.
What happens if the warrant for execution is signed by the Governor before the person convicted appeals against the judgment?
Once a notice of appeal is filed and other steps like the transmission of the records to the Court of Appeal is done that in criminal matters will operate as a stay of execution, but it’s only in the event that the person has accepted his fate by pleading guilty to the crime in court and failing to appeal within the period stipulated by law. When an accused pleads guilty to the offence of kidnapping under the Edo State Anti-Cultism or Kidnapping Law, it means he has admitted that he committed the crime and after that he’ll pay the ultimate price, which is death penalty.
Now that there is a special court and there’s a legislative proposal for state police, how will the two work simultaneously?
These new developments in our criminal justice system shows one thing, that gradually Nigeria is moving towards true federalism, because true federalism envisages a situation where whatever you have at the Federal level should be replicated at the state level, since that is the government closest to the people. It’s the state government that controls the local government, which is at the grassroots level root level. If we have Federal and State Courts just like in America whose constitution ours is modeled on, why can’t we also have Federal and State police? State police is premised on community based policing methods, as we have it in countries like Switzerland, United States and even Canada. In Nigeria of today, we’re gradually fulfilling the dreams of our founding fathers, whose original plan operating a truly federal system was punctuated by several military juntas, whose governance style was largely unitary in nature. Having said that, it’s important to note that the ongoing constitutional amendment to introduce State police in Nigeria will create a new vista for new state institutions like the recently Special Criminal Court 1 of Edo State. Their functions and activities will not conflict, but rather will complement each other.
Investigations conducted by the state police, where a prima facie case is established will be taken to the Special Criminal Court for prosecution and trial. So the delay previously associated with the single federal policing model, due to human, logistics and other issues would fizzle out with time. This time around the Governor as Chief Security officer of the State will now have operational control, he doesn’t need to call Abuja, he doesn’t need to take extra effort, because the people doing the criminal investigations are people from local communities within the state. The investigating police officer goes the extra mile in his investigation, because he knows the terrain and understands the language of the people in the place where the crime was committed. This further strengthens the court system and the issues of delay would have been dealt with. I don’t think the Special Court in Edo could have come at a better time than now, in view of the progress currently made by the National Assembly in amending our constitution to allow the existence of State police in Nigeria.
That was the missing link when we didn’t have state police, but now that the entire country has agreed, the 36 States governors in their recent meetings, irrespective of party affiliation, have said the moment the Constitutional amendment Bill to create State police comes to their respective state houses of assembly, it’ll be passed simultaneously in a single day. Thereafter, the president will assent to the Bill and it becomes part of the constitution. The president is in a hurry to deal with the problem of insecurity in Nigeria that is why already he set up a committee some days ago to develop and streamline the provisions of a National Policing Bill that will regulate the entire policing system in the country. There are talks about the provision of human rights safeguards, the structure the new two-tier policing system will take and other related issues to make the system fully operational.