Access to Prison Law Libraries as a Precursor to Effective Administration of Justice in Nigeria: Lessons from the United States of America

Abstract

A decade after the inauguration of the national working group on the reform of criminal justice administration in Nigeria by the then Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, Nigeria was presented with a newly signed law—Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), which was a direct response to the growing call for reforms that would address the plethora of problems confronting the administration of the criminal justice system in Nigeria. The 495-section law harmonized the existing two principal laws: the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), which hitherto governed the administration of criminal justice system across all Federal-owned Courts in Nigeria and the Courts within the Federal Capital Territory. Both CPA and CPC operated for many decades in Nigeria, but had many challenges, hence the urgency for the newcomer— ACJA.

Examining the status of prison libraries around the world: A literature review

“…Bamgbose (2018) points to the importance of law-related collections – an essential component of prison libraries. The purpose of the prison law library is to provide access to legal information for prisoners.…”

“…The libraries contribute to the acquisition of skills and to addressing both the psychological problems and attitudinal adjustment of inmates by helping them to manage their time (Omolola and Roseline, 2018). Bamgbose (2018) points to the importance of lawrelated collections -an essential component of prison libraries. The purpose of the prison law library is to provide access to legal information for prisoners.…”