Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Charles Mekwunye, has urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently address the nation’s ailing justice system by ordering the immediate release or arraignment of detainees held without trial some for over a decade.

Speaking at the public presentation of “Honourable Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, CJN, GCON Through the Cases”, a book co-authored in honour of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Mekwunye decried the unlawful incarceration of thousands of Nigerians, many of whom, he said, are behind bars simply because they are poor.

“These Nigerians are not detained because they are guilty, but because they are helpless and voiceless,” Mekwunye stated. “You won’t find the children or relatives of the President, Senate President, Governors, or Justices among them.”

He called on President Tinubu to issue an Executive Order mandating that all detainees held for over six months without trial be either charged to court or released unconditionally. He further advocated for state compensation and access to medical and psychological care for affected individuals, while demanding accountability from law enforcement officials responsible for such detentions.

Although he acknowledged that the issue of prolonged pretrial detention predates the current administration, Mekwunye emphasized that the responsibility to act now lies with the President. “You are the President of all Nigerians, including the poor languishing in prisons without trial,” he said.

The book launch, which celebrated the judicial legacy of Justice Olukayode Ariwoola—Nigeria’s 22nd Chief Justice and Chairman of the Body of Benchers also provided a platform for Mekwunye to highlight two critical issues confronting the Nigerian justice system: prolonged unlawful detentions and the improper use of confessions in criminal trials.

He strongly criticised the continued reliance on the outdated “trial within trial” procedure to determine the admissibility of confessions, despite statutory reforms introduced under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.

Referencing the Supreme Court ruling in Charles v. People of Lagos State (2023), Mekwunye noted that confessions must now be recorded electronically or made in the presence of legal counsel to be admissible in court.

“It is scandalous that trial courts continue to ignore this law,” he said. “Statutory law overrides common law, yet many judges still act as if nothing has changed.”

He called on the heads of courts present at the event to immediately direct judges to reject unlawfully obtained confessions and to uphold the rights of defendants, particularly those without access to legal representation.

“We are telling our judges: the law has changed—now you must change,” Mekwunye concluded.