Section 156 Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) Lagos

Section 156 Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, as amended in 2021, is about Procedure on alteration of charge. It provides as follows:

(1) If a new charge is framed or alteration made to a charge under the provisions of section 154, the Court shall call upon the defendant to plead and to state whether he is ready to be tried on such charge or altered charge.

(2) If the defendant declares that he is not ready, the Court shall consider the reasons he may give and if proceeding immediately with the trial is not likely in the opinion of the Court to prejudice the defendant in his defence or the prosecutor in his conduct of the case, the Court may proceed with the trial as if
the new or altered charge had been the original charge.

(3) If the new or altered charge is such that proceeding immediately with the trial is likely, in the opinion of the Court, to prejudice the defendant or the prosecutor, the Court may either direct a new trial or adjourn the trial for such date as the Court may consider necessary.

(4) Where a charge is so amended, a note of the order for amendment shall be endorsed on the charge, and the charge shall be treated for the purpose of all proceedings connected with it as having been filed in the amended form.

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