Section 252 Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) Lagos

Section 252 Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, as amended in 2021, is about Procedure on information of offenders. It provides as follows:

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Section, an information shall be filed by the Attorney-General through the Director of Public Prosecutions or by any officer in his department, or by any other person authorised under this Law to do so, before the High Court charging any person with an offence for which that person shall lawfully be tried.

(2) Wherever information has been filed in the Court, the Chief Judge shall take appropriate steps to ensure that the information filed is assigned to a Judge within fifteen (15) days of its filing.

(3) On assigning the information, the appropriate Court to which the information is assigned shall within fourteen (14) days of such assignment issue hearing notices to the witnesses and defendant and a reproduction warrant properly endorsed by the Judge in respect of the person charged if he is in custody for the purpose of ensuring his appearance on the date of arraignment, and the Chief Registrar shall ensure the prompt service of the notice and information not more than three (3) days from the date they are issued.

(4) If the defendant named in the information is in custody, the notice of trial and the information shall be delivered to him through the Superintendent of Prisons of the prison in which he is detained, and the warrant for his production shall be served on such officer of the prison.

(5) If the defendant is not in custody, the hearing notice and the information shall be served on him personally.

(6) Where it is impossible or impracticable to effect personal service of the hearing notice and information on the defendant, same shall be served on him, with leave of Court, through his legal practitioner, if any, or on his surety or sureties, or on any adult of his household, and such service shall be deemed to
be due service on the defendant;

Provided that nothing in this section shall prevent the defendant from being tried by reason only that the notice of trial and the information were served on him less than three (3) days before the date of trial, if he consents to being tried.

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