Section 326 Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) Lagos

Section 326 Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, as amended in 2021, is about Right of person imprisoned in default. It provides as follows:

(1) Where any person has been committed to prison by the Court for non-payment of any sum of money adjudged to be paid by an order, such person may pay or cause to be paid to the officer in charge of the prison the sum mentioned in the warrant of commitment together with the amount of the costs, charges and expenses, the Superintendent of Prisons shall receive same and discharge such person, unless he is in his custody for some other matter.

(2) In any case where under the last preceding subsection, a sum has been received in part satisfaction of a sum due from a prisoner in consequence of the conviction of the Court, such sum shall be applied firstly, towards the payment in full or in part of any costs or damages or compensation which the Court may have ordered to be paid to the complainant, and, secondly, towards the payment of the fine, if any, imposed on the prisoner.

(3) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) where an amount is paid towards a fine, the following procedure shall be followed—
(a) the imprisonment shall be reduced by a number of days bearing as nearly as possible the same proportion to the total number of days for which such person is committed as the sum so paid towards the fine bears the amount of the fine for which such person is liable;

(b) the Superintendent or other officer in charge of a prison in which a person who has made such part payment is confined shall as soon as practicable take such person before a Court and such Court shall certify the amount by which the term of imprisonment originally awarded is reduced by such payment in part satisfaction and shall make such order as is required in the circumstances:

(4) Where in the opinion of the Superintendent or other officer, the delay occasioned by taking such person before a Court shall be such that the person will be detained beyond the date upon which he should by reason of such part payment be released, such Superintendent or other officer may release such person on the day which appears to such Superintendent or other officer to be the correct day, endorse the warrant accordingly and shall as soon as practicable inform the Court of the action taken and such Court shall make such order or record as the Court shall consider to be required in the circumstances.

(5) In reckoning the number of days by which any term of imprisonment would be reduced under this Section, the first day of imprisonment shall not be taken into account and in reckoning the sum which will secure the reduction of a term of imprisonment, fractions of a kobo shall be omitted.

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