The CLEEN Foundation on Tuesday urged journalists to strengthen their reporting on human rights, criminal justice reforms and women’s security as it opened a three-day media workshop in Kaduna.

Speaking at the event, the foundation’s executive director, Peter Maduoma, said the workshop aimed to build journalists’ capacity to report effectively on the Administration of Criminal Justice Law and the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

He said that although the ACJA and ACJL had contributed to reforms in Nigeria’s justice system, implementation remained weak in many states, with gaps in gender-responsive governance and accountability.

Mr Maduoma said the workshop would also share findings from CLEEN’s engagements across states and gather media perspectives on how justice actors can be held accountable. He commended the Royal Norwegian embassy for funding the project and urged participants to make the best use of the training.

The programme director of the foundation, Salaudeen Hashim, said Nigeria’s justice system remained poorly funded and slow, leading to prolonged trials, weak investigations and rising cases of detainee escape. He identified the lack of forensic laboratories, low manpower, poor monitoring and weak accountability as major problems.

Mr Hashim stated that although financing for ACJL implementation was largely government-driven, budgetary provisions often fell short, leaving courts, investigators, and prosecutors without adequate resources. He identified challenges including delays in dispensation of justice, crime-prone custodial centres, rising cases of suspects escaping from detention, weak investigations,

Mr Hashim urged journalists to track the 2026 justice sector budget, ask critical questions, and highlight implementation gaps. He urged the media to be analytical and investigative to drive reforms in the justice system.

In his goodwill message, the Kaduna coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission, Terngu Gwer, said the ACJL was a major reform aimed at protecting rights and improving transparency, and that journalists play a key role in ensuring its success. He said accurate reporting exposes gaps and strengthens public demand for justice, especially for vulnerable groups.

Also speaking, the chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kaduna council, Abdulgafar Alabelewe, described the workshop as timely, lamenting that journalists often lacked specialised knowledge to cover the justice sector effectively. He said the NUJ was committed to partnering with the ACJL Working Group and CLEEN to improve justice reportage in the state.

(NAN)