The effectiveness of Nigeria’s criminal justice system ultimately depends not on the existence of laws but on their faithful implementation. This study examines police conduct and arrest practices within Nigeria’s criminal justice system, with a particular focus on the 2015 Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015. The ACJA represents a significant legislative reform aimed at promoting efficiency, accountability, and protection of fundamental rights in criminal procedure. Despite these reforms, concerns persist regarding the prevalence of arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, and non-compliance with procedural safeguards by law enforcement agencies. Adopting a doctrinal research methodology, this paper analyzes relevant provisions of the ACJA and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), alongside existing scholarly literature, to evaluate the extent to which the Act has influenced police conduct in practice. The findings reveal a persistent gap between legal provisions and their implementation, largely due to institutional weaknesses, inadequate training of law enforcement personnel, corruption, and weak accountability mechanisms. The study argues that while the ACJA provides a robust legal framework for regulating arrest practices, poor enforcement significantly undermines its effectiveness. It concludes that meaningful reform in Nigeria’s criminal justice system requires not only legislative innovation but also institutional strengthening, enhanced oversight, and strict compliance with established legal standards. To strengthen police accountability and ensure compliance with the 2015 ACJA, the study specifically proposed the adoption of the ADPAS. This system will leverage technology to enable seamless, anonymous, and non-human-contact reporting of police misconduct while ensuring transparency and enforcement. This targeted reforms aimed at improving police accountability, strengthening enforcement mechanisms, and integrating technological solutions to enhance criminal justice administration transparency and efficiency
Tolulope et al. (Wed,) studied this question.