Tag: Fagbemi

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice Minister Lateef Fagbemi has explained why the Federal Government is encouraging the use of plea bargaining in resolving criminal cases.

The AGF said the option, provided for in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015 and similar laws enacted by the various states, is intended to curb delays, reduce cost of prosecution and address congestion in prisons.

Fagbemi spoke yesterday in Abuja at the unveiling of Plea Bargaining Guidelines for Federal Prosecutors 2023 and a sensitisation workshop on the guidelines for judges, prosecutors and other stakeholders.

He said there were misgivings among Nigerians about the benefits of plea bargaining, arguing that its merits outweigh the presumed demerits.

The AGF noted that among the benefits of plea bargaining is that “it helps in the management of the caseload of prosecutors and enables the state to concentrate its limited resources on the cases considered more deserving of full prosecution”.

Fagbemi added: “When applied in compliance with stipulated guidelines, plea bargaining can enhance the quick recovery of stolen assets and proceeds of crime.

Read Also: Why Fed govt is promoting plea bargain in criminal cases, by Fagbemi

“It is also one of the mechanisms that can facilitate cost effective, timely and sustainable decongestion of custodial centres.”

The AGF explained that the negative perception often associated with the application of plea bargaining in serious and complex cases had made it imperative for the country to have a “standard guidelines for the implementation of plea bargaining provisions contained in our laws”.

He added that objective of the guidelines was  to, among others, “guide the prosecution and the defence in reaching a plea bargain agreement that is in the interest of justice, the public interest, public policy, and the need to prevent abuse of legal process”.

Fagbemi added: “Our conviction is that the guidelines, which we are unveiling today, will promote standardisation, enhance the effective implementation of the plea bargaining provisions in the ACJA and significantly contribute and stimulate overall efficiency of the criminal justice system in Nigeria.”

• ‘Justice ministry currently defending over 2,000 cases’
• AGF seeks National Assembly’s suppor

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has expressed discomfort about what he called the poor funding of his ministry and its agencies.

He said despite the huge responsibilities placed on the ministry, it was underfunded, besides suffering from poor release of its budgetary allocations.

Fagbemi spoke during his ministry’s budget defence before the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, yesterday in Abuja.

The AGF said his ministry was defending over 2,000 cases involving the Federal Government and its agencies.

He noted that out of the N8,010,130,587 allocated to the ministry for Capital and Recurrent Expenditure in this year’s budget, only N3,351,567,671.62 had been released as at the end of November.

Fagbemi urged the legislators to ensure that his ministry and its associated agencies got adequate funds to enable them function effectively.

He said: “From my first-hand assessment of the justice sector upon assumption of office, it is obvious to me that a major challenge in the sector is underfunding.

“This critical sector requires significant investments for us to drive the much-needed legal and judicial reforms, achieve satisfactory compliance with human rights, democratic governance, the rule of law, among others.

“In His Excellency’s (President Bola Tinubu’s) budget speech, emphasis was placed on defence, security, law enforcement, property and investments, amongst other critical areas.

“These are areas wherein the relevance and role of the Federal Ministry of Justice are extremely critical.

“Distinguished chairman and members of the committee, permit me to highlight some of the critical mandate areas of the ministry for which we are pleading and praying this committee to empower the ministry with further legislative and budgetary support.

“It is quite fundamental for the ministry to be empowered to drive the current administration’s roadmap for the justice sector (legal and judicial reforms), which is one of the vital priority areas under the President’s eight priorities/focus areas.

“The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation requires funding to perform its role of coordinating and oversighting the entire legal or justice sector institutions in Nigeria, provision of legal advice, review/vetting of agreements and treaties, etc. 

“In the outgoing budget cycle for 2023, the ministry was allocated N3,321,283,533.00 as Capital Budget and N4,688,847,054.00 as recurrent budget.

“At the moment, and with less than 30 days to the end of the financial year, the ministry has only had releases of N617,456,896.00 for Capital Expenditure and N2,734,110,775.62 for Recurrent Expenditure. The foregoing has greatly constrained the performance of the ministry in its mandate areas.

Read Also: Amina Augie an exemplary jurist, says Fagbemi

“I wish to note that the process of prosecution of terror suspects and entities entails considerable funding, inclusive of catering for the logistics and welfare of prosecutors, support staff, witnesses, and provision of security for the trial, etc.

“In order to ensure the security and confidence of the judicial officers coupled with the location of the trial, the ministry is required to deploy enormous resources for transportation and other logistics.

“The ministry is also spending considerable resources on provision or upgrading of infrastructural facilities at the various venues to make them fit for purpose.

“I wish to note that there are huge backlogs of obligations which need to be cleared in order to sustain the current efforts of the ministry in reducing government’s exposure to judgment debts, as well as ensuring that implementation of government policies/projects are not hindered by litigation.

“It is to be noted that some of the unpaid claims, unfortunately, have been outstanding since 2007.

“The ministry is also currently defending over 2,000 cases, with huge potential liabilities, on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria and its MDAs. These cases require diligent prosecution and effective defence to avoid embarrassment and enforcement actions.”

The minister expressed the determination of his ministry to do its best in the face of several constraints.

Fagbemi added: “We are quite determined to achieve a paradigm shift in 2024. We have also prepared a brief, highlighting the performance evaluation of the 2023 budget and details of the 2024 budget proposals to guide this noble committee in its assignment.

“Whilst the ministry has been promoting the policy of having state counsel in the ministry to handle more cases on behalf of the government, there are instances where the need to engage senior external solicitors become inevitable. Thus, greater funding is required to increase the capacity and boost the morale of state counsel through regular payment of duty tour allowances, robe allowances, etc.

“The professional fees of the private solicitors also need to be settled. The ministry is also involved in defending the country in international litigations and arbitrations which are by their nature very expensive to prosecute or defend in terms of payment of administrative fees to tribunals, professional fees to solicitors, expert fees, etc.

“These cases usually arise after the closure of the budget preparation and passage process, which means the ministry is unable to make specific budgetary requests for funding the cases.”

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) disclosed on Tuesday, November 28, that the federal government has measures to prevent debt arising from judgments and arbitration proceedings against the government and its agencies.

Fagbemi said the measures became necessary in view of the increasingly rising debt profiles of government at all levels, which pose serious danger and challenge to our national economy and existence as an independent nation.

He explained that the initiative, which was midwifed by the Federal Ministry of Justice, is in the form of “a collaborative framework with specialist firms to enable legal officers, involved in drafting memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and other forms of binding agreements, acquire required skills to identify possible areas of dispute or liability, which could lead to avoidable litigation or arbitration costs and judgment debt.

“We are willing to extend the support to legal officers in the various states in order to strengthen their capacities in this regard.”

Fagbemi, who spoke in Abuja at the Body of Attorneys General (BOSAG) conference and meeting of the General Council of the Bar, tasked state governments to take advantage of recent amendments to the Constitution to develop their economy.

He said the amendments were effected through the Fifth Alteration Numbers 15, 16 and 17 Acts of 2023, to devolve powers to component states of the federation in matters pertaining to correctional services, railways and the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in areas covered by the national grid respectively.

The AGF added that “in the light of these constitutional changes, it has become imperative for states of the federation to take maximum benefit of these constitutional alterations by developing their legal and policy frameworks on these legislative items.

“In doing so, I enjoin the states to ensure proper structuration and delineation of their responsibilities by taking cognizance of the constitutional doctrine of covering the field, so as to minimize or avoid constitutional frictions.”

He also stressed the need for members of BOSAG to work with the other arms of government to strengthen the justice delivery system in view of its importance in sustaining the democratic process.

The AGF added: “As we all know, the effectiveness and functionality of the justice system has a direct effect on the overall development, stability and sustainability of any society.

“I urge my distinguished colleagues to ensure the full implementation of financial autonomy for the judiciary across our States as provided for under Section 121(3)&(4) of the Constitution, as a mark of our true and holistic commitment to the ideals of democracy and good governance.

“We should in this regard seek to robustly build the capacities of the Judiciary, both in terms of personnel and infrastructure, particularly by investing in technologies that are necessary to automate vital aspects of our court operations and ultimately implement a digital justice delivery system.”

Fagbemi also stressed the urgent need to mainstream anti-corruption principles into subnational public administration.

He added: “One of the lessons I learnt from the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, 2017/2022 is the need to ensure that the strategy is adopted and driven at the subnational level.

“This is a move away from current efforts by Anti-Corruption strategies being driven solely by Law enforcement and regulatory agencies at the federal level.”

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Mohammed Monguno assured that the 10th Senate was committed to embarking on multi-dimensional reforms capable of repositioning the nation’s Judiciary to enable it to face the challenges of the 21st Century, frontally and in tandem with global best practices.

He urged members of  BOSAG to come up with ideas on areas of existing laws to be amended and new ones considered necessary to be enacted, particularly the debate on whether or not the office of the AGF and Minister of Justice should be split at both the federal and state levels.

Senator Monguno added:  “This meeting is apt and timely in view of the current challenges, which have bedevilled the country’s Judiciary and the need to, as a matter of urgency, address emerging legal Issues affecting the Nation, with particular reference to conflicting judgments, arising from Election Petition Tribunals and the Court of Appeal in recent time; the implementation of the Data Protection Act 2023 and factors affecting the implementation of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act 2015.

The chairman of the House of Representatives committee on judiciary, human rights and legal matters, Honourable Olumide Osoba urged members of BOSAG to work on ways to ensure equity in access to Justice by all Nigerians.

HR8 in our society and the Justice system is no exception.

Osoba argued: “It is our moral and constitutional duty to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their background or social status, have equal access to Justice.

“We must strive to bridge the divide and promote a more inclusive, equitable and just society. Our goal should be to provide a justice system that is not only fair but also sensitive to the needs of the vulnerable in our society.

“To achieve this, we need to adopt a multi-pronged approach that involves coordination and collaboration between all arms of government and civil society organizations.

“We need to invest in improving access to justice through legal aid, community-based paralegal services, and technology-driven solutions.

Read Also: Ariwoola, Fagbemi seek reduction in number of cases filed as Supreme Court

“We must also work towards building trust and confidence in the justice system by engaging with marginalized communities and addressing their concerns.

“Another critical issue that we need to address is the disproportionate representation of minorities in the criminal justice system.

“Studies have shown that individuals from marginalized communities are more likely to be arrested, charged and sentenced to longer prison terms than their counterparts.

“This system of discrimination is unacceptable and runs counter to the principles of justice. We must also focus on addressing the root causes of crime, such as poverty, inequality and social exclusion.

“By investing in education, healthcare, and social welfare, we can create a more inclusive and equitable society, thereby, reducing crime and improving access to justice.”

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has said that the federal government would resume the prosecution of detained terror suspects, including Boko Haram in two weeks.

Fagbemi said plans were in top gear to ensure a seamless process that will involve the combination of normal physical court trial process with virtual sittings.

The AGF spoke in Abuja on Thursday, November 16, during the opening session of the 40th Technical Commission and Plenary Meeting of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), an agency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Fagbemi said: “Efforts are on to resume the trial of those categories of people. And I think, in the next two weeks, it will be a different story. We are conscious of that issue.

“Facilities are being put in place. Apart from the regular physical mode of trial, we working on ways to ensure that virtual trials can also be conducted.

“This is intended to prevent delay. The government is not shying away from its responsibility of providing funds for this purpose. The idea is to ensure that we deploy adequate facilities to achieve this,” he said while responding to a question.

He noted that with increased funding, provision of necessary legislative framework, and improved facilities for relevant agencies over the years, Nigeria has made steady progress in its fight against money laundering, terror financing, arms proliferation, and associated crimes.

Read Also: Nigeria has derailed from vision of founding fathers, says Sultan

Fagbemi, who assured that the Nigerian government was committed to adding the fight against money laundering, terror financing, and related crimes, said the country has since 2021 seized N45 billion in illicit proceeds.

He said: “Building on the changes to our legislative frameworks, we have also invested significant resources across the institutions primarily responsible for protecting our financial system from the highest risk predicate offences identified, corruption, drug trafficking, fraud, and terrorist financing. In 2022, we increased the budgets for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency by almost 95 percent.

‘We now have over 1,500 officers dedicated to investigating and prosecuting money laundering across these three agencies alone.

“These sustained investment has seen increased numbers of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions consistently since 2021 with 5,118 investigations, 1,509 prosecutions, and almost 500 convictions secured resulting in over 45 billion naira of illicit proceeds seized.

“We have also made progress in tackling the financing of terrorism and in particular, I am pleased that we have identified and designated a number of individuals and entities linked to terrorist activity and seized funds linked to them.”

The Director General of GIADA, Edwin Harris Jr. noted that the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, and other forms of transnational crimes urgently requires coordination and cooperation with oneness of purpose in protecting the economies of member states of the ECOWAS and preventing other adverse activities to the security of the sub-region.

Harris Jr assured that GIABA will continue to work with both its members and partners in delivering on its mandate in a more meaningful way, using the collective expertise and shared vision of member states in strengthening their AML/CFT regimes.

He said his agency plans to equally engage in enhanced advocacy to political leaders on the urgency of demonstrating political will that trickles down at operational and policy levels for a more effective and robust fight against transnational crimes.

Harris Jr noted that “results from accessed countries thus far published from the second round show progress has been made in terms of technical compliance across member states, however, fundamental major improvements are required in terms of effectiveness.”

The Vice President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, Jeremy Weil hailed GIABA for the progress it recorded in its Effectiveness Improvement Action Plan (EIAP) and gave tips on how to improve on its activities.

One of such, Weil, noted, was for GIABA to continue to enhance the coordination and delivery of technical assistance and training.

He also urged GIABA to continue building institutional capacity, in particular by filling vacancies in the Evaluation and Compliance Directorate which will be a critical unit in the next round.

The President ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Toray assured that his organisation will continue to provide the requisite assistance to enable GIABA and member states to accelerate their compliance with international standards on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism and proliferation of arms.

The ECOWAS President, who was represented by his Senior Technical Assistant and former Finance Minister of the Republic of The Gambia, Mambury Njie, said states of the sub-region must do all within their powers to tame money laundering and related crimes in West Africa.

He added: “As a region, we cannot afford to relax as money laundering (ML), Terrorism Financing (TF) and other organized crimes threaten regional peace and sustainable development.

“The generally low level of effectiveness achieved by member states in their current round of mutual evaluation is concerning and has adverse implications for the regional integration agenda.”