President Bola Tinubu, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), expressed on Wednesday the determination of the present administration to give a fresh direction to the justice sector in the country through a holistic overhaul of the sector.
They made the commitment in Abuja at the opening of a two-day National Summit on Justice 2024 with the theme, “Repositioning the Justice System: Constitutional, Statutory, and Operational Reforms for Access and Efficiency.”.
The president, Tinubu, represented by the vice president, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, said the administration is committed to ensuring a just society that will support and encourage investments.
The president therefore directed all Justice sector institutions to cue into the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Federal Government, which is targeted at repositioning and strengthening the justice sector to enhance access, transparency, accountability, fairness, and efficiency.
He said the welfare of judicial officers and the justice sector remains his top priority and urged the leadership of the justice sector institutions to chart a new course in ensuring improved access to justice and efficient justice delivery.
Earlier in his speech, Senate President Godswill Akpabio recommended prompt and decisive punishment for judges found to have misused judicial powers in granting ex-parte orders in political matters.
Akpabio called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to exercise stringent oversight on the activities of Judges, adding that the Senate wants the NJC to establish clear and detailed standards governing the issuance of ex-parte orders, accompanied by a defined set of sanctions for violations.
He said the sanctions should be severe enough to serve as a deterrent against future abuses and the NJC should conduct regular audits and reviews of ex-parte orders issued by Judges to ensure compliance with established standards.
He said, “This proactive approach will help in identifying patterns of abuse early and in administering corrective measures promptly.
“In addition to punitive measures, we also emphasise the importance of ongoing training and education for judges on the ethical and responsible use of judicial discretion in issuing ex parte orders”, he added.
The Senate President
assured of his commitment in ensuring that thoughtful and transformative justice reforms are seamlessly integrated into the ongoing amendments to the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
“This integration will not only fortify our constitution and electoral framework but will also ensure that justice—both in letter and in spirit—becomes more attainable for every Nigerian”.
While calling on the judiciary to harness the potential of technology within the judicial processes to enhance speed and transparency, Akpabio said that the Senate is committed to budgeting for the implementation of judicial reforms that will include the adoption of digital tools to manage cases more effectively and ensure that justice is neither delayed nor denied.
Akpabio also called for a reform in the approach to interlocutory appeals in civil cases to avoid unnecessary delays, prolong litigation and burden the courts in the country.
The Senate President said all appeals in civil cases should be taken only after the conclusion of the substantive case.
This change, he said, will accelerate judicial processes, reduce backlog, and ensure that litigations are not unduly prolonged by intermediate appeals.
In his speech, Fagbemi said the Federal Government is committed to fashioning a clear strategy that will reposition and strengthen the justice sector for greater access, transparency, accountability, fairness, and efficiency in the entrenchment of the rule of law in Nigeria and the administration of justice in general.
The AGF said one of the cardinal items of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration is to drive judicial reforms to achieve sustainable socio-economic growth and investment, facilitated by the rule of law, and to address the challenges militating against judicial development in the country.
This, he said, will ensure ease and efficiency in service delivery and will significantly boost awareness and access to justice for persons seeking administrative or judicial remedy.
“The justice sector under my watch will continue to push for mutuality in the formulation and implementation of the National Policy on Justice and the National Judicial Policy.
“In furtherance of the above, we are developing draft constitution amendment bills that are aimed at achieving the aims of improved access to justice, deepening the independence and capacity of the judiciary, and eliminating delays in the administration of justice, among others.”.
The summit, he said, promises to be a turning point in the advancement of the judicial critical sector of the nation, adding that every country or organisation desirous of sustainable socio-economic development must place a premium on matters of law and justice.
“Specifically, it enables us to measure the impact of the reforms initiated by the National Policy on Justice (2017–2023) in the key areas of administration of justice, law enforcement, judicial proceedings, correctional services, restorative and traditional justice, legal education and practice, etc.”.
Highlighting some of the key interventions proposed to be pursued in the Revised National Policy on Justice, 2024, Fagbemi said that the policy seeks to promote and protect human rights and access to justice, which are essential features of a functional justice system.
“It proposes practical and sustainable interventions in the implementation of statutory provisions encouraging the protection of human rights and access to justice, among others,” he added.
The keynote speaker and former Chief Justice of Kenya, Dr. Willy Mutunga, said in his speech that Nigeria’s constitution needs to be overhauled.
He added that the country’s judicial system should be reformed to enable people to have access to the court.
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), who spoke at the event, called on judges to remain focused and discharge their duties without fear or favour.
In his speech, the CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, commended President Tinubu for his support of the judiciary, adding that there is a need for repositioning the justice sector to see to it that justice is not only done but seen to be done.
Justice Ariwoola urged judicial officers to leverage technology to avoid delays in justice delivery, adding that upholding the independence and impartiality of the judiciary is paramount.
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