AGF, Fagbemi Laments Release Of Only N617m Out Of N3.3bn Capital Budget For Justice Ministry

*As Ministry Prosecutes Over 2,000 Cases For FG

The Senate has been informed that poor funding is seriously hampering the work of the Federal Ministry of Justice and its parastatals.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said for instance, out of the N3.3 billion budgeted for the capital expenditure of the ministry in 2023, only N617.4 million had been released.

He also disclosed that out of the N4.6bn earmarked for recurrent expenditure, the sum released till date was N2.7bn.

Fagbemi, who was speaking before the Senate Committee on Judiciary in Abuja on Monday, noted that while inadequate funding remained a setback, the responsibilities of the ministry kept growing.

He cited the case of the war against terrorism, which required that the ministry should have a robust budget to cover judicial operations, including transporting judicial officials to different locations to preside over cases.

According to him, the ministry now needs an additional budget to charter aircraft to fly judges to locations in a bid to give them security cover.

He stated, “The Attorney-General of the Federation is also saddled with onerous responsibilities in the implementation of vital legislations including the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022, Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, Cybercrime (Prohibition and Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, Extradition Act, etc and other international treaty obligations.

“lt wish to note that the process of proscription and prosecution of terror suspects and entities entails considerable funding inclusive of catering for the logistics and welfare of judges, 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 charter aircrafts to air lift them. The Ministry is also spending considerable resources on provision or upgrading of infrastructural facilities at the various venues to make them fit for purpose.”

He also spoke on the increasing costs of maintaining state counsels, private solicitors and external professional hands.

The AGF added, “Whilst the Ministry has been promoting the policy of having State Counsels in the Ministry handle more cases on behalf of the government, there are instances where the need to engage senior external solicitors becomes inevitable.

“Thus, greater funding is required to increase the capacity and boost the morale of State Counsels 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 litigation and arbitration 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 request for funding the cases. There is therefore a need for the Ministry to be provided with adequate funding lines or reserves to address these cases.”

Fagbemi also informed the committee that the ministry was currently prosecuting over 2,000 cases involving it and its agencies with the attendant judgment liabilities, some dating back to 2007.

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

“The Ministry is also currently defending over – 2000 cases, with huge potential liabilities, on behalf of FGN and its MDAs. These cases require diligent prosecution and effective defence to avoid embarrassment and enforcement actions,” he said.