The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) on Tuesday said the reform of the justice sector is at the heart of President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s developmental blueprint.
Fagbemi stated this at the opening ceremony of the conference of the Network of Justice Sector Reform Teams (JSRTs) in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
The conference was organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice with the support of the European Union-funded Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC II) Programme of the International IDEA.
“As you are aware, the reform of the justice sector is at the heart of this administration’s developmental blueprint. You may recall that one of the cardinal items on our Renewed Hope Agenda as an administration, is to drive judicial reforms to achieve sustainable socio-economic growth and investment, facilitated by rule of law, and to address the challenges militating against the administration of justice in our country,” Fagbemi said.
The minister, however noted that the pursuit of justice lies at the heart of Nigerians collective aspirations for a fair and equitable society, adding that,” It is a fundamental pillar upon which the rule of law rests, and it is essential for the maintenance of peace, stability, and social cohesion.”
He restated the commitment of the federal government to addressing challenges in the justice system, through strategic policies and other mechanisms that will have direct impact in improving democratic norms, rule of law, access to justice and minimum standards for the enforcement of human rights.
He said that the government has undertaken some reformative initiatives that drive critical reforms in the justice sector.
“For instance, I recently inaugurated the Presidential Committee for the Review and Update of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004 to identify obsolete laws and take steps to update and consolidate our laws. Furthermore, with the support of all stakeholders, the National Policy on Arbitration and National Policy on Justice have been developed as blueprints that outline the desired reforms in the justice sector,” he said.
The minister stressed that the National Policy on Justice, which identifies the root causes of the failures and inadequacies of the justice system, and its adverse impact on the nation were also crucial for the reform.
The Policy seeks to consolidate on various reform efforts and achieve inter-agency (institutional) cooperation and coordination. Its purpose is to achieve a consensus amongst stakeholders for driving holistic development of all processes, or components of the Nigerian justice system.
“We clearly recognise that Nigeria practices a federal system of government, which envisages a synergetic relationship between the centre and the sub-nationals otherwise known as federating units. It is on this basis that we continue to engage with our colleagues from the states, in order to come up with uniform strategies to address our common challenges,” Fagbemi explained.
The Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq while declaring the conference open said expressed confidence that the JSRT will address all pending issues on judicial reforms from a position of knowledge and patriotism, and in a way that strengthens public confidence in the judicial system.
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