Judges need chartered flight for safety at terror zones, Fagbemi says at budget defense
Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, has stated that judges delivering judgements in terror flag zones need chartered aircraft to assure their safety.
Fagbemi stated that his ministry requires additional resources to carry out its duties, particularly in defending the nation in international arbitrations that are “expensive,” during his Monday appearance before the Senate Committee on Judiciary in Abuja.
“I 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,” he said.
“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 aircraft to airlift them.
“The ministry is also spending considerable resources on the provision or upgrading of infrastructural facilities at the various venues to make them fit for purpose.
“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 AGF requires funding to perform its role of coordinating and overseeing the entire legal or justice sector institutions in Nigeria.
“The AGF 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.”
The ministry was given N3,321,283.533 as capital budget and N4,688,847,054 as recurrent in the 2023 budget, according to Fagbemi. However, he pointed out that just N617,456,896 was granted for capital expenditures and N2,734,110,775.62 as recurrent.
The AGF continued by saying that if the justice ministry had adequate funding, Nigeria would benefit the most from it.
“The foregoing has greatly constrained the performance of the Ministry in its mandate areas, and we are quite determined to achieve a paradigm shift in 2024, wherein the Ministry has been allocated N5,341,356,849.00 as capital expenditure and N8,860,880,311.10 as recurrent expenditure in the 2024 budget proposal,” he said
