Nigeria’s Justice System Facing Lots Of Challenges – Malami

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister Of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, on Tuesday, said that Nigeria’s justice system was bedeviled by various challenges.

This, Malami said, was why the Federal Ministry of Justice was working tirelessly to bring lasting reforms in the sector.

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He made the remark at a virtual stakeholders roundtable reviewing the draft guidelines on plea bargaining for federal prosecutors.

The Attorney-General said if plea bargaining provisions were reviewed to reflect modern realities, it would pave the way for a better justice system in the country.

“As you are well aware, the Justice system in our nation is presently fraught with a lot of challenges which prolong adjudication time and most times frustrate parties.

“The effective deployment of Plea Bargain provisions will therefore, reduce the financial cost of prosecutions, hasten trial process, eliminate uncertainty of trials, enhance the quick return of stolen assets, and generally enhance the efficiency of the criminal justice system,” he said.

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As described by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, section 494(1), plea bargain is “the process in criminal proceedings whereby the defendant and the prosecution work out a mutually acceptable disposition of the case, including the plea of the defendant to a lesser offence than that charged in the complaint or information and in conformity with other conditions imposed by the prosecution, in return for a lighter sentence than that of the higher charge subject to the court’s approval.”

But the AGF held that the provisions still lacked, “any procedural detail to aid its application”, hence the need for the ministry and experts to brainstorm on best possible ways to enrich the final document of the guidelines.

“The purpose of the Draft Guidelines is to promote standardization and consistency in Plea Bargain (including compounding of offences) by Federal Prosecutors as well as ensure that the principles of accountability, equity, integrity, and transparency are observed in reaching plea bargain agreements across board.

“The Draft provides further support to the existing Code of Conduct and Prosecutorial Guidelines for Federal Prosecutors which generally regulate the conducts and actions of Federal Prosecutors in the exercise of their prosecutorial discretion,” he added.

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