Remawa posted on July 06, 2009 13:09
The Federal Government will hold a Rule of Law Summit where it will unfold a major policy statement on key interventions in the administration of justice over the next two years.
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Minister, Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN, disclosed this today when he received the national officers of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), led by its President, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, who paid him a visit in his office.
The Summit, according to the Minister, would also serve as a forum for Government to share with relevant stakeholders, the understanding of the meaning and content of the rule of law policy, with emphasis on achieving reform in the Justice Sector.
The Minister therefore called on the NBA to collaborate with the Federal Government in these critical areas, adding that the administration of President Yar’Adua shared similar vision, and was operating on similar principles as the NBA and other civil society organizations.
Some of the programmes lined up to improve the Justice sector, he said, include a Prisons Stakeholders Summit coming up in August where a legal audit report of the project to decongest prisons and improve on all detention centres, in line with international standard, would be made public.
Aondoakaa stated that his office was presently working on the modalities for the establishment of an independent monitoring group on all detention centres, and requested the NBA to support this initiative and forward its nominees to serve in the group.
He said that Nigeria had been elevated to tier 1 by the US Government assessment in 2009, which meant she had full compliance with international standards on human trafficking, adding that Nigeria had also received similar rating and certification for other agencies such as the NDLEA and NCC.
The Attorney General further disclosed that Nigeria would soon present its National Action Plan on Human Rights to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, adding that the Plan stated concrete steps that the Federal Government would undertake to promote and protect the rights of Nigerians over the next four years.
The Minister expressed his hope that the visit by the executive members of the NBA signified a new beginning between his office and the leadership of the Association; one based on the principles of justice, rule of law and respect for human rights.
Speaking earlier, the NBA President, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, said the Association’s participation in the Rule of Law Summit, scheduled to hold later this month, was based on the need for clarification and shared understanding of the concept as it relates to administration of justice, anti-corruption, independence of the judiciary, and respect for fundamental human rights.
He called for the establishment of the Administration of Justice Commission, to provide an excellent platform to institutionalize the many Justice Sector reform initiatives across Nigeria.
Akeredolu expressed concern that the slow passage of the justice sector reform bills in the National Assembly might be due to a perceived lack of interest by the executive, as majority of them were private member bills.
Among other requests, the NBA President called for the probe and disclosure of those involved in the Halliburton scam, as well as the Attorney General’s support of ongoing NBA efforts at reviewing the Fundamental Human Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules.