Justice Sector: Looking Ahead in 2018
Last year, was quite an eventful year for the Nigerian Judiciary and the Bar. A change of baton at Prisoners from Kano Prisons, while the Governors and Chief Judges also did same in their States.Yet does 2018 hold for the Bar, the Bench, and the Justice S
Reflections on 2017
Through 2017, THISDAY Lawyer, frequently raised issues and proffered options about the unsatisfactory state of our justice system. We said that the Buhari administration’s three intervention areas – Security, Economic Growth and Anti- Corruption, would not be sustainably achieved without focus on our justice system. Uncoordinated Three Arms of Government
To be sure, the responsibility for undertaking the needed reforms is not the exclusive preserve of Mr. President, however, few will disagree that an important stumbling block to progress in the justice sector, is the tragic lack of coordination and cooperation between the three arms of government, even around the administration’s three- intervention areas. The existing schism between the Presidency and the National Assembly, has for the most part, led to the non- confirmation of nominees to important government institutions and agencies. The relationship between the executive and the judiciary, can hardly be said to be rosy. Salutary speeches by Mr. President and the Chief Justice of Nigeria on the need for collaboration, have not translated into concrete deliverables. Plea for Presidential Leadership
While Mr. President does not have the exclusive preserve on matters of administration of justice, it is our considered view that the responsibility for achieving coherence and coordination between the three arms of government on matters of justice administration, rests with him. We have suggested that as a first step Mr. President should publish his vision for the justice sector. We argued that, there is a world of difference between what was published as a candidate of the All Progressives Congress and what should be published as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Needed: A Conspiracy of Three Arms of Government
We said that this vision statement, should be the basis for a meeting of the three arms of government, with a single agenda item namely, what type of justice system do we want for Nigeria? We advised that separation of powers should not be an excuse for inaction, and cannot by any stretch of the imagination mean that the three arms of government, should operate like three independent institutions. Indeed, we went as far as saying that if we are to make concrete progress in this sector, there should be a conspiracy of the three arms of government in support of the justice sector. Each arm with an unflinching commitment to delivering concrete reforms, within its own area of competence. A Year of Unmet Expectations
Truth be told, the experience of justice sector reformists through 2017, was one of unmet expectations. Regrettably, there has been a lot of talking and insignificant game changing interventions. It is simply frustrating, that many of the important proposals for reform have simply been ignored, or worse still, implemented in half measures.
With less than a year before the circle of politicking begins, it is unrealistic to expect any groundbreaking reforms in the justice sector. In our considered view, what is achievable, are those interventions that are largely administrative in nature and can be accomplished substantially with zero budgets. We have in previous write-ups, identified some of these interventions. Therefore, if what we have written reads familiar, it is because sometimes it is necessary to keep hammering away at the same issues, until we reach a tipping point. We repeat them here for emphasis: The Presidency
In 2018, Mr. President should provide leadership and direction for the justice sector. Specifically, Mr. President should convene a meeting of the three arms of government, with a single item agenda, on the state of administration of justice in Nigeria. An immediate outcome of this meeting should be an actionable 12- month activity plan, expressly stating who does what, within what time frame, and within a budgetary framework. Crucial to this initiative must be the publication of Mr. President’s vision for the justice system. National Council on the Administration of Justice
It is worth repeating that, the goal of a justice system capable of upholding the principles of the rule of law, remains largely a challenge, due in large part to a fragmented institutional structure and the resulting lack of coordination among the numerous levels of government and relevant justice institutions. The idea of a single forum in which the three arms of government, agencies with a justice sector mandate, and civil society organisations meet to discuss and agree on concrete interventions for the justice sector, has long been proposed.
We urge President Buhari to consider the inauguration of National Council on Administration of Justice, to provide high-level policy making, implementation and oversight of interventions in the Justice Sector. Its mandate should be to ensure a coordinated, efficient, effective and consultative approach in the administration of justice, and reform of the justice system. The Judiciary
In a number of write -ups, we raised concerns about Mr. President’s frequent calling out the judiciary. We said that blaming the judiciary for all the things wrong with the justice sector, is as unfair as it is unhelpful. Things like the absence of forensic analysis; the underfunding of the DPP’s office within an underresourced Justice Ministry; poor evidence gathering; an archaic legislative regime to mention a few, are some of the things that the judiciary has no control over, but for which it always seems to take the blame for. The judiciary, should only be accountable for the things that the Judiciary controls. Judicial reform and Justice sector reform are not the same. In as much as judicial reform is desirable, what Nigeria needs is a holistic reform of the justice sector. The difference is significant, and it will be a mistake to confuse or equate the two. Another unmet expectation
2017 also witnessed the inauguration of a new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). Given the hue and cry that surrounded the delay in the confirmation, it is reasonable to assume that the administration of the judiciary will not be the same. We eloquently made out a case for many specific and practical judicial reforms, for the consideration of the CJN. However, no effort has been made to implement them. We said that the CJN has to take the judiciary in a different progressive direction. In a direction never seen before, in the history of Nigeria. As a starting point, we proffered that the disconnect between the judiciary and the citizenry, needs to be dealt with. We suggested that the CJN publish his agenda for the judiciary. At the very least, this will enable better understanding and appreciation of proposed and ongoing measures, aimed at Increasing access to justice for the citizenry, reducing delay, enhancing accountability through structural changes and setting benchmarks. Breaking down Conservative Barriers
We also proposed that the CJN, should rightly take his place as the Chief Justice of Nigeria and not just of the Supreme Court. Breaking down barriers of judicial conservatism should include, on the spot visits to State Judiciaries. Majority of Nigerians do not live in Abuja. Periodic visits to State Judiciaries including lower courts, will provide an opportunity for the CJN to see first-hand the quality of justice being served Nigerians.
We note that the idea of National Council on Administration of Justice, is one idea that appears to resonate with the CJN, given the Term of Reference of the Bilikisu Bashir Committee on Judicial Reform. “Exploring areas of comparative advantage and mutual cooperation between the three arms of government”. We again commend this suggestion to the CJN. Judicial Corruption
We said that the discussion around judicial corruption, ignores the issue of fair and adequate conditions of service for judicial officers. It is ridiculous and unrealistic, to continue to insist that a call to the Bench, is one to national service and penury. We argued that conditions of service of judicial officers, must be set at a comparatively high public-service level, in order to remove both the temptation to corruption and public contemplation of the possibility of such temptation.
The guarantee of adequate conditions of service, is not meant for the benefit of the judiciary alone. Rather, financial security, is a means to the end of judicial independence, and is therefore, for the benefit of us all. We called for a review of judicial salaries, pensions and benefits, as an important component of judicial reform. To achieve this in concrete terms, we proposed an Independent Judicial Benefits and Compensation Commission appointed by the President in consultation with State Governors, to undertake a comprehensive review of salaries, allowances and benefits of all judicial officers in Nigeria, including lower court judges. The Commission should be required to submit a report with its recommendations to the National Council of States, for deliberation and implementation. We now call on the CJN to support this proposal. A Plea for Direction
All our appeals to the CJN, is to articulate and provide direction, leadership for the needed reforms in the justice sector. In the words of His Lordship on the occasion of the submission of the report of
the Bilikisu Bashir Committee on Judicial Reform “.... it is our duty to lay the first foundation for solving our problems; nobody can come from outside to salvage the Nigerian Judiciary. The solution must come from within us. We have to do so, because if we don’t do so, the whole edifice will fall on our heads, and we will have ourselves to blame”. Nigeria Police Force Worst in the World
2017, was the year the Nigeria Police Force was declared the worst in the world. Of 127 countries measured in the World Internal Security and Police Index, Nigeria’s Police Force was ranked as the worst, just below DR Congo, Kenya and Uganda to make up the bottom four. The index, a collaboration between the International Police Science Association and the Institute for Economics and Peace, focuses on how much resources each nation devotes to internal
Apex Court and new Chief Judges for several States, including Lagos. President Buhari released 500 Prisons all over the country, remain overcrowded and in extremely poor unsanitary conditions. What last? What are the challenges and potentials of the Judiciary? How can the gains of some of the antim? Former Ekiti State Attorney-General, Mr. Olawale Fapohunda & Onikepo Braithwaite, former give a prognosis of what this year will look like, for the Justice Sector security, whether the resources are used in an effective manner, and whether the public view the police favourably. The index also assesses the current threats to internal security in each country. Nigeria has only 219 police officers for every 100,000 citizens—below the index median of 300 and the sub-Saharan Africa average of 268, according to the report. There is nothing contained in the said report, that has not been the subject of everyday discussion in Nigeria. Indeed, the only surprising development arising from the report, was the reaction of the hierarchy of the Nigeria Police and the silence of the administration. This unenviable ranking of the Nigeria Police Force, is as much an indictment of the Police, as it is of successive administrations.
There has been almost two decades of discussion on police reform, by government created committees and commissions. Previous governments implemented none of their major recommendations. The promise of the Buhari administration, of a radical overhaul of the Nigeria Police has not been met either. So far we have seen a tragic combination of limited reforms or no reforms, in BE TOLD, THE EXPERIENCE OF SECTOR REFORMISTS THROUGH WAS ONE OF UNMET EXPECTATIONS. RETTABLY, THERE HAS BEEN A LOT ALKING AND INSIGNIFICANT GAME NGING INTERVENTIONS" making the police relevant to the security needs of Nigerians. Even in the face of terrorist attacks on our major cities and villages, including rampaging herdsmen, kidnappers, violent armed robberies and the serious internal threat from Boko Haram, the political class continues to pay lip service to police reforms. Ideas on strengthening the intelligence gathering ability of our police, bringing about coherence and coordination between the police and different security agencies, enabling our cities with infrastructure to deter terrorist attacks, and most importantly, making police people-friendly, have been met with a lackadaisical attitude of political authorities, and are mired in politics.
2018 Interventions
In a previous write-up, we suggested six legal, policy and administrative presidential directives, for the consideration of President Buhari for managing the transformation of the Nigeria Police.
Directive 1: Direct the Ministry of Interior and the Federal Ministry of Justice, to draft a new Police bill. The new law should be aimed at facilitating human rights, gender equality, pro-poor policing, and enhancement of community policing. Further, the proposed law should emphasise transparency in the appointment of the Inspector General of Police through a meritocratic and competitive process, with a fixed tenure of office.
Directive 2: Direct the Ministry of Interior to review the reports of Presidential Committees on Police Reform from 1999, with a view to articulating their recommendations into an actionable agenda for police reform.
Directive 3: Direct the Inspector General of Police to undertake an audit of manpower, vehicles, training institutions and other resources of the police force, with a view to identifying and prioritising specific areas of need for appropriate intervention.
Directive 4: Direct the Secretary to the Federal Government, to formally appoint the National Human Rights Commission as Nigeria’s independent police ombudsman, with strong authority to receive complaints from the public on matters of police corruption including, abuse of power and extra- judicial killings.
Directive 5: Direct the National Orientation Agency to convene a national dialogue on the desirability of State police.
Directive 6: Direct the Secretary to the Federal Government, to convene an extra-ordinary meeting of the Nigeria Police Council to receive briefings and make inputs into the implementation of Directives 1-5.
Nigeria Prisons
2017, was the year President Buhari admitted that all was not well with our prisons. In his words,
“we need a new approach to prisons decongestion. It is a national scandal, that many prisons are overcrowded by up to 90 percent. Urgent new measures should be put in place to speedily decongest prisons, not only in the interest of justice but also to save cost for prisons maintenance and enhance the welfare of prisoners”.
It was also the year that, Mr. President personally supervised the release of 500 inmates of the Kurmawa Central Prisons in Kano State. This action was said to be part of Federal Government’s efforts at decongesting prisons across the country.
The administration also undertook three major penal reform interventions. The Federal Executive Council, adopted a memorandum by the Honourable Minister of Interior on prison reforms. The immediate result, was the increase in the number of prisoner transport vehicles available to the Prisons Service. The second intervention was the high level briefing by the Ministry of Interior to the National Council of Sates, on the role of States in prisons decongestion. Many States, see prisons as the exclusive preserve of the Federal Government. They readily point to the exclusive legislative list in support of their position.
We have said that it is difficult to rationalise the position of State Governments. Most States provide vehicles and other logistics in support of the police and other security agencies, without giving a thought to the needs of prisons. It seems simplistic enough to understand that, effective policing may invariably lead to the arrest, prosecution and possibly imprisonment of persons who come into conflict with the law. It is also to the credit of Mr. President, that he inaugurated a Presidential Committee on Prison Decongestion.
These interventions are without doubt significant; however, the frequencies of jailbreaks across our prison facilities, are a clear indication of the need and urgency for far-reaching reforms. In our respectful view, undertaking this new approach to prison reforms, cannot be the sole responsibility of the judiciary. The executive branch, led by Mr. President, should provide leadership to this "SO FAR WE HAVE SEEN A TRAGIC COMBINATION OF LIMITED REFORMS OR NO REFORMS, IN MAKING THE POLICE RELEVANT TO THE SECURITY NEEDS OF NIGERIANS" new thinking. We had previously suggested four interventions for the consideration of Mr. President. We commend them again as actionable interventions in 2018
Action 1: Direct the Federal Ministry of Justice to review the Prisons Act, with a view to proposing an amendment for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council. This is without prejudice to the several Prison bills in the National Assembly.
Action 2: Remove the Prisons Service from the oversight of the Ministry of Interior, and place it under the Ministry of Justice.
Action 3: Appoint the National Human Rights Commission as Chief Visitor of Prisons, with a formal mandate to conduct inspections on a regular basis, respond to complaints, investigate deaths in custody, publish independent regular findings, and make appropriate recommendations to the President and National Assembly.
Action 4: Direct the Federal Ministry of Justice In collaboration with State Governments, to undertake an audit of all prison facilities in Nigeria, with view to identifying persons who should not be in prison, for the consideration of the National Council of States.
The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation & Minister of Justice
The Attorney-General of the Federation on his inauguration, stated that his vision of administration of justice in Nigeria, is a system of justice that gives every person fair and equal access to justice and guarantees the dignity, rights and security of every person, regardless of gender, money or any other difference. Through 2017, the office of the Attorney- General of the Federation was criticised for the refusal of the Federal Government to obey court orders. The matter of Sheikh Ibrahim El Zakzaky, Founder of Islamic Movement in Nigeria, and his wife, has gained national and international prominence. There is also the matter of the continuing detention of former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
The inability of the Federal Government to speedily process detained Boko Haram insurgents, has also been the subject of discussion, especially within the international human rights community. The arrest and trial of a number of judicial officers, and the capacity of the Federal Ministry of Justice to prosecute the administrations anti-corruption agenda, were key issues in 2017. Progress was also made in a number of areas. The facilitation of a Presidential Panel to investigate allegations of rights violations in areas of military operation, was significant. Relatedly, the flag-off of consultations around a National Action Plan on Human Rights and the signing into law of the Anti-Torture Act, were positive developments.
Agenda 2018
The Attorney-General of the Federation, should complete and publish the national justice policy. A National Policy on Administration of Justice, should be the end product of a deliberate process of consultation between the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary, with the active participation of the States. The Policy should include a number of key policy priorities for example,
the needs of poor, vulnerable and marginalised groups; promotion and implementation of zero tolerance for corruption within the justice system; access to Justice; gender; linking human rights with security and appropriate funding.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, should achieve a quick resolution of the continued detention of Sheikh El Zakzaky and his wife, and that of Sambo Dasuki. Their continued detention in defiance of court orders, harms the reputation of the Buhari administration. A government with a stated commitment to the rule of law cannot detain persons indefinitely, in defiance of the court orders.