More On Abubakar Malami, The Judicial Reforms And Accomplishments During His Tenure As Minister Of Justice -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

Having stated my purpose of writing on the achievements of Abubakar Malami, SAN, the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice while in office in my earlier essays, I intend to continue the series till further notice. As earlier stated, while Malami functioned as the Nigeria’s chief law officer, his policies and actions were guided by national interest. He was interested in national unity, devolution of power and revenue sharing and stability of the nation. His main focus was the reform in the justice sector, law reforms through legislations, and the improvement of our legal jurisprudence through sound judicial decisions. He was also very much interested in the welfare of legal and judicial officers including the payment of pension for retired judicial officers knowing that that is essential for the growth and stability of our legal system.

On the law reform, Abubakar Malami inaugurated members of 9^th Commission of the Nigerian Law Reform on the 10^th of September, 2020 for the purpose of reviewing the nation’ existing law to ensure that the Nigerian legal system reflects the nation’s existence in view of dynamism and contemporary realities.. The Minister charged the Commission to ensure that all the rules and regulations relating to management of the human, material and financial resources of the Commission are adhered to in accordance to the objectives of the Federal Government, as contained in Section 8(1) (c) of the Act. According to the erstwhile minister, “generally speaking, we are not only changing/amending the obsolete laws, but coming up with new ones that are dynamic, that can stand the taste of time and that factor in dynamics associated with developments in technology and otherwise. We will ensure that all laws that deserve to be reviewed are reviewed”.

As an officer in the temple of Justice and a firm believer in democratic tenets, Abubakar Malami, believes in dialogue as a means of conflict resolution and “an avenue for cross-fertilization of ideas,” as he would put it. During his tenure, the nation’s former foremost law officer encouraged both the Federal and State Governments to continue to dialogue on perceived issues of dispute like: “sharing of Stamp Duties collections, Value Added Tax, NFIU Guidelines, regulation of the mining and gaming industry and other issues relating to policing and security”. He also believes in effective stakeholders’ engagement as a tool for governance. Thus, he consulted widely and worked with the Body of Attorneys-General (a platform for the AG of the Federation and AGs of the 36 States to meet and deliberate on pertinent legal issues affecting the nation and explore areas of mutual concern).

He knows the importance of synergy and coordination within the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the need for proactive and speedy execution of government functions, so he encourage the use of executive order where necessary to implement important and urgent government business. Executive orders are directives issued from the president for the effective operation of government business and enforcement of the law. It is effective for enforcing priorities, speedy control and emergency and disaster management. Executive orders do not replace existing laws but compliments them and ensure inter-agency coordination in the process of implementation of the law. They are required to ensure constitutional compliance, complementing existing legislations, ensuring and enhancing operation, enforcement and application of the provisions as well as providing necessary supervision required for the enforcement. In 2020, there was an executive order issued for the implementation of Financial Autonomy of State Legislature and State Judiciary.

In line with the principles of effectiveness and synergy in carrying out government activities and with the increasing need to ensure prompt and effective management of legislative agenda of government, the Attorney General of the Federation worked with the leadership of the National Assembly to set up a joint coordinating committee for review of bills. The committee aimed to proactively avoid delay in responses to bills and to ensure prompt assent to bills that improve the economy and address security and infrastructure challenges in the country.

In addition, Malami was interested in the human rights and the protection of the vulnerable groups. He inaugurated the Inter-Ministerial Gender Based Violence Management Committee for the purpose of supervising the review of all the existing laws, providing a comprehensive and appropriates support services to ensure that victims and survivors of sexual offences are not subjected to further stigmatization and trauma among others.

As part of measures to decongest the Custodial Centres nationwide in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the dangers posed to the centers, the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy, Federal Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, State Executives and other relevant stakeholders were able to release over 7000 inmates. It is however, noteworthy that the releases were carried out in line with specific guidelines approved by Mr. President in view of national security and public interest.

To be continued.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com

An actress, social activist, politician

London, UK