Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and human rights lawyer, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba SAN, has commended the newly appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, describing him as an outstanding lawyer and expressing full confidence in his abilities.
Agbakoba highlighted the urgent need for reforms in the justice system and the judiciary, expressing certainty that Fagbemi is capable of handling these changes. He expressed a strong belief that Fagbemi can tackle these reforms effectively.
Agbakoba identified several critical tasks that require immediate attention from the new Attorney General. This includes overhauling the criminal justice system and addressing confusion between law enforcement agencies like EFCC and ICPC.
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Agbakoba proposed splitting the functions of EFCC to focus solely on the investigation while establishing a new National Prosecution Agency.
Another significant reform Agbakoba advocated for is restructuring the Police Force at different levels. He also emphasized the importance of updating outdated laws, citing Rwanda’s example of modifying a large number of laws for inspiration. Agbakoba underscored the need for faster delivery of justice.
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Agbakoba criticized the extended timeline for concluding cases from the High Court to the Supreme Court, calling it unacceptable. To alleviate the burden on regular courts, he suggested creating specialized dispute resolution Agencies.
Agbakoba also pointed out the challenge of centralization in superior courts, suggesting that it’s time to decentralize the court system in Nigeria. He recommended constitutional amendments to establish both Federal and State Courts with distinct jurisdictions, thus reducing the load on the Supreme Court.
Agbakoba’s confidence in Fagbemi’s capabilities was evident throughout his statement, asserting that Fagbemi’s brilliance and competence make him well-suited for these tasks.
See the full statement below
“There are pressing tasks to be carried out urgently by the new Attorney General of the Federation. Major reforms of the criminal justice system with particular reference to the utter confusion in the duplicated work of our law enforcement agencies in particular EFCC and ICPC are urgently needed. Also, there is a need to unbundle EFCC and restrict them to investigation only while a new National Prosecution Agency ought to be established;
“Another key reform would be a completely decentralized Police Force at local state and Federal levels. Major revamp of our outdated laws is urgently needed to follow the Rwanda example that modified 1000 laws. Last but not least the AGF must work on Speed of Justice.
“It’s a crying shame it takes upwards of 15 years to conclude cases from the High Court to the Supreme Court; Finally but not exhausted is to create sector-specific dispute resolution Agencies to free up the utterly cluttered dockets of the regular courts;
“The other very important task before the Attorney General will be the unnecessary and wholly inefficient matter of over-centralization of our superior courts. There is no better time than now to hack down the highly centralized Court systems in Nigeria.
“The AGF is invited to consider major constitutional amendments to create a system of Federal and State Courts. State Courts ought to have exclusive jurisdiction over matters related to them. This is also the case for Federal Courts whose Jurisdiction must be limited to Federal causes. This will free up the Clutter at the Supreme Court and make it the Policy Court it ought to be in the first place;
We have a Brilliant AGF in Lateef Fagbemi SAN. Am convinced this will be a simple task for him. He is a very good colleague and I have the highest confidence in his abilities”.
