Federal Ministry of Justice

Minister: Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, CFR

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Table of Content-1• Implementation of Justice Reforms• Legal War Against Terror• The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2011• Amendments• Nature of Civil Cases• Reduction in the quantum of judgment debts obtained against MDAs• Prosecution and Defence• Timely and Efficient International Cooperation-1• Timely and Efficient International Cooperation-2• The Extradition Act CAP. E.25, LFN 2004• Recovery of Stolen Assets• From Policy to Legislation

• Freedom of Information Act, 2011-1• Freedom of Information Act, 2011-2• Capacity Building• Nature of Criminal Cases

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Table of Content-2• Petitions• The Fight Against Corruption• Legal Advice• Legal Aid Council• Treaties-1• Treaties-2• Investments• NDLEA: National Drug Law Enforcement Agency • NAPTIP: National Agency For The Prohibition Of Trafficking In Persons And Other

Related Matters-1• NAPTIP: National Agency For The Prohibition Of Trafficking In Persons And Other

Related Matters-2• Trafficking Cases• NCC: Nigerian Copyright Commission-1• NCC: Nigerian Copyright Commission-2• Other Highlights

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Implementation of Justice Reforms

• Articulation of formal document titled ‘Strategy for the Implementation of Justice Reforms in Nigeria’

• Inauguration of panel to ensure the implementation of the 8-Point strategy initiatives within a 24-month period.

• Institutionalization of reforms in the justice sector aimed at improving access to justice

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Legal War Against Terror

• Link between money laundering and terrorist financing led to the amendment of money laundering legislation. Thus the Money Laundering(Prohibition) Act of 2011.

• Later strengthened and amended as the Money Laundering Act of 2013.

• The Complex Casework Group in the Department of Public Prosecutions is currently undergoing intensive training on the prosecution of complex crimes such as terrorism, economic crimes and corruption cases.

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The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2011

• Reform of criminal justice system with the establishment of a Terrorism Offences Prosecution Office.

• Worked with relevant Government agencies, the United Nations and our development partners to create the Terrorism (Prevention) Act of 2011.

• New law provides measures for:– The protection from terrorism– The prohibition and combating of acts of terrorism– The financing of terrorism in Nigeria – The effective implementation of the Convention on the Prevention

and Combating of Terrorism and the Convention on the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

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Amendments

• The Federal High Court granted the Order, which has been published as the Terrorism (Prevention) (Proscription Order) Notice, No. 91 of 2013 which:– declared the activities of JAMAATU AHLIS-SUNNA LIDDAAWATI

WALJIHAD and JAMA‘ATU ANSARUL MUSLIMINA FI BILADIS SUDAN in any part of this country as terrorism and illegal

– proscribed the existence of the two organisations in any part of Nigeria either in groups or as individuals by whatever names they are called

– restrained any person or group of persons from participating in any manner whatsoever in any form of activities involving or concerning the proscription of the collective intention or otherwise of the said groups.

• Amendment will make it possible to apprehend and punish members of these groups for engaging in terrorist activities, as well as confiscate any property connected to terrorist activities.

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Nature of Civil Cases

• Received about 539 civil cases between 2011-2013 with claims which included: – the enforcement of Fundamental Human Rights actions relating to title to land– wrongful termination of appointments by various MDAs– Constitutional questions– contractual matters etc.

• Conclude over 86 matters in the domestic court• Others were before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice. • Most cases concluded in favour of Government saving the government

the sum of N501, 278,765,770 in Suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/ 03/ 11. Incorporated Trustees of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Socio-cultural Association V. Federal Government of Nigeria.

• Saved the government US$ 1 Billion (N158, 000,000,000) in Registered Trustees of the Socio Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) (Suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/08/09)

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Reduction in the quantum of judgment debts obtained against MDAs

• The Ministry verifies and authorizes payment of judgment debts obtained against the government.

• Between 2011-2013 about 89 judgment creditors were paid in accordance with the judgments verified by the Presidential Committee on Judgement Debt.

• Negotiations, which took place between the Committee and the various judgment creditors, led to the reduction of interest charged on the judgment debt saving the Government N 13, 360,783,169.39.

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Prosecution and Defence

• Vigorous capacity building trainings • Collaborated with Justice For All (J4A) and the International Centre for

Assest Recovery, Switzerland and other development partners to organise capacity building workshop on Stolen Asset Recovery and Management of Proceeds of Crime (October 2011).

• Benefited from capacity building trainings from, the British Council, the United States Embassy, etc.

• As a result of training the Ministry has drastically reduced its dependence on external solicitors and enhanced its prosecutorial abilities leading to more effective prosecution of criminal cases and defence of civil matters.

• Prosecutors Code of Conduct articulated to ensure the highest professional and ethical standards in the discharge of their prosecutorial duties and to imbibe best practices drawn from other jurisdictions to guarantee fair conduct.

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Timely and Efficient International Cooperation-1

• International cooperation is pivotal to global action against organized crimes that transcend national frontiers.

• Central Authority Unit was established under the direct supervision of the Attorney General of the Federation resulting in specialized training and equipping of the unit for efficient and effective performance, and timely response to requests for cooperation.

• Gained support from the British Council and the United States Embassy to strengthen the unit.

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Timely and Efficient International Cooperation-2

• Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters within the Commonwealth (Establishment & Enforcement) Act, LFN, 2004 which regulates the provision of assistance in criminal matters has become unsuitable for new developments in the area of international cooperation.

• Proposed a Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, 2013 to bring our legislation in tandem with modern trends and best practices. Will complement institutional changes, particularly workable synergy with all the Competent Authorities as well as other MDAs involved in the execution of all forms of international cooperation in criminal matters to fast-track the processing of requests for mutual legal assistance (MLA).

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The Extradition Act CAP. E.25, LFN 2004

Extradition Requests

Concluded & surrendered fugi-tivesAwaiting arrestPending in FHCCourt of Appeal Forwarded to other countries

Undergoing review to conform to Nigeria’s treaty obligations.

Extradition involves the Judiciary so requests for extradition must be filed with the Federal High Court for a full process of judicial review.

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Recovery of Stolen Assets

• Intensified its efforts to trace and repatriate Nigeria’s stolen assets abroad.

• Maintained effective liaison and communication with targeted jurisdictions to keep pace with asset recovery proceedings.

• In 2011, our close liaison and negotiation with the Island of Jersey led to the recovery and repatriation of the sum of UK £22.5 Million confiscated by the Royal Court of Jersey from Raj Arjandes Bhojwani, an Indian national and associate of General Sani Abacha, on account of his money laundering transactions from Nigeria.

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From Policy to Legislation

• Undertaken through Legal Drafting Department. • Made significant inputs to the current Constitution Review

process, especially the 2nd and 3rd Alteration of the Constitution.

• Drafted several Executive Bills that were passed into law by the National Assembly to give effect to Government’s policy. E.g 12 Executive Bills were processed and passed into law in 2011.

• Apart from legislation, 33 Statutory Instruments were processed from 2011-2013. 18 have been gazetted, 13 are ready to be gazetted, while 1 is pending review by the Ministry of Interior.

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Freedom of Information Act, 2011-1

• The National Assembly passed FOIA in 2011 with the objective of promoting open government in Nigeria.

• Its fair application and implementation was made a strategic objective in ‘Strategy For the Implementation of Justice Sector Reforms in Nigeria’, launched on 6th August 2011.

• Issued an Advisory Memorandum –HAGF/MDAs/FOIA/2012/1 on 28th January 2012 to all MDAs to sensitise them on the new regime of open government and their obligations under the Act.

• Ran a series of sensitization workshops to engender understanding of the prescriptions of the Act.

• Issued the Guidelines on the Implementation of the FOIA of 12th March, 2012 to assist public institutions to interpret the Act.

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Freedom of Information Act, 2011-2

• The feedback from the public encouraged the Revised Guidelines on the Freedom of Information Act with the generous assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

• Co-hosted FOI Zonal Workshops and trainings in Ekiti, Asaba and Abuja. • Created a website, www.justice.gov.ng and dedicated contact phone lines-

08182429403, 080111004929 and 08106577514 for the general public to engage with the Ministry on matters related to the implementation of the FOIA.

• Submitted Annual Reports to the National Assembly on the implementation of the Act in compliance with the Attorney General of the Federation’s reporting obligations under the Act.

• Organised a sensitization workshop (August 2011) on the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act.

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Capacity Building

• Embarked on a very ambitious human resource development programme improve quality of service delivery. A total of 486 Law Officers and 1744 non Lawyers across the entire strata of the Ministry received training to ensure that the staff remains focused and motivated. Greatly improved staff morale and efficiency in the discharge of their duties.

• Overall, the Ministry has become more responsive to the requests for legal advice and support services from the various MDAs.

• Reduction in the number of cases farmed out to external solicitors

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Nature of Criminal Cases

• Adoption of measures to improve on the administration of criminal justice

• From 2011 to 2013 a total number of 75 cases of Terrorism and Boko Haram insurgency were received and prosecuted.

• 16 have been concluded with 8 convictions. 35 were struck out, most of the m because the accused persons had escaped during the attack on prisons in Bauchi and Maiduguri.

• Total of 244 general offences, including culpable homicide, rape, armed robbery and traffic offences, were handled.

• 15 cases have been concluded with 10 convictions, while the remaining cases are at different stages of trial, namely hearing, defence or ruling/judgment.

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Petitions

• From 2011-2013 total of 60 petitions – breach of rights of citizens– lack of action on criminal matters by the law

enforcement agencies– requests for takeover of cases from the police for

lack of diligent prosecution

• All the petitions were promptly handled with appropriate action taken to address them.

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The Fight Against Corruption

• Focal Ministry under the United Nations Convention against Corruption

• Finalized and sent a holistic and inclusive National Anti Corruption Strategy (NACS) to the Federal Executive Council for approval, to fight corruption in the country.

• Working with the Inter-Agency Task Team, civil society and our development partners to strategies appropriate Action Plans for all the agencies involved in the war against corruption.

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Legal Advice

• Rendering quality legal advice to MDAs in order to protect national interest.

• Between 2011-2013 the Ministry’s Solicitors Department received 15 requests for legal advice, vetted 85 Contracts/Agreements, held 21 reconciliation meetings and processed 543 applications for consent to incorporate under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act.

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Legal Aid Council

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1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Completed CasesPending Cases

The Council, in collaboration with the NBA and Lawyers without Borders, completed a three-year project on the UN Convention Against Torture.

It hosted a national conference in 2012, tagged “Access to Justice in a Democracy”, and held a Sensitization and Awareness campaign on how to access the Council’s services.

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Treaties-1

• Hosted the 51st Session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO) and the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in Abuja.

• Active in the work of the 6th Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation(WIPO).

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Treaties-2

• Prepared 14 instruments of approval to give effect to Nigeria’s multilateral and bilateral treaties/agreements including treaties, conventions, optional protocols under various United Nations, African Union and International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

• Bilateral agreements are with Austria, South Africa and Switzerland.

• In line with the Ministry’s resolve to ensure timely compliance with international treaty obligations.

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Investments

• Helping to create an enabling environment for the reception of foreign investments.

• Collaborating with relevant MDAs are to negotiate 9 Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPAs) with Austria, Belgium, Czech, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia, Belarus, Canada, Japan, Vietnam, Qatar, Indonesia, Iran and Pakistan.

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NDLEA: National Drug Law Enforcement Agency

• Relentless efforts to sustain counter-narcotics and anti-money laundering wars in the face of ever growing sophistication of the methods employed by perpetrators.

• Maintained intensive and extensive coverage across the country to ensure drug supply and demand reduction in the country.

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NAPTIP: National Agency For The Prohibition Of Trafficking In Persons And Other Related Matters-1

• The NAPTIP has remarkable achievements as it discharges its mandate in line with the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crimes (UNTOC).

• Current efforts include:• Communication strategy aimed at strategic public

enlightenment initiatives• Educating children on human trafficking• Integrating human trafficking into the educational

curriculum of Nigerian schools

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NAPTIP: National Agency For The Prohibition Of Trafficking In Persons And Other Related Matters-2

• Launch of the “I AM PRICELESS” campaign in collaboration with UNODC in the framework of the EU-sponsored 10th EDF project

• Launch of the “I AM PRICELESS” campaign in collaboration with UNODC in the framework of the EU-sponsored 10th EDF project

• Stakeholders’ meetings and community dialogues in 6 project states

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Trafficking Cases

Pending ProsecutorsRescued and Re-habilitated Victims

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NCC: Nigerian Copyright Commission-1

Proactive Enforcement of Copyright Laws: • Total number of covert anti-piracy surveillance- 150• Total number of antipiracy raids - 117• Total number of suspected pirates arrested - 267• Total number of units of pirated works seized• - 4,561,813• Estimated market value of pirated works seized -

N4,806,744,500• Total number of pirated works destroyed - 722 million• Estimated market value of destroyed works - N6.5billion• Total number of containers of pirated works seized -16

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NCC: Nigerian Copyright Commission-2

• Reduction in the level of piracy led to about 50% increase in the profit margin for investors in copyright-based industries, creation of employment and boost in tax earning of government from the industry practitioners.

• About 25% of the convictions were prison sentences without the option of fine.

• Trained 50 legal practitioners on copyright practice• Trained 60 members of the press on the basics of

copyright• Conducted copyright sensitization workshop for 800

secondary school students in Abuja.

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Other Highlights

• Drafting and gazetting of subsidiary instruments to give effect to principal laws, such as 8 Regulations on the proclamation of a State of Emergency in 15 LGAs in December 2011.

• Initiatives to reform our Business and Investment laws.

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