Reps move to separate AGF, justice minister’s offices

The House of Representatives is considering a bill to separate the offices of the Attorney General of the Federation from that of the Minister of Justice.

Offices of the Attorney General of a state will also be separated from the Commissioner of Justice if the bill sales through.

The bill, co-sponsored by two Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers, Mansur Soro (Darazo/Ganjuwa Federal Constituency, Bauchi State) and Oluwole Oke (Osun) is receiving legislative input from the House Committee on Constitution Review, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu.

The bill is seeking alteration to Section 150 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) with the introduction of sub-section 1 to read, “There shall be an Attorney-General of the Federation who shall be the Chief Law Officer of the Federation different from the person occupying the position of the Minister of Justice to be appointed by the President, subject to the confirmation of the Senate.”

Also, the bill seeks to introduce a sub-section to Section 195 of the Constitution. The new sub-section to be introduced reads, “There shall be an Attorney-General for each State who shall be the Chief Law Officer of the State to be appointed by the Governor, subject to the confirmation of the House of Assembly.”

Speaking exclusively with Sunday PUNCH on the objective of the proposed law, Soro said, “The reason for this proposal is to enhance efficiency in the dispensation of criminal justice, safeguard the public interest and deter abuse of legal process in public prosecutions at both the federal and state levels.”

According to the lawmaker, “The Minister of Justice of the Federal Government and Commissioners of Justice of the government of the states can be described as partisan political advisors providing legal advice to cabinets and overseeing justicial policy matters.

“The Attorney-General litigates on behalf of the federal or state governments, overseeing prosecutions and providing advisory on draft legislations and agreements under consideration by the government. The Attorney-General is intended to be an impartial law officer of the government.”

He noted that the combined roles of the minister or commissioner of justice with the attorney general would bring about a conflict of interests, stressing that the bill intended to “eliminate the conflict, limit risks of political interference, boost public confidence in Nigeria’s justice system among others.”

On the potential financial implication on the government if the bill becomes law, Soro said the gains in the proposed law far outweighed the cost.

“I have been an advocate of affordable government but when you look at the objectives of this proposal, the gains are more than the concerns on the cost of governance,” he added.