According to report reaching OYOGist.com, the Nigerian Ministry of Justice has allocated N2 billion to prosecute suspected Boko Haram members, administer the criminal justice system, pay for international legal obligations, relieve the country’s prisons and cover the cost of legal services.
Federal Attorney General Dayo Apata, who appeared before the Senate Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights on Monday to defend the Department’s 2021 budget proposal, described the amount “as small compared to what he is supposed to do”. Of this amount, Apata, who was accompanied at the meeting by Federation Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, said that N350 million had been earmarked for the trial and prosecution of the Boko Haram suspects.
However, the Senate spokesman, Ajibola Basiru, noted that some items of general expenditure also appeared in the capital budget and asked for an explanation for the doubling of the budget.
He said that the proposed N2 billion for legal services was not definitive enough to allow the Committee’s auditors to perform oversight functions.
The spokesman said: “Under overheads you have explained that the N2 billion will be used to pay for the Ministry’s legal services. And the legal services are listed as civil litigation, prison release, trial and prosecution of Boko Haram members, administration of the criminal justice system and payment of international legal obligations.”
“There appears to be an overlap with what is foreseen for the items generated under overheads and some items listed as investment expenditure, amounting to some N2 billion.
“N350 million has been allocated to the management of criminal justice. What is the ratio between this estimated amount of the same applies to the decongestion of prisons. N380 million was highlighted for the prosecution of prisoners and to relieve the pressure on prisons throughout the country.”
“How much of this will not overlap with what was estimated at over N2 billion as part of the legal services?”
In his response, Apata explained that the N2 billion had been budgeted for various expenses, adding that since 2015, the prosecution has handled almost all cases internally without recourse to external lawyers.
“If you look at the N2 billion, you cannot compare it to what is being saved for the government. Since our last appearance, we have saved over N600 billion because we now handle cases internally. So a part of this N2 billion is essentially for the lawyers, because all cases have been spread across the 36 states.”
“As you will recall at the trial and prosecution of Boko Haram members, last year we had to create a jurisdiction in Kanji Prison where 3,000 prisoners were prosecuted. How can 3,000 prisoners be prosecuted in one place? We had to call in four judges from the Federal Court of Justice and pay the legal assistants.”
“If we look at the 2 billion N2, that is the tip of the iceberg of what he is up to. There is currently a camp in Maiduguri where we will go for another trial. That is what the N2 billion will do. So there is no overlap,” the Attorney General added.
