April 2020

The proposed changes published in a press release by the Attorney General of the Federation is a welcome development, just as an effort. But it shows a Ministry of Justice that is far behind in conceptualization and terribly unrealistic in its plans for implementation. The ministry does not understand or it fails to acknowledge the principal cause of the problem it seeks to cure, which is basically corruption.. Trying to speed up the trial of charges motivated by corruption is like trying to increase the speed of an athlete who is running on a wrong track. Increased speed will not cure the fundamental defect. It Also failed to understand the effect of corruption in the judiciary. The reforms proposed are more likely to be exploited by corrupt police, corrupt judges and court officials. For instance, virtual trials will make it harder for a judge to observe torture injuries inflicted by the police. Also, not looking into corruption and inefficiencies in the way judges are appointed means that more incompetent and corrupt judges will be appointed. Furthermore, the proposed reform failed to consider how cases are prosecuted in Nigeria. With the power to arrest, investigate, indict and prosecute all vested in the undifferentiated police department, what you have and which you want to continue is a debilitating mechanism for corruption and injustice. Finally, the Attorney General's press release is totally silent on how the changes will be funded. With oil prices falling below the production cost, it is more likely that the Government will be firing workers soon, rather than appointing more. There is no doubt that the ministry of justice is desperately trying to catch up. These reforms were long overdue and often meaningless. You don't need any changes in the law to ensure that a criminal charge should be struck out for want of diligent prosecution if the prosecutor fails to appear. The law has been there. What you need to do is to seek ways to protect the judges who out of fear of consequences fail to apply the law in favor of the accused. The reforms proposed are reforms that ought to have occurred before Covid-19, not after. From every indication, this proposed reform looks more like something that was written four years ago, which the Attorney General failed to pursue then.   PRESS RELEASE Malami Rolls Out Plans for Post COVID-19 Justice System The damaging effects of the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic impact upon all the ramifications of human life. The Nigerian Justice Sector is obviously not immune from the effects of the pandemic. The necessity to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus has led to, among other things, a nationwide closure of court rooms (save for certain exceptions). Hence, the urgent need for paradigm shift to adjust the judicial process to make for recovery of lost grounds occasioned by the lockdown. Considering the current realities and in adjusting to the times, therefore, we will work with the Judiciary at the Federal and the State levels to arrive at a workable mechanism for achieving these within the shortest time possible. We will continue with the on-going implementation of the National Policy of Justice with renewed vigour, while making necessary adjustments as may be required due to the COVID-19 disruptions. Application of technology is not strange to our Justice Sector/Judicial System. The Judiciary adopted a Judiciary Information Technology Policy in 2012 to guide the use of ICT by the Judiciary. In this wise, the Supreme Court introduced electronic filing and this has also been adopted by some States’ High Courts. One major lesson from COVID-19 is that the Nigerian Justice Sector must seriously leverage technology in the improvement of its capacity and for facilitating fair and speedy administration of justice. Information technology is the tool we are majorly going to use to cover the lost ground in our judicial system and measures are already on going to address this in our judicial system. These adjustments will cover, the Courts’ Administrative Processes (such as filing of Court Processes), Regulation of Access to Court and even sitting arrangements during proceedings (to sustain the gains we must have recorded in trumping COVID-19), tracking and retrieval of information from the courts, scheduling of court proceedings  with  strict time-allocation. Robust use of technological tools to conduct proceedings including virtual proceedings, (this would also enable the Justices/Judges to preside over matters in their chamber without being physically present in a formal court room, parties and their counsel will only connect through teleconference means) etc. Some of these adjustments are not simple and may require certain amendments of the Law (or Issuance of Rules of Court and Practice Directions) as may be necessary. The judges will be sitting and maintaining social distance while the lawyers’ interface with the courts through their digital computers should be considered in certain cases. We expect the judiciary to keep supporting the Presidential Task Force on COVID -19 and consider how best to start opening up as soon as possible and to start tackling backlog of cases. We will start by seeing how much cases can be handled online or without a face-to-face interaction leveraging on the use of technology. As such the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, with support of relevant stakeholders, will see to: 1. Empowering the institutions of the ACJA, 2015 to commence functioning immediately. For instance, Part 46 dealing with the administration of the Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee; Section 251- witness payment; sections 107 & 108 etc. The net result will galvanize the judicial sector into rapid mode to fast track trials and release of those who are deserving. 2. Deployment of ICT facilities to fast-track taking evidence from witnesses. Digital platforms such as Skype and Zoom can be used. NTA stations across the country can be connected to courts to facilitate taking evidence as witnesses do not have to necessary be physically present in court. It is expected that NTA facilities are to provide the rudimentary structures for video conferencing in view of their digital switchover process. Using their existing IT infrastructure, the courts may only need video screens and bandwidth at the minimum to ensure connectivity between parties to the proceedings. 3. Speedy processing of pending civil matters that have not reached advanced stages of hearing and with the consent of parties and their solicitors to opt for out of court settlement. This may even mean using multi-door mediation avenues in courts that already have one, such in the case of Lagos and the FCT and a few other states. 4. Criminal charges of minor and non-indictable offences should be summarily tried and sentenced to non-custody penalties. Even in cases where sentenced persons cannot pay their fines, the court should consider other alternative punishments other than jail term. This can include parole or probationary sentences and, if possible, community service like cleaning public places etc. 5. Persons awaiting trial on minor criminal charges should be discharged, especially in cases where adjournments have been at the instance of the prosecution. 6. The passing of the civil equivalent of the ACJA in order to fast track the disposal of civil proceedings. Civil matters are proportionately more in number and tend to clog the speedy completion of civil trials. The proposed law (civil equivalent of the ACJA) should stipulate time line for commencing and completing civil trials. Front loading of evidence should also be adopted for civil trials in order to fast track hearings. 7. Setting aside special dates and that Courts work extra hours to decongest their case files. The 2020 court vacation could be suspended as the COVID 19 lockdown period has provided judges with the much-needed break from official duties. 8. Having courts that are fully IT-compliant in order to fast track the digital recording and production of the record of court proceedings. The courts should also be able to automate case filing and cause list management. 9. Appointment of more judges and justices, as appropriate. Additional judicial decisions of federal courts are to be created. This will, as a proactive measure, help in decongesting the already loaded court hearing schedules. 10. Payment of court fees is done electronically. All court fees should be done electronically and not in cash. The courts should only receive receipts of payments and this can be transmitted online as well. At Courts where hearing electronically may not possible, we can also consider having only few people attend to court matters. Ensuring that court dockets have only few cases per day can reduce the number of persons in courts. So, all the pending judgments should be drafted and concluded during short period of time. This does not require lawyers to be present. Once the judgment is ready, the lawyers should be able to receive them in their email or it should be posted on the court’s website for any interested party to download it. This is the way to go and thus provide greater transparency. The way to go in effect, Court Proceedings should also be handled in a manner that reduces the number of persons in the courts at any given time. Although this requires the movement of suspects from prisons to the courts, all such suspects should be tested, in fact everyone entering the court premises should be tested to ensure that they are not already positive, thus risking the lives of other people. While some of these changes may not happen in the short term, there is need to start the introduction of these new initiatives immediately through consultations with the Judiciary, NBA, and other relevant stakeholders.   Signed Abubakar Malami, SAN Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Federal Republic of Nigeria (20th of April, 2020).

The proposed changes published in a press release by the Attorney General of the Federation is a welcome development, just as an effort. But it shows a Ministry of Justice that is far behind in conceptualization and terribly unrealistic in its plans for implementation. The ministry does not understand or it fails to acknowledge the principal cause of the problem it seeks to cure, which is basically corruption.. Trying to speed up the trial of charges motivated by corruption is like trying to increase the speed of an athlete who is running on a wrong track. Increased speed will not cure the fundamental defect. It Also failed to understand the effect of corruption in the judiciary. The reforms proposed are more likely to be exploited by corrupt police, corrupt judges and court officials. For instance, virtual trials will make it harder for a judge to observe torture injuries inflicted by the police. Also, not looking into corruption and inefficiencies in the way judges are appointed means that more incompetent and corrupt judges will be appointed. Furthermore, the proposed reform failed to consider how cases are prosecuted in Nigeria. With the power to arrest, investigate, indict and prosecute all vested in the undifferentiated police department, what you have and which you want to continue is a debilitating mechanism for corruption and injustice. Finally, the Attorney General's press release is totally silent on how the changes will be funded. With oil prices falling below the production cost, it is more likely that the Government will be firing workers soon, rather than appointing more. There is no doubt that the ministry of justice is desperately trying to catch up. These reforms were long overdue and often meaningless. You don't need any changes in the law to ensure that a criminal charge should be struck out for want of diligent prosecution if the prosecutor fails to appear. The law has been there. What you need to do is to seek ways to protect the judges who out of fear of consequences fail to apply the law in favor of the accused. The reforms proposed are reforms that ought to have occurred before Covid-19, not after. From every indication, this proposed reform looks more like something that was written four years ago, which the Attorney General failed to pursue then.   PRESS RELEASE Malami Rolls Out Plans for Post COVID-19 Justice System The damaging effects of the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic impact upon all the ramifications of human life. The Nigerian Justice Sector is obviously not immune from the effects of the pandemic. The necessity to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus has led to, among other things, a nationwide closure of court rooms (save for certain exceptions). Hence, the urgent need for paradigm shift to adjust the judicial process to make for recovery of lost grounds occasioned by the lockdown. Considering the current realities and in adjusting to the times, therefore, we will work with the Judiciary at the Federal and the State levels to arrive at a workable mechanism for achieving these within the shortest time possible. We will continue with the on-going implementation of the National Policy of Justice with renewed vigour, while making necessary adjustments as may be required due to the COVID-19 disruptions. Application of technology is not strange to our Justice Sector/Judicial System. The Judiciary adopted a Judiciary Information Technology Policy in 2012 to guide the use of ICT by the Judiciary. In this wise, the Supreme Court introduced electronic filing and this has also been adopted by some States’ High Courts. One major lesson from COVID-19 is that the Nigerian Justice Sector must seriously leverage technology in the improvement of its capacity and for facilitating fair and speedy administration of justice. Information technology is the tool we are majorly going to use to cover the lost ground in our judicial system and measures are already on going to address this in our judicial system. These adjustments will cover, the Courts’ Administrative Processes (such as filing of Court Processes), Regulation of Access to Court and even sitting arrangements during proceedings (to sustain the gains we must have recorded in trumping COVID-19), tracking and retrieval of information from the courts, scheduling of court proceedings  with  strict time-allocation. Robust use of technological tools to conduct proceedings including virtual proceedings, (this would also enable the Justices/Judges to preside over matters in their chamber without being physically present in a formal court room, parties and their counsel will only connect through teleconference means) etc. Some of these adjustments are not simple and may require certain amendments of the Law (or Issuance of Rules of Court and Practice Directions) as may be necessary. The judges will be sitting and maintaining social distance while the lawyers’ interface with the courts through their digital computers should be considered in certain cases. We expect the judiciary to keep supporting the Presidential Task Force on COVID -19 and consider how best to start opening up as soon as possible and to start tackling backlog of cases. We will start by seeing how much cases can be handled online or without a face-to-face interaction leveraging on the use of technology. As such the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, with support of relevant stakeholders, will see to: 1. Empowering the institutions of the ACJA, 2015 to commence functioning immediately. For instance, Part 46 dealing with the administration of the Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee; Section 251- witness payment; sections 107 & 108 etc. The net result will galvanize the judicial sector into rapid mode to fast track trials and release of those who are deserving. 2. Deployment of ICT facilities to fast-track taking evidence from witnesses. Digital platforms such as Skype and Zoom can be used. NTA stations across the country can be connected to courts to facilitate taking evidence as witnesses do not have to necessary be physically present in court. It is expected that NTA facilities are to provide the rudimentary structures for video conferencing in view of their digital switchover process. Using their existing IT infrastructure, the courts may only need video screens and bandwidth at the minimum to ensure connectivity between parties to the proceedings. 3. Speedy processing of pending civil matters that have not reached advanced stages of hearing and with the consent of parties and their solicitors to opt for out of court settlement. This may even mean using multi-door mediation avenues in courts that already have one, such in the case of Lagos and the FCT and a few other states. 4. Criminal charges of minor and non-indictable offences should be summarily tried and sentenced to non-custody penalties. Even in cases where sentenced persons cannot pay their fines, the court should consider other alternative punishments other than jail term. This can include parole or probationary sentences and, if possible, community service like cleaning public places etc. 5. Persons awaiting trial on minor criminal charges should be discharged, especially in cases where adjournments have been at the instance of the prosecution. 6. The passing of the civil equivalent of the ACJA in order to fast track the disposal of civil proceedings. Civil matters are proportionately more in number and tend to clog the speedy completion of civil trials. The proposed law (civil equivalent of the ACJA) should stipulate time line for commencing and completing civil trials. Front loading of evidence should also be adopted for civil trials in order to fast track hearings. 7. Setting aside special dates and that Courts work extra hours to decongest their case files. The 2020 court vacation could be suspended as the COVID 19 lockdown period has provided judges with the much-needed break from official duties. 8. Having courts that are fully IT-compliant in order to fast track the digital recording and production of the record of court proceedings. The courts should also be able to automate case filing and cause list management. 9. Appointment of more judges and justices, as appropriate. Additional judicial decisions of federal courts are to be created. This will, as a proactive measure, help in decongesting the already loaded court hearing schedules. 10. Payment of court fees is done electronically. All court fees should be done electronically and not in cash. The courts should only receive receipts of payments and this can be transmitted online as well. At Courts where hearing electronically may not possible, we can also consider having only few people attend to court matters. Ensuring that court dockets have only few cases per day can reduce the number of persons in courts. So, all the pending judgments should be drafted and concluded during short period of time. This does not require lawyers to be present. Once the judgment is ready, the lawyers should be able to receive them in their email or it should be posted on the court’s website for any interested party to download it. This is the way to go and thus provide greater transparency. The way to go in effect, Court Proceedings should also be handled in a manner that reduces the number of persons in the courts at any given time. Although this requires the movement of suspects from prisons to the courts, all such suspects should be tested, in fact everyone entering the court premises should be tested to ensure that they are not already positive, thus risking the lives of other people. While some of these changes may not happen in the short term, there is need to start the introduction of these new initiatives immediately through consultations with the Judiciary, NBA, and other relevant stakeholders.   Signed Abubakar Malami, SAN Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Federal Republic of Nigeria (20th of April, 2020).

By Boniface Ocheje Life is full of ironies, many unintended and unanticipated consequences - good and bad consequences alike. When on the 5th of December, 2019 the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos convicted Orji Uzor Kalu (OUK) for fraud, and sentenced him to 12 years in prison, many, including me, saw what happened just as another instance of the falling of the mighty, with the emphasis on the falling. But there has been some unintended consequence to it all. OUK was moved to Ikoyi prison in Lagos the same day. Two days after, on the 7th of  December, he was transfered to Kuje prison in Abuja. In normal circumstances and for an ordinary person, one would expect OUK to be shocked and depressed by life in prison. But that was not what happened. Within days of his settling down in prison, OUK took notice of the conditions of the Nigerian prisons. As a premium inmate, OUK was largely immuned to the basic grind of prison life. But he was able to grasp the grinding conditions inmates and even the warders face on daily basis. I got to know about OUK in prison through my elder brother, who was convicted of robbery that he did not commit. We believe that the judge was bribed to convict him. My brother's case has been on appeal. For two years, we have not been able to get a date for the appeal to progress. Two lawyers we hired have withdrawn as my family could not pay them. As a lecturer, I could not afford to pay in a timely fashion the amount of money the lawyers were calling. I visit my brother in Kuje Prison twice a month, until recently when they suspended visits due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It was through my brother I first heard about OUK's activities in Kuje prison and I went to research more about his case and conviction. Before now all I knew about OUK was what I read in newspapers or things I heard people say about him, just as we generally hear about politicians and public figures. But when I went to visit my brother in January of this year, he told me about OUK. Apparently, they met in the church. Kuje Prison has a 1000-seated church run by a catholic priest as the Chaplain. My brother is a member of the church choir. I understand that OUK is a good and devoted catholic and he worships regularly at the church. It was there he noticed my brother in the choir. OUK will routinely show interest in the cases of inmates he comes across. Upon hearing about my brother's situation, he sent for a new lawyer to take over my brother's appeal. The lawyer is a big lawyer, one of the best in Abuja. OUK paid the lawyer on the spot and within a week, the Court of Appeal fixed a date for the appeal to be heard. The hearing was only delayed by the lockdown. I became interested in OUK and I began to ask more questions. I was totally shocked by what I discovered. My brother was not the only one to benefit from this man's large heart. OUK has embarked on changing the lives of inmates in Kuje prison - requesting the authority to improve feeding, water supply, electricity, paying for bail conditions, hiring lawyers for them, giving out money for medicine for the sick, paying the fines for many, giving money to those who completed their sentence so they could start life again. OUK is the benevolent revolution in prison. I have not had the opportunity of meeting him one on one, even though I began to visit the prison more frequently hoping I might get an opportunity to thank him on behalf of our family. But I have heard interesting things about the man from other inmates and warders I have met, as well. I learnt that apart from the various assistance he has been giving to inmates, OUK is planning something bigger. He is planning to use his position, influence and contact to transform the Nigerian criminal justice system. He will be building a coalition of other groups and foundations toward this goal. I heard he is already working closely with one Foundation that focuses due process. From all I can see, OUK's time in prison has been an epiphany. God is using him to turn things around. He is turning into the rejected stone that became the head of the corner. And may become that critical factor that will turn around the Nigerian failing justice system.