Connect with us

News

Festus Keyamo As Attorney General And Minister of Justice?

Published

on


One of the nominees at screening, Festus Keyamo, an activist lawyer, told the Senators that the nation’s apex court, the Supreme Court as presently constituted was frustrating in the administration of justice.

Keyamo said if made the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, he would unbundle the apex court into six regional divisions for speedy consideration and dispensation of Justice.

This is just as he also blamed the Police and Magistrates for prison congestion by allegedly not adhering to the provisions of Administration of Criminal Justice Act.

Keyamo lamented that the case diary of the Supreme Court as at now, was filled up to 2022 which he said, would not allow it to entertain any new case apart from political and constitutional, till after 2022.

Three Ds , the activist explained would be adopted by him in getting the Judiciary reformed for speedy consideration and dispensation of justice .

Advertisement

His words: “if I am AGF, I have the idea I call the 3 Ds that will be at the heart of judicial reforms: decongestion of supreme court, decongestion of prisons and decongestion of cases lists in courts.

“Nigerian supreme court is the busiest in the world. My first task will be to unbundle the Supreme Court; it is the busiest in the world and that is not acceptable. Some of the cases that go there are frivolous. This country is big enough to have six regional courts.

“The Justice sector in Nigeria is bedeviled with so many problems requiring three clear cut solutions which are decongestion or unbundling of the Supreme Court, decongestion of Prisons and decongestion of courts for facilitation of speedy trials and dispensation of Justice.

“For the unbundling of the Supreme court, six regional Supreme Courts need to be created to handle civil and criminal cases which had passed through the magistrate, High and Appeal Courts within their zones. If this is done, the required speedy consideration and dispensation of Justice will be facilitated across the six zones because it is scandalous for mere case on physical assaults between two individuals to move from Magistrates either through appeals or objections from affected counsels to high court, Appeal Court and Supreme Court at the federal level.

“Except for political and constitutional cases , cases such as physical assaults, theft and petty others , supposed not to be allowed to progress to Supreme Court at the Centre in giving room for the 21 Justices there to attend to more national concerned cases.

Advertisement

“The problem at hand now with the centralisation of the Supreme court which has only 21 Justices , is thatof Justice delayed, which invariably translate into Justice denied as a result of cases spending 10 to 15 years not to talk of motion for leave of appeal into the apex court, pending for five years .

“Holistic unbundling or restructuring of the Supreme Court is in all honesty , based on worrisome realities on ground , is very necessary which will be definitely be pursued by me if appointed as Minister of Justice and Attorney – General of the Federation”.

Festus Keyamo however blamed the problem of prison congestion on the Police and Magistrates across the 36 states of the federation.

According to Festus Keyamo, provisions meant for tackling the problem as provided for, by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act passed by the 7th National Assembly and assented to, by former President Goodluck Jonathan, were not being adhered to by both the Police and the Magistrates .

The provision, he explained, constitutionally empowered the Magistrates to go round Police cells from time to time , for profiling of offences of suspects in their custodies with a view to freeing those with minor offences who often ended up in prison as awaiting trial inmates .

Advertisement

“Every Police station should open itself to the nearest magistrate courts for inspection; same with the DPOs. But they are not complying with those provisions of the Administration of criminal justice act.

“Magistrates should be given the powers to grant bail even in matters involving murder when there is no evidence at the early stage.

“We should amend the law to make the powers of the Attorney General and DPP subject to judicial review. It is subject to abuse when people accused of abuse are freed,” Keyamo further said .

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Basketmouth slams filmmakers for failing to showcase Nigeria’s culture in movies

Published

on

Basketmouth

Popular comedian and filmmaker, Bright Okpocha, aka Basketmouth, has accused some of his colleagues of not showcasing Nigeria’s rich culture in their movies.

The movie star alleged that most of the epic movies released recently do not promote the country’s culture.

In an interview with Hip TV, Basketmouth claimed that the filmmakers wasted opportunities to showcase Nigeria’s culture positively.

He said, “I believe that we still have the opportunity to get it right. But we had a great opportunity to showcase our culture and most of the filmmakers blew it up. They just ruined that great chance because I see epic movies and they look like stage plays.

“When I was seeing most of the epic movies, I was disappointed.

“You guys blew up a great opportunity but let’s hope we still have another chance to strike at it.

“I’m sorry, only very few movies have impressed me so far. I believe that we can do more.”

Continue Reading

News

Gov Abiodun commiserates with Makinde, Soludo, Wike over stampede victims

Published

on

Abiodun

The chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, SGF, and Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has sympathised with the governments and people of Oyo, Anambra, and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, over the tragic loss of lives resulting from recent stampedes at food palliative distribution venues in the affected areas.

The stampedes reportedly claimed the lives of approximately 65 Nigerians, while others sustained varying degrees of injury.

Abiodun expressed his sorrow in sympathy notes to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Charles Soludo of Anambra State, and Nyesom Wike of the Federal Capital Territory, saying that the deaths of the victims were especially tragic because they were pursuing necessities for survival.

The SGF Chairman noted that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, together with other levels of government, is still working to improve the living standards of the populace, despite the current economic difficulties they confront.

To prevent further tragedy, Abiodun urged all Nigerians to exercise caution and follow security procedures when attending palliative distribution events.

He said: “Deaths such as these diminish us as a people. These disasters occurred at a time when families around the world are in a festive and joyous mood. It is indeed tragic.

“I, on behalf of my family and the good people of Ogun State, commiserate with my brother governors, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Charles Soludo of Anambra State, and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, the families of the victims, and all Nigerians on these unfortunate incidents.

“May the souls of the departed rest in peace.”

Continue Reading

News

Nigerian Govt lifts ban on mining in Zamfara after five years

Published

on

The Federal Government has suspended the ban on mining activities in Zamfara State five years after the sanction was imposed.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

“The Federal Government has lifted the ban on mining exploration activities in Zamfara State, citing significant improvements in the security situation across the state.

“Nigeria has a lot to gain from reawakened economic activities in a highly mineralised state like Zamfara that is imbued with vast gold, Lithium, and copper belts,” the statement read.

According to the minister, the previous ban, which was well intentioned, inadvertently created a vacuum exploited by illegal miners to fleece the nation of its resources.

Alake also emphasized that the state’s potential for contributing to national revenue is enormous.

“The existential threat to lives and properties that led to the 2019 ban has abated. The security operatives’ giant strides have led to a notable reduction in the level of insecurity, and with the ban on exploration lifted, Zamfara’s mining sector can gradually begin contributing to the nation’s revenue pool.

“Since the beginning of the Tinubu administration, however, intelligence-driven, coordinated security operations have resulted in the neutralization of key bandit commanders, significantly reducing incidents of insecurity.

“A recent success was the capture of one of the most wanted bandit commanders, Halilu Sububu, in a covert operation in Zamfara,” he added.

The minister further stated that the lifting of the ban would also facilitate better regulation of mining activities in the state.

He said this would enable more effective intelligence gathering to combat illegal mining and ensure the country benefits from the state’s rich mineral resources.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Naija Gatekeeper News