The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, says the country’s judiciary was best funded under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The AGF, who disclosed this on Monday at the Supreme Court during its 2022/2023 Legal Year and inauguration of the newly appointed 62 Senior Advocates, also promised better days for the judicial officers and their institutions in the country when the planned improved packages are implemented.
He added that the government had ensured a “progressive budgetary allocation to the judiciary, which has seen an increase from N73 billion in 2015 to over N130 billion in 2022”, adding that an additional increased sum of N150 billion had been proposed for 2023.
According to him, “In addition to the foregoing, we have provided special intervention when the need arises, particularly, in meeting the huge cost of running election tribunals”.
Malami, therefore, called for collaborative efforts from the judiciary to attain the desired levels of good governance and development, as he said law and development are interwoven, stressing that positive changes in the judiciary would, by necessary implication, serve as precipitating factors for the much-needed developments in the national polity.
He also disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Justice is reviewing the National Policy on Justice to enhance stakeholders’ ability to tackle issues hindering the entire justice sector.
“Only recently, the Federal Executive Council approved the revised National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan (2022–2026). We have also recorded modest gains from the operationalization of the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022”.
