At a three-day stakeholders forum on the Administration of Criminal Justices (ACJA) held in Abuja on Tuesday, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, dropped the hint.
The AGF specifically stated that his ministry is preparing a revised National Policy on Justice, 2024–2028, and working with relevant parties to conduct a National Summit on Justice.
He stated that the evolution of the national policy on justice in 2017 was of tremendous significance, noting that there had been numerous interventions since its approval in 2015.
According to the AGF, the formulation of the national policy on justice tried to find ways to integrate diverse reform initiatives as a cross-justice sector institution while also identifying certain core causes of failure and inadequacies in Nigeria's whole judicial system.
The second issue that has arisen since the ACJA was passed, according to Fagbemi, "touches on the corrective aspects of our criminal justice system, relates to the recent amendment of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, by the 9th National Assembly - vide Fifth Alteration (No. 15) Act of 2023."
Fagbemi says that "properly addressing issues arising directly from these constitutional changes has become imperative."
The need for quick collaboration and coordination between the various States of the Federation and the Nigerian Correctional Service is at the center of these problems in order to ensure proper responsibility structuring and division on custodial and other correctional matters.
"This will assist in addressing the obstacles associated with custodial rights and related correctional regulations.
"The difficulty of mainstreaming anti-corruption principles into all facets of the criminal justice system and into subnational public administration is another issue of essential relevance. One of the things the National Anti-Corruption Program has taught us