The House of Representatives is considering a bill to separate the offices of the Attorney General of the Federation from that of the Minister of Justice.
Offices of the Attorney General of a state will also be separated from the Commissioner of Justice if the bill sales through.
The bill, co-sponsored by two Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers, Mansur Soro (Darazo/Ganjuwa Federal Constituency, Bauchi State) and Oluwole Oke (Osun) is receiving legislative input from the House Committee on Constitution Review, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu.
The bill is seeking alteration to Section 150 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) with the introduction of sub-section 1. Also, the bill seeks to introduce a sub-section to Section 195 of the Constitution.
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Speaking exclusively with reporters on the objective of the proposed law, Soro said, the reason for this proposal is to enhance efficiency in the dispensation of criminal justice, safeguard the public interest and deter abuse of legal process in public prosecutions at both the federal and state levels.
According to the lawmaker, the Minister of Justice of the Federal Government and Commissioners of Justice of the government of the states can be described as partisan political advisors providing legal advice to cabinets and overseeing justicial policy matters.
He noted that the combined roles of the minister or commissioner of justice with the attorney general would bring about a conflict of interests, stressing that the bill intended to eliminate the conflict, limit risks of political interference, boost public confidence in Nigeria’s justice system among others.