The National Assembly for the umpteenth time is pushing for a legislative framework that will ensure appointment of non-partisan Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
This was proposed in “a bill for an Act to establish the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and of the State, separate from the office of the Minister of, or Commissioner for, Justice of the State, in order to make the offices of the Attorneys-General independent and insulated from partisanship; and for related matters,” as encapsulated in the 1999 Constitution Review, which has been transmitted to the State Houses of Assembly for consideration.
The bill also seeks to establish the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and separated from the office of the Minister or State Commissioner for Justice in order to make the office of the Attorneys-General independent and insulated from partisanship.
The new move, is coming over two years after the immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan declined assent to the harmonised report of the Special Ad-hoc Committee on Constitution Review initiated by the seventh session of the National Assembly.
According to the new legislation, Section 150(1 and 2) provides that “there shall be a Minister of Justice who shall be a Minister and Chief Law Officer of the Government of the Federation.
(2) A person shall not be qualified to hold or perform the functions of the office of Minister of Justice of the Government of the Federation unless he is qualified to practice as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for not less than fifteen years.”
According to a report obtained by BusinessDay, section 174(b) provides that any “person shall not be qualified to hold or perform the functions of the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation unless he is: qualified to practice as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for not less than 15 years, with knowledge of the working of the criminal justice system; and a person of integrity and is not a member of any political party.
Meanwhile, section 174(c) also provides that the Attorney-General of the Federation shall, in the discharge of his functions under this Constitution, be independent and not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.
It further seeks to redefine the role of the Attorney-General, provide a fixed tenure, increase the age and qualification for appointment and provide for more independent process for the appointment of the Attorney-General.
While speaking on the separation of the office of the AGF and Minister of Justice, ‘Dele Ahamisi, of Dele Ahamisi Solicitors in Abuja, expressed optimism that the diffusion of both offices will engender efficiency and effective delivery of justice.
According to him, “by implication, when the bill is passed into law, it is an improvement from what is obtainable currently, but I will only recommend that it should be an elective position.”
He explained that when the AGF appointee becomes elective, he will be empowered to prosecute the President or any political office holder(s) for any form of abuse of office and act in the public interest as against the current practice.
“The best approach should be that an appointee as Attorney General of the Federation should be an elective position, while the Minister of Justice who is an appointed of the President can advocate on behalf of any sitting democractic government. That process will strengthen democratic practice in Nigeria.
“The development is in tandem with global best practice and will bring Nigeria at par with developing democracies in the world like United States of America,” Ahamisi told BusinessDay.
Section 174(a-e) also empowers the AGF to: institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person before any court of law in Nigeria, other than a court-martial, in respect of any offence created by or under an Act of the National Assembly.
He or she, will also take over and continue any such criminal proceeding that may have been instituted by any other person or authority; discontinue, at any stage before judgment is delivered, any such criminal proceeding instituted or undertaken by him or any other person or authority. A further function of the office will be to supervise, monitor, control and ensure that all government agencies with investigative and prosecutorial powers carry out their functions in accordance with the law establishing them; and carry out such other functions as may be conferred upon him by the National Assembly.
On the removal of the AGF, Section 174(g) also provides that the “Attorney-General of the Federation shall be removed from office by the President acting on a resolution supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate praying that he be so removed for inability to discharge the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or any other cause) or for misconduct, negligence of duty or incompetence.”
211(d)(1) also empowers the Attorney-General of a State to “institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person before any court of law in the State, other than a court-martial, in respect of any offence created by or under a Law of the House of Assembly; take over and continue any such criminal proceeding that may have been instituted by any other person or authority; discontinue, at any stage before judgment is delivered, any such criminal proceeding instituted or undertaken by him or any other person or authority.
In tandem with the provisions of the Constitution, for the proposed amendment to scale through legislative procedure, it requires two-third approval of the 36 State Houses of Assembly and the President’s assent.
