Should Nigeria separate office of Attorney General from Minister of Justice?

Nigeria’s quest to separate the office of Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation reached its apogee in April 2014, when the National Conference Standing Committee on Law, Judiciary and Human Rights made recommendation for same during the National Conference. Deputy Chairman of the committee, Prof Auwalu Yadudu who made this known then, […]

Nigeria’s quest to separate the office of Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation reached its apogee in April 2014, when the National Conference Standing Committee on Law, Judiciary and Human Rights made recommendation for same during the National Conference.
Deputy Chairman of the committee, Prof Auwalu Yadudu who made this known then, explained that the recommendation was to ensure the independence of the office of the Attorney-General from political influence.
The two offices, he emphasized, should not be occupied by an individual in order to ensure justice. The recommendations of Yadudu’s committee has since remained in the archive giving room for the status quo ante to remain as far as the office of Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation was concerned.
Penultimate week, Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu , said that the proposal to separate the two offices, actually sailed through during the last amendment exercise, but could not see the light of the day since the Forth Alteration Bill was not assented to by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
In what appears as vote of confidence on the separation of the two offices, Ekweremadu , explained that the separation of the two offices would make whoever was appointed the AGF, to work for the people and not necessarily the government in power as a cabinet minister, and that it would ensure access to justice by citizens, devoid of any external influence.
He said, “I believe in the separation of the two offices. I go for it any time, any day. This is because it will guarantee financial independence, security of tenure, and make the holder of the Office of the Attorney-General at the state and federal levels to be independent in thinking and approach to the idea of justice. It will ensure that citizens have access to justice, since the Officer will not be dictated to by any external interest or influence.
“During the last constitution amendment exercise, we (members Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution in the 7th National Assembly) recommend it to our colleagues, based on inputs from Nigerians, and they graciously adopted it. Unfortunately, the last President did not sign it. Although, we will be looking at all the issues again, the decision on the separation, or any other issue for that matter, will depend on what other colleagues and Nigerians would think. But as a person, I strongly believe in it“.
Stakeholders in the nation’s justice sector said the discourse on the separation of the office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation couldn’t have come at a better time than now when the nation is undergoing economic and political renaissance.
While some justified the need to separate the two offices in order to free the nation’s justice system from encumbrances and excesses of the office holders, others are of the opinion that separating same is a needless exercise and an adventure that may not necessarily strengthen the nation’s justice system as envisaged.
They said strengthening the justice system requires certain organic reconstruction which is not driven by the separation of the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,
Human right activist,Barrister Femi Falana, SAN, posited that the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the Minister of Justice had not worked in the public interest and should therefore, be separated.
He noted that there was no constitutional provision for a Minister of Justice to also serve as the attorney general, saying, “One of the reasons is constitutional. By virtue of Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution, while the President has the power to appoint an Attorney General, it is not required by law that the Attorney-General shall be the Minister of Justice. “Section 174 does not say that the Attorney-General shall be the Minister of Justice but by convention over the years, the President has always asked the Attorney General to be the Minister of Justice.
He said that many attorneys general at federal and state levels terminated “serious corruption cases” by filing that government was not willing to prosecute even when the public was demanding for justice.
The activist also said some terminated cases for which they were the defence counsel before they were appointed attorneys-general. He had said that, “because the minister of justice is a member of the government and the President or the governor wants a case discontinued, it is always a very difficult decision to take.
 “We also want to relieve our colleagues of the burden of having to fight with their conscience because the president or governor has insisted that a case be discontinued.”
In his view, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) said it was not necessary to separate the two offices. He said, “It’s not necessary. The AGF is the chief law officer of Nigeria and also the head of the Justice ministry. Minister of justice can’t be the head of the ministry of justice.
“It’s abnormal. All we have to do is to separate the holder of the office of AGF from politics and ensure compliance with strict professional standards and competence in his appointment.
“Attorney General will always be Attorney General. It is a constitutionally created institution. So, whether you separate the Attorney General from the Minister of Justice, there will still be Attorney General who shall be the chief law officer of the state. My own worry in this country is that we try as much as possible, whether advertently or inadvertently, to rubbish institutions,” he said.
“The position of the Attorney General should be apolitical. It is a position that should not be politicised. It is a position that the occupier should see himself as the chief law officer of the Nation. Once he is appointed, he does not belong to any political party. Therefore, whoever that is appointed should not see himself as a card-carrying member of any political party but see himself first and foremost as the foremost law officer of the nation.”
To Barrister Iyke Theodore, the two offices should remain the same because they both perform the same function. If the government wants to save money for the system, they should remain together.
‘’We have been advocating for the separation for as long as I can remember. The offices should be separated to reduce politics in the system. The minister of Justice should be appointed by the government while the Attorney General should be elected. Hence, The AG reports to the people and the Constitution’’.
Barrister Chuks Damien said the Attorney general should be part of the judiciary while the Minister of Justice should be with the government to enable an active system.
Barrister A. E . Ogundipe , said: ’I am of the opinion that the Offices should be separated. Ideally, the office of AG should be separate to enable it carry out its duties without any influence of the government.”