Nigeria is currently in a nasty judgement debt of N150 billion, arising from bad cases, contract failures, damages, and especially fines against human rights abuses.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubarkar Mallami, who made the disclosure on Thursday, said the country was facing hydra-headed challenges meeting up with the obligations.
Mallami, who made this disclosure when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for the defence of his ministry’s budget for 2020, requested lawmakers to appropriate an extra N30 billion to his ministry to service the debt annually.
Meanwhile, the total budgetary allocation for the entire Ministry of Justice is N33 biilion.
The Minister said while N10bilion was paid in 2017, N150 billion remains unpaid; prompting beneficiaries to mount severe pressure on the ministry.
The lawmakers were favourably disposed to Mallami’s request with a suggestion that he sends it to the National Assembly in form of a bill to avoid being misinterpreted as “padding”, especially when the money was not contained in the budget for 2020.
The AGF also requested that a commission of 2.5% of the total recovered loot should be given to the Asset Recovery Unit in his office to service bills.
Speaking, Senator Chukwuka Utazi supported the request when he argued that such appropriation will greatly facilitate the recovery of more looted funds.
This was as the Minister called for the establishment of Criminal Justice Administrative Commission which he said would help improve Nigeria’s justice system.
