The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), revealed on Thursday that the Federal Government had secured a conviction in 397 terrorism cases while 7,000 crime and anti-corruption cases had been successfully prosecuted by the government in eight years.
According to the AGF, the secured conviction was out of 3,000 terrorism-profiled charges, of which 1,500 were filed.
“A total of 7,000 cases involving various offences, including maritime, armed robbery, vandalism of electrical equipment and pipelines, financial matters, cybercrime, kidnapping, and anti-corruption, have been successfully prosecuted,” the AGF disclosed while presenting the scorecard for the Federal Ministry of Justice from 2015 to date.
During the period under review, the AGF said significant progress has been made in response to gender-based violence, including the establishment of an inter-ministerial management committee for the eradication of SGBV cases.
He further disclosed that the government has realised the sum of N1,823,788,146.86 from the sale of forfeited properties.
In a similar vein, the AGF said that “in compliance with presidential mandates and foreign judicial processes, the Ministry has recovered the total sums of £6,324,627.66, €5,494,743.71, and $390,000,000 from various jurisdictions.
“Some of the recovered funds are being utilised in the financing of critical infrastructures, including the Abuja-Kano Expressway, the Second Niger Bridge, and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.”
On anti-corruption strategy, he revealed that the government has pushed the frontiers in the fight against corruption in several areas by strengthening anti-corruption agencies and accountability systems, passing anti-corruption legislation, and enforcing sanctions with vigour.
Noting the impact of litigation on the economy, he explained that strategic measures have been adopted to avoid litigation using effective defence strategies in individual cases.
He said, “A total of 648 cases were instituted against the president, the Federal Government, and its agencies before states, federal, and ECOWAS courts were served on the ministry. The cases are at different stages of trial.”
He further revealed that in the year 2022 alone, the government was saved from huge judgment debt liabilities amounting to N142,458,343,888.52 and US$507,415,901.19.
According to the AGF, this was accomplished by having in-house state counsel in the Ministry handle cases without the need for external solicitors and their fees.
