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AGF Cautions Politicians Against Blackmailing Judiciary, Judges
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has described allegations making the rounds against the country’s judiciary as cheap blackmail.
Fagbemi appealed to politicians who lost out at the election not to throw caution to the wind.
He also urged them to stop making unfounded insinuations against the judges, adding that anybody who has concrete evidence against any judge should feel free to bring forth such evidence.
Fagbemi spoke with reporters in his Ijagbo, Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State’s country home on the sidelines of a prayer organised in his honour, last Friday.
He said, “You lost at the tribunal, you lost at the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court yet you are insinuating foul play. I think even apart from law, morality also demands that you take the outcome as it is.
“I am not saying that judges cannot be wrong because they are human beings. Where anybody sees or feels that the course of justice has been perverted, feel free to bring it forth rather than making unfounded insinuations.
“Unless you can bring forth concrete evidence, I will not succumb to blackmail. Nobody will shield an erring judge.
“One thing about justice is that the man who wins will praise the judgment. The person who loses will never agree that he has lost fairly unless you give him the judgment.
“Don’t forget, when you make unfounded insinuations, you are dragging the name of the nation in the mud.”
He urged “all and sundry to imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship.”
Speaking at the venue of the prayer session organised by his siblings and the entire Fagbemis, the minister enjoined Nigerians to give President Bola Tinubu a chance to turn around the fortunes of the country.
He added that Tinubu is not looking at the immediate benefits of his efforts but long-term benefits.
“That is why I appeal to all and sundry to give him the chance.
“He is a man who is ready to do the thing. It takes a while to see the full effect of his efforts.
“He is not the one who created these problems in Nigeria, but he is not complaining. President Tinubu is somebody who wants to work. He is prepared to do the job. He is not somebody who is just learning the job. He has done it before in Lagos State. I am not equating Lagos with Nigeria.
“Immediately after his swearing in he has been all out to seek investors’ buy-in. As a result, positive responses have been trailing his discussions with foreign investors. The only thing we need is to exercise some patience. Even if you plant a tree, it won’t grow into fruition until after a while,” he said.
On judiciary reforms, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria revealed that he had used the platform of the Nigerian Governors Forum to make the governors come on board.
He added that the Federal Government would also engage judges at both Federal and state government levels.
He said “What I have done is to seek the platform of NGF to address all the governors in Nigeria as to what they are required to do if anything is being done a the level of the Federal Government.
“We expect that the state within their limited resources will let into it.
“Another thing is that we need to engage the judges. Because it is one thing to make laws, it is another thing to administer them.
“We also need to engage the chief judges, especially at the state level. We need to embark on uniformity without necessarily turning the country into a unitary system.”
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.