In two years, Lagos passed 14 bills into law -says Kazeem
The Attorney General of Lagos State and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, has been speaking on the achievements of his ministry, the Ministry of Justice in the last two years of the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
In this report, BENJAMIN OMOIKE captures the highlights of his assessment.
In the past two years, the Lagos State Ministry of Justice has maintained the tradition of keeping the State at the vanguard of good governance, rule of Law and constitutionalism.
According to him, it goes without saying that the task of upholding the rule of law in a highly populated, multicultural and multi-religious city like Lagos is no mean feat. We however have His Excellency to thank for his consistent and unwavering support, exemplary leadership and zeal to ensure that the maintenance of Law and Order remains a focal point in Lagos State.
Regarding the strides achieved in the period under review, he was unequivocal in his response.
During the period under review, he said 14 Bills were passed into law while 12 are currently undergoing drafting process. The following are some of the Laws and Regulations that the Ministry was actively involved in bringing into effect and major policy thrusts of the state, which the governor has assented to.
The first being the Lagos State Environmental Protection and Management Law, 2017. Also, the Lagos State Sports Trust Fund Law, 2017. Other laws are: the Lagos State Sports Commission, 2017, Lagos State Kidnapping Prohibition Law, 2017, Hotel Occupancy Regulations, 2017, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund Law, 2016 and the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (Amendment) Law, 2016.
We must not forget the Local Government Election Tribunal (Amendment) Law, 2016, the Local Government Administration (Amendment) Law, 2016, Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps Law, 2016 and the Lagos State Properties Protection Law, 2016 and the Stamp Duties (Recovery and Collections) Regulations, 2016.
“In addition to the laws assented to, His Excellency approved the Stamp Duties (Recovery and Collections) Regulations, 2016 pursuant to the powers conferred on him by the provisions of the Stamp Duty Act,” he said.
On Law reforms in the State, Adeniji had said, “in 2016, the Lagos State House of Assembly approved the Yoruba translation of Laws of Lagos State. The Law Reform Commission has commenced the process of achieving this milestone which is the first indigenous initiative in our country.”
The Tenancy Law is presently being reviewed by the Law Reform Commission. Questionnaires have been distributed to all stakeholders (Judges, Magistrates, Legal Practitioners, Landlords, Tenants, Estate Surveyors etc.) for their various opinions and a stakeholder’s meeting will be convened prior to the drafting of a revised Bill for Exco approval before passage into Law by the House of Assembly.
“In line with our drive to promote information technology in the state,” he said, “the Laws of Lagos State, 2015 were uploaded online last year. The online platform provides worldwide accessibility to the laws and all laws subsequently passed by the House of Assembly. Members of the public can visit the site at www.laws.lagosstate.gov.ng to access and electronically purchase the Laws of Lagos State.”
Kazeem also highlighted efforts by his ministry regarding law enforcement in the state.
The Institute organised trainings and workshops for Law Enforcement agencies in the State and has in the period under review, organised trainings for 3,550 Officers of LASTMA, KAI and VIS; conducted Enforcement and Safety workshop for 39 LAGBUS Enforcement Officers and conducted Physical Agility Screening Exercise for 4,345 Neighbourhood Safety Corps Officers.
In addition, the residential basic induction training programme for 5,700 Neighbourhood Safety Corps Officers is ongoing at Iyana Ipaja Youth Hostel.
The case of the DNA Forensic Centre has been a topical issue in public discourse. To this, Kazeem had this to say.
The Lagos State government in preparation for the establishment of the DNA Forensic Centre held a symposium spearheaded by this Ministry on November 15, 2016. The center will be world class and the first by any government in Nigeria. It will be geared towards enabling proper investigation, prosecution of crimes, adjudication and the administration of justice in the state.
Land grabbing is still cause for concern in Lagos State, but the Attorney General says; “the governor of Lagos State, is resolute in his resolve to use all legal means to curb the nefarious activities of Land Grabbers who, with their collaborators in high and official places have continuously enforced a reign of terror on the people of the state.
“To this end, His Excellency recently approved the commissioning of the permanent office of the task force to further enhance its operations and bring succour to the people of Lagos State.
Since its inauguration in September 2016, the Task Force has received 1,237 petitions with about 250 resolved through various means including physical enforcement, mediation and conciliation.”
A major challenge motorists in Lagos have had to contend with in recent times is the presence of the Special Offences (Mobile) Court. What is the Commissioner’s take?
“In line with the mandate of the Lagos State government, the Mobile Court has been able to successfully reduce street trading, traffic congestion and unethical/ anti-social conducts on the roads as well as environmental nuisances thereby improving the socio-economic well-being of the residents of Lagos State.
“Within the period under review, a total number of 4, 426 offenders have so far been arraigned before the Mobile Court whilst series of enlightenment campaigns have been carried to make residents aware of the need to obey traffic rules and keep the environment safe and secure.
“The Lagos State government recently commenced the process of building up data on criminal suspects to aid in gathering important intelligence that would eventually assist in tracing defendants and providing accurate bio-data to the courts during prosecution of criminal cases.
“Over 750,000 criminal suspect forms were recently handed over to the Lagos State Police Command. This was aimed at bringing about ease of justice delivery and aid in quick record keeping of criminals in the state.”
The absence of a comprehensive crime data registry has been identified as bane of curbing crime in the state. He says: “With our strong determination to combat crime in the state and the fast development of technology; through the participation of the Lagos State Judiciary, Ministry of Justice, the Lagos Police Command and the Nigerian Prison Services; we have enhanced the process of registering the electronic information of suspects and offenders.
“As a result, details of convicted offenders are registered to help successfully combat crime rate in the state.”
Citizens’ rights or the abuse of it has been in the front burner. The Commissioner posits thus:
“With the establishment of the Citizens Rights Unit, the Ministry of Justice has treated a total number of 3,663 cases in the period under review. This figure encompasses cases treated at the Taskforce Unit, Human Rights Violation and such other matters; Consumer Rights Protection Unit, Monetary Claims, One Stop Child Justice Centre (OSCJC), Public Interest Defence Team, Prison Watch Team that affected the integrity and dignity of persons resident in Lagos State.
“During the period under review, a total of 278 complaints were received by this Unit. 196 cases were successfully resolved and 82 complaints have been referred to the appropriate ministry, parastatal or agency concerned for further action.
“In addition, the sum of N27,014,635.69 was collected on behalf of complainants by the Directorate for the maintenance/up keep of children who were neglected by their fathers.”
Regarding major judgments recorded and which involved the Lagos State government in the last two years, the Commissioner said there were some in particular which caught the eye.
“I must say the case involving the Attorney General, Lagos State & ORS VS Zanen Versten and Company Nigeria Ltd. is a notable
“On 23 June 2016, the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos State reversed the decision of the Federal High Court of Lagos which in 2006 awarded the sum of $5,707, 297.90 (N1,598,043,160) against the Lagos State government.
“Another one is the one involving the Attorney General of the Federation VS the Attorney General of Lagos State (On Land Regularisation).
“In this case, the defendants brought a Notice of Preliminary objection on whether the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction to entertain cases between the Federal Government and the State Government on land matters having divested its interest in the said subject matter especially at No 10, Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State and if they have locus standi to institute this action.
“The Supreme Court held that the Federal Government cannot invoke the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as it is not a matter between a Federal and State Government, but between the State Government and Federal Government allottees who are individuals, hence all matters should be prosecuted and litigated upon at the High Court of the state.
“Let me also add that we are in collaboration with the European Union under agreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria to fund a project: Support to the Justice Sector in Nigeria 2013 – 2017. The project is jointly implemented by UNICEF and UNODC. UNICEF is implementing the child justice aspects of the project and they have shown interest in collaboration with this Directorate in furtherance of their goals.”
On civil litigation?
Kazeem said, the Directorate of Civil Litigation is responsible for instituting and defending Civil actions involving the state government, its Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
He added that the Directorate also adopts proactive case management techniques in its efforts to minimise the state government’s liability exposure by working with the Directorate of Advisory Services to eliminate those factors before they result in claims or law suits.
During the period under review, the Directorate has defended several matters in the State High Court, Federal High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court with a total number of 736 cases transferred from MDAs, 232 new cases and over 24 judgements obtained.
On the efficacy of the Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Kazeem believes they have been very effective.
“Let me say, this Agency is charged with the responsibility of providing legal aid services to indigent members of the public. The policy thrust of OPD includes the enforcement of legal rights of citizens and paying attention to the socio-economic rights of the poor and vulnerable in the society.
“During the period under review, OPD handled 4,149 petitions and 5,400 cases which cut across labour, civil, criminal, coroner’s inquests and fundamental rights at various courts, on behalf of indigent residents of Lagos at no cost. In addition, OPD embarked on 35 Rescue Missions and through its intervention, ensured that 30 children were put in custodial care.
“The office in conjunction with UNICEF provided free legal services to children in various detention centres. This project lasted for three months and at the end, OPD represented 153 children with more than 100 released from custody through its intervention.
“OPD also facilitated the collection of N9, 465,826.75 as compensation on behalf of complainants within the last one year.”
One major challenge facing Lagos is the issue of domestic violence. What is his take on this?
“The Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT), as a team, has obtained judgments in defilement matters, ranging from seven years, 10 years and 15 years imprisonment, respectively.
“In addition, Engagement and Sensitisation campaigns for Army Personnel on Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and Rape were carried out. While NURTW Officials were conscripted as Ambassadors in the fight against Sexual and Gender based Violence.
“During the period under review, the team has handled 920 cases bordering on Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and Sexual Violence. The Team has also assisted 20 survivors of defilement with sponsorship for their education, provided professional Psycho Social Therapy for 20 Rape and 60 Domestic Violence Survivors respectively as well as 30 survivors of Intimate Partner Violence.”
On prison visits, he says, this Ministry paid a working visit to Ikoyi and Kirikiri Medium Security Prison earlier this month to get a first-hand evaluation of the living conditions of the Awaiting Trial Inmates with a view to making appropriate recommendations to decongest the Prisons through Rapid Prosecution and Amnesty Considerations.
