The ministry of justice says it has not received any budgetary allocation to settle judgment debts, said solicitor-general of the federation Beatrice Jeddy-Agba.
Ms Jeddy-Agba, the permanent secretary in the ministry, said this in Abuja at a dialogue on accessing remedies for human rights violations in Nigeria.
The event was organised on the sidelines of the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Abuja.
Ms Jeddy-Agba, represented by Enoch Simon, a director in the litigation department of the attorney general of the federation’s office, said, “Since 2019, the federal ministry of justice has not received any budgetary allocation for settlement of judgment debt.”
The solicitor-general decried that despite the available legal framework in the country, the timely prosecution of fundamental rights cases and enforcement of the resulting judgments remained a major challenge for the government.
Ms Jeddy-Agba said it was unfortunate that the ministry was often compelled to pay judgment debts from unlawful actions of law enforcement institutions and agents.
“Most often, security or law enforcement agencies are the actual judgment debtors since their actions and inaction occasion the infractions,” Ms Jeddy-Agba explained. “However, the ministry of justice is dragged into the arena either because the attorney general of the federation is sued as a nominal party or the judgment creditor approaches the AGF to grant consent, pursuant to the provisions of section 84 (1-3) of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act.”
The official stated, “As a matter of due process and FGN Financial Regulations, it is the policy of the federal ministry of finance that payment of judgment debt by any agency must be based on clearance by the attorney general and requisite budgetary appropriation.”
The solicitor-general said some debtor agencies refer judgment debts to the attorney general for intervention.
NHRC executive secretary Tony Ojukwu said the commission would continue to hold the government and its agencies accountable.
He maintained that under the NHRC Act, the commission’s decisions are at par with high court judgments.
Meanwhile, rights activist Femi Falana said Nigerians must always stand up to defend their rights and demand strict adherence to the principles of the rule of law.
Mr Falana lamented that the government did not pay any monetary judgment and called on the people to demand their rights when violated.