648 court cases instituted against Buhari since 2015 ― AGF

A total of 648 cases have been instituted against President Muhammadu Buhari, the federal government and its agencies before states, federal and ECOWAS courts since the inception of his administration.

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who revealed this, also said that no judgement had been entered against the president as all present judgements were inherited from the previous administration.

Malami, who spoke on the impact of litigation efforts on the economy while appearing on the Ministerial Media Briefing organized by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday, revealed that about N54.8 billion was saved from litigation in 2022.

He said the federal government made use of its lawyers and did not have to pay external counsels in the course of the litigation.

The AGF similarly disclosed that 1,000 convictions were recorded on terrorism and another 45 convictions in Complex Casework Group (CCG), Maritime Unit, and Special Task Force on Electricity Offenses.

Also, he said the successful engagement with the International Court of Justice (ICC) led to the satisfactory prosecution of seven cases.

Malami, who reviewed the achievements of his ministry under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, said 392 major contracts and Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects were vetted to ensure adequate protection of government investments.

ALSO READ FROM  NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

• ‘39.6 percent of unmarried university students use sexual performance-enhancing drugs’
• Tips on building a happy and healthy relationship
• Safety precautions to observe at the airport
• Safety tips to observe when boarding a ride from a ride-hailing app
• Secure your social media accounts from hackers with these tips
• Things to look out for before starting a business
• Striking a balance between your 9-5 job and your side hustle
• Little or no work experience? Here’s what you can do
• Top 10 Business Ideas In Nigeria You Can Start With 100,000 Naira

He said the ministry executed 350 Mutual Legal Assistance requests with over 50 convictions, noting that the achievements were recorded as a result of consensus-building arrangements and the establishment of international cooperation.

Furthermore, he revealed that N1.82 billion has been generated from the sale of bid forms and actual sale of forfeited properties while N596 billion was recovered by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Audit and Recovery of Back Years on Stamp Duty.

According to him, the sum of £6.3 million was recovered from various jurisdictions between March 2021 and May 2022 as stolen funds.

Also speaking on the Criminal Justice sector reforms, he affirmed that 32 states have so far passed the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL).

Malami revealed that under the effort of the National Human Rights Commission, over N146 million has been paid as compensation to victims of human rights violations.

According to him, it was the first time that such payments were being made as no record exists to show that such compensation had been paid in the past.

He said the ministry of justice has “relentlessly been contributing its quota to the running of government and fulfilling the promises of delivering good governance based on Rule of Law and sound Democratic values in accordance with best practice.”