AGF

Abubakar Malami speaks about the controversial withdrawal of corruption charges against former Gombe State governor, Danjuma Goje, that was widely viewed as ...

So, within the context of the appellate processes and procedures, where a government is not happy with the determination of a case at the Federal High Court and appeals against the judgement, what the government has done is within the context of the rule of law. Malami: Well, maybe the best answer one can provide arising from that insinuation is looking at the context and spirit of Section 174 of the Constitution, the section that establishes the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation. But one thing I can tell you is that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has been effectively observant of the rule of law, and whatever he does as it relates to judgements and orders are rooted in the rule of law. The rule of law factor establishes further that upon the determination of a case, whoever is aggrieved is equally entitled to appeal to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Malami: Well, it is all about capacity and capacity has been built over time; that is what is translating into aggressive successes in all dimensions by the lawyers. It is to make concessions in the public interest of 200 million people. So, generally speaking, from whichever way you look at it from the point of legislation, political will and accountability and transparency, the government of President Buhari has truly done well. We understood that defendants in high-profile cases are not given the opportunity of access to funds at their disposal; the funds they were alleged to have looted, they should not have access to them, those standing trial in high-profile cases should not be allowed to move freely, there should be some restrictions on their movement. If you look at it in terms of having quality legislations that have translated into good governance, through the judicial and justice sector reforms, the government of President Buhari has done wonderfully well. PT: It is almost eight years since you became the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice. If you are looking at it from the executive interventions, the government has done well. Abubakar Malami has spent almost eight years in office as Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.