The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, on Friday, in celebration of the first year of Tinubu’s administration, has disclosed during his presentation of the scorecard of the Federal Ministry of Justice that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration faced a total of 625 court cases in the past 12 months.
The AGF said that these legal actions were instituted before States, Federal and ECOWAS Court, in which the Ministry, after it was served with copies of the suits, responded accordingly.
Also, the AGF explained that the Ministry succeeded in saving the country from huge debt liabilities using a combination of effective defence strategies to cases, arbitration, mediation and diligent prosecution of appeal cases.
He said: “In the reporting period, a total of 625 (Six Hundred and Twenty-Five) cases instituted against the President, Federal Government and its Agencies, before States, Federal and ECOWAS Court were served and responded by the Ministry.
“The Ministry also received and treated 593 requests for legal advice and Petitions from May 2023 till date.
“In all, the Ministry obtained 235 judgements from May, 2023 to date,” he added.
Fagbemi, SAN, also stated that the Justice Ministry put their efforts together to enhance President Tinubu’s priority of improving governance for effective service delivery.
“Within the period, the Ministry vetted/reviewed 485 Contracts and PPP Projects to ensure value for money, eliminate corruption and ensure adequate protection of FGN investments.
“A total of 574 Legal Opinions were also proffered during the reporting period.”
In his statement, he disclosed that through prosecution, the Ministry secured 160 convictions for criminal offences, 87 convictions for terrorism cases, 3 novel convictions for extremist terrorism actors involved in the radicalization of children and violence against women.
“I am pleased to report that following the Ministry’s intervention for the upgrade of facilities designated for trial of terrorism cases, the Ministry has resumed trials of terrorism cases in conjunction with the Legal Aid Council, National Human Rights Commission and other stakeholders.
“The percentages of Terrorism Cases initiated and Corruption Cases concluded within the reporting period has been significant.”