His Excellency Engineer Abdullahi A. Sule swore in the Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Nasarawa State on the 1st of November 2019 and the Governor handed him a mandate which was premised on a strategic plan to make sure that within two years of Engineer Abdullahi A. Sule stewardship, the administration of Nasarawa State had become a governance which was anchored on rule of law, transparency, accountability, child protection, inclusion of the poorest of the poor and enduring institutions of probity and fiscal discipline rather than a state governed by on the basis of political loyalty, religion, ethnicity or the wanton whim or caprices of political office holders.
Governor Abdullahi A. Sule therefore wanted laws, law-making, and the application of the law and the entire activities of the Ministry of Justice to be keyed into and focused upon the cardinal objective to ensure the legal implementation of the Nasarawa Economic Development Strategy (NEDS) and the development of the Sector Implementation Plan to align with the vision and goal of NEDS and to ensure access to justice for all persons whether they are rich or poor or even if they belong to the opposition party or they are person living with disability and the observance of the rule of law and due process by all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Nasarawa State.
To this end, Engr A.A. Sule inspired the conceptualization of THE STRATEGIC PLAN 2019-2023 of the Ministry of Justice which was prepared in a participatory manner by the Ministry’s staff in consultation with all other relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Nasarawa State and supported by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of Nasarawa State (SGS), through a process of workshops and a number of technical meetings and consultations with different stakeholders.
In this regard, Engineer Abdullahi A. Sule sponsored and supported the establishment of more modern ddepartments in the Ministry of Justice and the procurement of office equipment and computer hardware and vehicles, paving the way for the Nasarawa State Ministry of Justice facilitated the passage of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJIL) of the state to replace the historic Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
This proactive step has ensured that Legal Advice are now rendered and dispatched within a week or two of the receipt of case diaries from the Police.
Also as a compassionate leader, at the helm of an inclusive government, and one who was worried by the spate of delayed justice syndrome in most Nigerian States, Engr Sule ensured that the Ministry of Justice quickly made it a matter of policy to provide funds to witnesses for transportation and accommodation to testify in courts in State criminal cases, while Governor Sule himself approved prompt payment of dressing allowance, practicing fees and seals for all Counsel in the Ministry.
In less than three years, all the laws of Nasarawa State have are now been digitized and uploaded into the internet, and in sync with the avowed dictum of the A.A. Sule administration to uphold the sacred tenets of accountability, open governance and transparency, the government has launched the nsmoj.com website for the Ministry of Justice to regularly upload for easy access to the public laws of the State and other relevant information.
The purpose of this online platform will also assist the government not only get the public informed of its activities but to encourage a feedback process from persons who have complaints/suggestions or criticisms to make about the dispensation of justice and the upholding of fairness, equity and inclusion
Notably prior to the ascendancy of Engineer Abdullahi A. Sule as Governor of Nasarawa State, the last time legal counsels were employed in the State Ministry of Justice was about 9 years ago. As a result of death and resignation a lot of vacancies existed in the Ministry up to the end of 2019. Based on the foregoing, His Excellency, Engr. A.A. Sule graciously approved the recruitment of fourteen law officers. The recruitment was conducted and the law officers resumed in January, 2020, and were posted to Karu, Keffi, Nasarawa and Akwanga. The objective behind these employments was to boost the capacity of government to uphold fundamental human rights and protect citizens of Nasarawa State.
Further, Engineer Abdullahi A. Sule approved the purchase of 14 Laptops at the total cost of N1, 540,000.00, which were distributed to the newly employed lawyers. As at May 2021, all lawyers in the State Ministry of Justice have computers to help them process their work. This has helped to speed up the provision of justice and output of the Judiciary in Nasarawa State. Governor Abdullahi A. Sule ensured that the headquarters of Ministry of Justice was renovated at Lafia as well as the Area office in Keffi.
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