Declining Respect for Justice and Rule of Law in Nigeria Bemoaned

The Hague Institute for Innovative Law (HiiL) has lamented the declining state of the rule of law and justice in Nigeria and other parts of the world, as the situation becomes unbearable.  The Chief Executive Officer of HiiL, Sam Muller disclosed this on Thursday last week, at the presentation of the 2023 Report on the justice needs and satisfaction in Nigeria.

Muller said the situation, which was also captured by the World Justice Project’s 2023 Report, and which impacts six out of eight billion people in the world, is depressing for people who wake up every day to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.

He, however, observed that change has started in the last five years, with a movement towards people-centred justice. He said a task force consisting of leaders from different regions of the world, made a thorough analysis of the situation and found that the cost on the economy and development can be measured.

“Two-thirds of people on Planet Earth do not have adequate access to justice, and somehow, it is not getting better, and we keep doing the same thing to improve”, he said.

In her presentation, the Country Representative (Nigeria) of HiiL, Ijeoma Nwafor said the organisation has a justice acceleration programme, scaling programme, and innovation labs in Imo, Kaduna, and Ogun State.

Also making a presentation, the Programme Director of Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Uganda, Theresa Smout said findings from the research done in Imo, Kaduna, and Ogun indicate that Nigeria has attained the level of outcomes, solutions, and impact in achieving the aim of using innovations to close the justice gap. She said Nigeria is followed by Ethiopia, as the country at this level in Africa.

A representative of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Felix Okojie, expressed satisfaction with the result of the research from three States, and reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to partner with HiiL to replicate the research findings nationwide.

The data shows that 81% of Nigerians encountered a legal problem in 2023, one-third said the cases are still ongoing, while 82% considered the resolution fair or very fair.

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