FG incurs N150bn judgment debt – Malami

…as Justice Ministry demands 2.5% commission from recovered loots

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said on Wednesday that beneficiaries of N150bn judgement debt owed by the Federal Government are mounting pressure on the ministry to pay the money.

Malami disclosed this during 2020 budget defence before the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Right and Legal Matters

Malami said the ministry was compelled to take inventory and explore avenues to judgement debts that were hydra headed to the ministry.

“This has arisen because it was only in 2017 that the sum of N10bn was disbursed for the payment of judgement debt as appropriated.

“As it stands, the sum of over N150bn remains unpaid, prompting beneficiaries of this sum to keep mounting pressure on the ministry” he said.

He requested the Senate committee to intervene on the long standing vex issue by appropriating the sum of N30bn to the ministry annually to mitigate the challenge to forestall possible friction, accrued interests and unwanted litigations arising from failure to effect the payment.

Earlier, the chairman of the committee, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, said the judgement debt profile was a matter of concern to the country.

He said the Senate was aware of the challenges facing Ministries, Departments and Agencies and promised necessary interventions to address them.

Malami called on the National Assembly to approve 2.5 percent commission from the recovered loots to be paid to the Asset Recovery Unit of his office.

He said the legal procedural requirements for the recoveries were all-together tasking and cumbersome.

“Most times, we have to engage the services of well-grounded lawyers and consultants to effect recovery. To smoothen our operations in this regard, it was deemed expedient to establish Asset Recovery Unit in my office and so far, the effort is quite sultry.

“I will like to reiterate my request to the effect that about 2.5 per cent of the recovered looted money to be earmarked to the Asset Recovery Unit to service logistics, operational cost, payment to private lawyers and consultants.”