Why We Need Additional Funding to Charter Aircraft for Judges – AGF

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has made a compelling appeal to the Senate, seeking additional funds to charter aircraft for the secure transportation of judges. This plea comes as a response to the heightened insecurity prevailing across the country.

In a session before the Senate committee on Judiciary, led by Senator Muhammed Munguno (APC, Borno North), the minister emphasized the need for increased resources. Fagbemi stated, “In order to ensure the security and confidence of the judicial officers coupled with the location of the trial, the Ministry is required to charter aircraft to airlift them.”

Expressing concern over budget delays, Fagbemi disclosed that the ministry received allocations for the 2023 budget’s capital expenditure only on December 1, 2023, less than a month before the fiscal year’s conclusion. For the outgoing budget cycle, the ministry’s capital budget was set at N3,321,283,533. Meanwhile, the recurrent budget stood at N4,688,847,054. The released funds, however, amounted to a mere N617,456,896.00 for capital expenditure and N2,734,110,775.62 for recurrent expenditure.

The revelation prompted surprise from the Senator Munguno-led committee, questioning the feasibility of executing capital projects within the remaining timeframe of less than 30 days in 2023. The committee urged the minister to continue his work, acknowledging the urgency of the situation.

Fagbemi further explained that the constrained performance due to insufficient funding had been a significant challenge for the ministry. Looking ahead to 2024, he outlined the proposed budget, with N5,341,356,849.00 allocated for capital expenditure and N8,860,880,311.10 for recurrent expenditure. The minister affirmed his commitment to achieving a paradigm shift in the justice sector, addressing the persistent issue of underfunding.