Senate indicts Malami’s Justice Ministry over N10.4bn judgment debt

The Senate public accounts committee has indicted the Abubakar Malami-led Ministry of Justice for awarding a sum of N10.4 billion earmarked as judgment debts without due process.

This followed a report by the office of the auditor-general of the federation and adopted by the committee chaired by the senator representing Edo South, Mathew Uhroghide.

The OAGF in the course of its finding discovered that the amount which was accrued as judgment debts between 2017 and 2018 was disbursed without constituting a committee to that effect.

The report said the last time the ministry had such a committee was in 2013.

The report read in part, “Examination of the budget of the federal ministry of justice revealed that the sum of N460.95 million was appropriated for the payment of judgment debts for 2016 and N10 billion appropriated for 2017, totaling N10.46 billion,” the report reads.

“Further examination revealed that the committee saddled with the responsibility of managing the fund was dissolved after the 2013 financial year and is yet to be reconstituted after the 2016 and 2017 appropriations.

“However, the ministry has been disbursing this sum without a committee in place.”

According to the report, the federal government would lose funds meant to pay judgment debts if the practice is allowed to continue.

The Senate, while aligning with the OAGF urged the Ministry of Justice to stop the payment and promptly set up a panel for that purpose.

Credit: The Punch