Participants at the end of the annual House of Justice Summit held in Kaduna have called on the government to go after the financiers of insecurity in the country.
They also urged the government to ensure the protection of civilian informants in order to completely cripple terrorist activities in Nigeria.
Some of the notable participants who spoke at the summit include General Martin Luther Agwai (Rtd), Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, Professor Chris Kwaja, Honorable Sarah Reng Ochekpe, and Group Captain Sadeeq Garba Shehu (Rtd).
Others included Dr. Mike Omeri, Mr. Chima Christian, Barrister Audu Adamu Maikori, Barrister Jibrin Samuel Okutepa, SAN, and Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State, Muhammad Rabiu, represented by ACP Badamasi Musa.
In a communiqué signed by the CEO of House of Justice, Barrister Gloria Ballason, and Luka Ashafa Odita, Lecturer in Criminology and Security Studies at Kaduna State University, which was made available to newsmen on Sunday, they noted that government and security agencies should go after the sponsors of terrorism in the country.
The communiqué urged government and security agencies to take intelligence gathering and reports seriously, as this would help identify those behind terrorist acts.
It lamented that, over the years, there have not been concerted efforts to deal with the issue of insecurity, particularly the financiers of insecurity.
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The communiqué also emphasized the need for cooperation between Nigeria and neighboring countries in strategically resolving insecurity, stating that the recruitment process for security agents should be transparent and based on merit.
It highlighted that the absence of justice for victims makes some of them transition into combatants. It criticized the government’s policy of rehabilitation, recovery, and reintegration programs for offenders while abandoning victims in internally displaced persons camps, which are sometimes re-attacked by terrorists.
The communiqué, which also touched on electoral matters, noted that Nigeria has repeatedly failed to hold electoral offenders to account, as electoral crimes are rarely punished according to the law. This has led to unresolved electoral disputes and has caused some African countries to view Nigeria’s electoral system as a failing one.
“The justice system in Nigeria and Africa should dispense justice according to the law. The National Judicial Council and citizens must hold the judiciary accountable.
“Judicial appointments should be apolitical and should not be influenced by ‘inheritance,’ family or filial ties, or any primordial sentiments. The Nigerian justice system is yet to be systematic.
“There is a need for justice delivery reforms, improved accountability, and court efficiency. There is a growing perception that justice in Nigeria, especially during elections, is transactional. These perceptions have sometimes been substantiated by the experiences of electoral court users.
“There are concerns about the diminishing authority and respect for the justice sector due to the capture of the judiciary by family dynasties, the politicization of appointments, and the profiling of the judiciary as corrupt.”
The communiqué therefore tasked the National Orientation Agency and the Ministry of Information to set an agenda for a positive outlook for the country and ensure that children are not inundated with negative narratives, so as to shape their interactions and outlook on the country.
