Rule of law declining in Nigeria, says Hague institute

The Hague Institute for Innovative Law on Thursday regretted that respect for the rule of law and justice was declining in Nigeria and other parts of the world at large.

The Chief Executive Officer of HiiL, Sam Muller, disclosed this during the presentation of the 2023 report on justice needs and satisfaction in Nigeria.

Muller said the situation, which was also captured by the World Justice Project’s 2023 report, was depressing for people who wake up every day to build a nation where peace and justice should reign.

He, however, observed that change has started in the last five years with a movement towards people-centred justice.

“A task force consisting of leaders from different regions of the world, which 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 added.

The Country Representative of HiiL, Ijeoma Nwafor, said the organisation has a justice acceleration programme, a scaling programme, and innovation labs in Imo, Kaduna, and Ogun states.

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 necessary to achieve the aim of using innovations to close the justice gap.

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