The two chambers of the National Assembly have perfected plans to strip the executive arm of government of the power to prosecute persons suspected to have committed any offence against the Nigerian state
In the ongoing constitution amendment, the National Assembly is putting finishing touches on a legislation which aims at separating the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and those of the states from the office of the minister of or commissioner for justice.
The 8th Assembly has also approved a Bill for an Act seeking to make the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation and those of the states financially independent by placing them on the consolidated revenue of the federation and of the state.
The Bill provides for new sections ‘84A – 84E’ in section 84, which stipulates that “there shall be an Accountant-General of the Federation” and “there shall be an Accountant-General of the Federal Government”, respectively.
These amendments are part of the 23 item resolution approved by the House of Representatives Special Ad-hoc Committee on constitutional review, headed by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Yussuff Sulaimon Lasun.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the 23 items were also ratified by the constitutional review committee of the Senate, headed by the deputy Senate president, Ike Ekwerenmadu.
The Bill seeking to establish the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and of the states separately from the office of the Minister of or commissioner for justice is aimed at making the office of the Attorneys-General independent and insulated from partisanship.
According to the Bill, the Attorney-General of the Federation shall not be a member of any political party and shall hold office for a single term of seven years and no more until he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier
It also seeks to redefine the role of the Attorney-General and provide a fixed tenure, increase the age and qualification for appointment as well as provide for more independent process for the appointment of the Attorney-General.
The Bill seeks to amend sections 150 and 174 of the 1999 constitution (as amended).
Section 150 (1) stipulates that “there shall be an Attorney General of the Federation who shall be the Chief Law Officer and a Minister of the Government of the Federation”.
In the proposed amendment, the section provides that “there shall be a Minister of Justice who shall be a Minister and Chief Law Officer of the Government of the Federation”.
While a new insertion is being proposed to section 174 (A) which provides that “there shall be an Attorney-General of the Federation who shall be appointed by the President subject to confirmation by the Senate”.
The amendment further proposes that a person shall not be qualified to hold or perform the functions of the office of the Attorney General of the Federation unless he is qualified to practise as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for not less than ten years.
But in the case of the Minister, “a person shall not be qualified to hold or perform the functions of the office of Minister of Justice of the Government of the Federation unless he is qualified to practise as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for not less than fifteen years”.
In the case of Attorneys-General of states, the bill seeks to amend sections 195 and 211 of the constitution.
Section 195 stipulates that “there shall be an Attorney-General for each State who shall be the Chief law Officer and Commissioner for Justice of the Government of that State”.
But in the proposed amendment, the section provides that “here shall be a Commissioner for Justice of the Government of a State”, while a new insertion to section 211 provides that “there shall be an Attorney-General of a State who shall be appointed by the Governor subject to confirmation by the State House of Assembly”.
According to the Bill, the Attorney- General of a state shall not be a member of any political party and shall hold office for a single term of six years and no more until he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier.
Meanwhile, the Bill which proposes to guarantee independence for the office of the Auditor-General for the Federation and for the State seeks to amend Section 6 of the First Alteration No.1, 2011 by inserting in subsection (3) a new paragraph “(d)” “(d) office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.
The Bill also seeks to alter Section 121 of the Principal Act by substituting for subsection (3), with a new subsection “(3)” thus: “Any amount standing to the credit of the- Auditor-General for the State, and Judiciary, in the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the State shall be paid directly to the said bodies respectively, in the case of judiciary, such amount shall be paid directly to the heads of the courts concerned.
Source : http://www.nigeriatoday.ng/2017/06/nass-moves-to-strip-executive-of-power-to-prosecute/amp/

With all the continuous constitution amendment yet Nigeria is still moving backwards. Kwontinu