Member of MRA’s Network of Lawyers
A Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed September 28, 2022 for hearing in the suit filed by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) seeking an order of mandamus to compel the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) to make rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017 as required by Section 11 of the Act.
The suit will be heard by Justice Tijjani Garba Ringim, who has earlier issued an order granting MRA leave to apply to the court to compel the Attorney-General of the Federation to make the rules and regulations following a motion bought on behalf of the organization by its lawyer, Mrs. Bankeye Akinwale, in which the organization claimed that although Section 11 of the Anti-Torture Act mandated the Attorney-General to make rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the Act, he has since 2017 failed to do so.
MRA is complaining in the suit that despite the enactment of the Act in 2017, there have continued to be various allegations made by journalists, and other individuals and citizens of Nigeria of being subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment by officials of law enforcement agencies and other government officials and non-state actors.
MRA said in an effort to ensure that the Attorney-General complies with the provision of the law, it wrote a letter of demand dated August 20, 2021 to him requesting him to perform the statutory duty imposed on him by the Act but that the Minister has failed, neglected or refused to comply with the demand and to perform his statutory duty.
The organization said following the failure of the Attorney-General to perform the statutory imposed on him by the Section 11 of the Act, it decided to approach the court to seek an order of mandamus to compel him to perform the mandatory legal duty imposed on him by Section 11 of the Act.
MRA is seeking the following reliefs from the court:
- A declaration that the failure of the Attorney-General to make rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017 as mandated by Section 11 of the Act is a breach of the law;
- An order of mandamus compelling the Attorney-General to carry out the duty imposed on him by Section 11 of the Act;
- An order of mandamus compelling the Attorney-General to carry out the request contained in MRA’s letter of demand dated August 20, 2021 delivered to him on August 23, 2021, wherein MRA requested him to make the rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the Act; and
- An order directing the Attorney-General to pay MRA the sum of
N5 million as exemplary and aggravated damages for the flagrant violation of the Section 11 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017.
