The Senate Committee on review of the 1999 Constitution said it has proposed the separation of the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation from that of the Minister of Justice.
Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Review of 1999 Constitution, made this known in Abuja on Wednesday at a symposium organised by the Rule of Law Development Foundation.
Ekweremadu said the separation was necessary to guarantee the independence of the office of the attorney-general, given its critical role in the dispensation of justice.
The chairman also said that the committee recommended the separation of Office of the Attorney-General of the State from that of Commissioner of Justice in the state.
Ekweremadu said: “The powers of the attorney-general and commissioner are too critical to justice delivery to be left in the hands of a minister or commissioner.
“If the proposed alteration goes through, it will facilitate free and unimpeded flow of justice and give teeth to the anti-graft war.
“They will be immune against political control and undue executive interference.”
Ekweremadu said the committee recommended financial autonomy for the attorneys-general of the federation, the state and the state judiciary.
“Also recommended is the conferment of the powers of the attorney-general to direct investigations into certain cases,” he said.
Other recommendations of the committee, according to him, include the removal of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and other serving judicial officers as members of the Federal Judicial Service Commission.
The committee recommended the removal of prisons from the exclusive list to the concurrent list.
“There is the proposal to remove the Prisons Service from the exclusive to the concurrent list so that states can establish, maintain and regulate state prisons and other correctional facilities,” he added.
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