How effective security and justice system will boost economic growth

”The impact of security and justice issues on economic development” was the theme of a one-day conference organised by the Justice For All (J4A) in Lagos   on Tuesday.  The conference was a partnership between the government and the UK Department for International Development aimed at addressing the challenges confronting the country’s security and justice sectors with a view to finding practical solutions to these problems. Participants at the event, including lawyers, the Lagos State Justice Department, the civil society groups and security agencies among others, called for a complete overhaul of the security and justice sectors in order to save the country’s collapsing economy.

Bob Arnot, the J4A National Programmes Manager, said the body has set up four interrelated components aimed at “improving the capability, accountability and responsiveness of the key organisations in safety and justice sector with a view to supporting the key organisations to work together alongside civil society institutions as part of a coherent coordinated sector.” Explaining what these components are, Arnot said: “Component One focuses on safety and security; ensuring that more effective and accountable policing and remand services are delivered while Component Two focuses on justice aimed at improving access to justice and equitable results Component Three focuses on anti-corruption by strengthening the capacity and capability of selected anti-corruption agencies, while Component Four aims at cross sector coordination among the sectors , linkages and over sight.”
Arnot added that the programme will include the federal, state and local levels   and in five focal states: Enugu, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano and Lagos State, while other states will be encouraged to replicate successful initiatives.
Dignitaries at the event included Justice I.E. Akande; Justice Philips represented the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola; Ade Ipaye, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State; and Lawal Pedro, SAN, the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Lagos State.
Ipaye delivered the main paper: “Impact of security and justice issues on economic development: the Lagos State experience.” He said Lagos State has made giant strides in addressing its security and justice sectors but stated that the state’s peculiarities are challenging. He said: “Lagos State does not control the law enforcement agencies. The state does not control people migrating into the state from neighbouring states and countries.”
These peculiarities among others, according to Ipaye, take heavy toll on the state’s budget and infrastructure as the government has to cater for an already over populated state. According to Ipaye, the Lagos State Government in addressing the issues in the justice sector came up with intervention through the justice reform agenda since 1999, which has led to the establishment of the Citizen’s Mediation Centre, creation of the office of the Public Defender, the establishment of Lagos Multi Door Courts, the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, the provision of street lights and the establishment of 767 emergency response centres.
The discussants at the event included Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, who delivered a paper on “Justice issues and economic development;” Arthur Fola-Worrey    delivered the paper on “Security issues and economic development; while Opeyemi Agbaje gave a speech on the “Impact of corruption on economic development.”
The discussants said there is the need to engage the informal sector of the economy as a viable space in addressing the issues of security and justice in a quest for economic development.
Agbaje links corruption to poverty, which in turns leads to breakdown of law and order. He explained the impact of corruption on the economy. Agbaje said: “112.25 million Nigerians are relatively poor in 2011 and this population is expected to rise; the danger is that the 40 per cent of the unemployed are in the age range of 15 to 24 years; so we see where the Boko Haram comes from, and where other vices like the area boys, kidnappers, armed robbers, cultists and the like come from.”
To tackle corruption in the system, Agbaje urged the government to “close gaps and spaces that gave rooms for corruption as we have lost the morality but by employing structural approaches like fiscal responsibility, market liberalisation, due process, procurement and transparency, freedom of information and enforcement, we are closing the gap and spaces that allow corruption to thrive.”
Other solutions proferred by participants at the event included bridging the gap between the rich and the poor, strengthening other security agencies like the neighbourhood watch and vigilante groups, proper funding and motivation for police officers, strengthening the leadership and addressing institutional frustration in doing business and strengthening the informal sector. Others include amendment of the constitution to give powers to the states to control the police and prisons and the amendment of the Police Act.