Adoke begs Nigerians for forgiveness

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, yesterday, begged Nigerians to forgive him for whatever wrong he committed while discharging the mandate of his office.

The AGF, who tendered his “unreserved apologies” while unveiling the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, E.T.C) Act, 2015, which was recently passed into law by the National Assembly, also thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for giving him the opportunity to serve as the chief law officer in the country for five years.

“I tender my unreserved apologies to those who I may have offended in the discharge of my duties,”the AGF pleaded.

Adoke maintained that the administration of President Jonathan made it possible for Nigerians  to believe that the process of governance  could be conducted in a free, credible and transparent manner.

“I am pleased to observe that a lot of progress has been made in the implementation of the reform agenda, for instance, there is now an enhanced process for accessing of information within Ministries and MDAs.  The Freedom of Information Act, 2011, has impacted positively in this regard.

“I am pleased to note that public servants are gradually imbibing the  new ethos of the Act and appreciating the need for an open government.”

He said the two legislations that were unveiled yesterday would enhance capacity  of the incoming administration to prosecute complex crimes such as terrorism and economic crimes.

“This can be seen from the high profile cases that the Ministry of Justice is currently prosecuting under the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2011, as amended in 2013,” he said.