The Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice
Attorney General
The Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice is empowered by Section 195 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) to act as the Chief Law Officer of the State Government.
The Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice is the Chief Law Officer of the State as well as the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Justice. The Attorney-General works with the Solicitor-General/Permanent Secretary and other Officers in the Ministry of Justice in performing the statutory functions conferred on the Ministry by law.
The Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice overseas the implementation of State Legal Policies.
General functions of the Ministry:
* Rendering of Legal advice to Government Ministries,
Departments and Agencies (MDAs)
* Drafting of Bills an Regulations
* Handling of litigations by or against Government in tax and revenue matters
* Criminal Prosecutions
* Perform the functions of Administrator General and Public Trustee
* Law Reporting, Review, Research and Publication
* Drafting and vetting of contractual agreements and memorandum of understanding between
Government and its contractors, other levels of Government, International Agencies and Multinational Corporations
* Non-Adversarial dispute Resolution through reconciliation, arbitration, and mediation
* Promotion and Protection of Human Rights including the child’s right amongst others.
The Solicitor-General Delta State/Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice
Solicitor General /Permanent Secretary
The Solicitor-General/Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice is the Chief Accounting officer of the Ministry and performs the following functions:
Advises the Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.
Supervises Directors and other staff of the Ministry.
Performs any other duties that may be assigned to him by the Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.
The Department of Public Prosecution has a constitutional mandate that derives its authority from the Honorable Commissioner and Attorney General of Justice. The Attorney General of the State exercises his criminal prosecutorial powers through the officers in the Department.
The department’s mission is to lay a good foundation for prompt and efficient criminal prosecutions. Its vision is to create a result-oriented department characterized by competence and integrity. The department has a staff strength of 13 legal officers, 3 non-legal officers, and 2 casual staff.
FUNCTIONS:
The duties of the department include receiving case files of suspects from the police and other security agencies to render legal advice.
It issues legal advice in respect of the case files sent to the office.
The department also institutes criminal prosecutions against the suspects in deserving cases while directing the police to prosecute others in the magistrates’ court.
The department prosecutes selected cases and supervises criminal prosecutions in Delta State through the various zones in the Ministry.
It also handles petitions emanating from criminal matters and represents the HAG/CJ and SG/PS at meetings as may be directed.
The department is responsible for handling and processing applications for Fiat for the HAG/CJ’s approval.
The department has achieved several milestones, including effectively reducing the time of rendering legal advice from 42 days as of 2021 to an average period of 11 days as of March 2023.
The department is responsible for all ancillary matters connected to and/or incidental to criminal prosecutions throughout the state.
Mr Anthony Oghenovo
The Department is Responsible for the following:
The units under the Department include:
of the Accountant General of the State.
Mrs Ifeanyi Irhue
Director of Finance
This is a crucial Legal Department within the Ministry that is responsible for preparing, vetting, and reviewing commercial agreements, memoranda of understanding, and other legal instruments of commercial nature that involve the Delta State Government, its Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. They negotiate commercial transactions to ensure that the Government’s interests are appropriately protected. Additionally, they prepare and review all Executive Bills and other Statutory Documents for the State. The Department is headed by a director and has 19 staff members, including 10 Legal Officers, 1 Higher Executive Officer, and one Clerical Officer.
The Department of Civil Litigation is responsible for defending all civil cases filed against the Delta State Government, its Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Additionally, the Department also initiates civil proceedings on behalf of the Delta State Government, its Ministries, Departments, and Agencies against individuals and corporations who fail or neglect to fulfill their contractual obligations with the State Government or its parastatals.
Currently, there are 11 legal officers and 3 support staff working in the Department.
The Department of Advisory Services (DAS) is responsible for providing advice to the Government, as well as its Ministries, Departments, and Agencies on matters related to the functioning of the state.
It ensures that due process is being followed in the transition of chieftaincy matters and offers legal advice to the state boundary committee.
The department has seven legal staff members and two support staff members.
Mr. I.G Eze Owenz
Director Advisory Services
The Administrator General & Public Trustee Department is responsible for managing and administering the estates of deceased individuals by Section 210 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. This section provides for the right of a person in the Public Service to receive gratuity and pensions and that such right be regulated by Law.
The Administrator General Laws and the Administration of Estate Laws were established to regulate this right.
The Office of the Administrator General and Public Trustee was created by law under Section 30 of Delta State Administration of Estate Laws 2004 Chapter A3 and P26 of the Laws of Delta State, 2008 volumes 1 and 4 respectively. The office has two principal responsibilities:
1. Administering and managing the estate of deceased individuals in cases where:
– The deceased person died without a will, especially if the deceased’s children are minors.
– The deceased person made a will but did not appoint an executor, or the appointed executor refused to act.
– The deceased person died without leaving any recognized descendants.
– One of the beneficiaries of the deceased person’s estate is a minor.
– A court of competent jurisdiction gives an order for the Administrator General and Public Trustee to take over the administration of the deceased person’s estate.
2. Paying death benefits, including pensions and gratuity, to the beneficiaries of deceased civil servants. The pension comes from the Office of the Accountant General, while the gratuity comes from the Treasury Cash Office (TCO2).
The Administration Department of the Ministry of Justice is saddled with the following:
- Dissemination of circular as it relates to promotion, interview and all administrative information.
- Provides guidance on administrative procedures for all staff and department.
- The department Ensures orientation and guidance of the staff members sent to the Ministry and packages for outgoing corps members, Payment of utilities such as electricity bills, internet subscriptions and other bills on or before due dates to avoid disconnection.
- Responsible for recruitment of Junior Management Staff, Promotion, Training and
- general staff welfare.
- Handles internal posting subject to the ratification of the SG/PS. Handles minor repairs of Office furniture and equipment; this includes repairs of photocopiers, electronics, Ministry’s vehicles, servicing/ maintenance of generator (plant) amongst others. Staff discipline subject to the approval of the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary; through the issuance of queries and other disciplinary measures.
- General staff welfare through the planning and purchasing of yuletide gift/ monetary equivalent to staff, conveying of staff financial assistance to SG/PS for approval.
- amongst other duties.
The Department is saddled with the following responsibilities:
- Acts as the Secretariat of the Ministerial Tenders Board;
- Acts as the procurement arm of the Ministry;
- Coordinates the activities of the three (3) Registries and the monitoring/ evaluation of projects of the Ministry;
- Preparation of Annual Budget and implementation of Capital Budget of the Ministry; and
- Any other duty assigned from time to time.
2. The units under the Department include:
- The three Registries (Open, Confidential and HAG/CJ);
- The Law library: The Law Library is a source of information and knowledge for the Ministry and is stocked with law books (both practice and text books) to meet the needs of legal officers in the discharge of their professional dutie.
The Department of law Research, Review, Reporting and Publication was established in mid 1990s with the sole aim of publication of Delta State Law report in hard copies though was short lived until April, 2023 when the Department was again re-activated for collation and uploading of all High Court of Delta State Judgments into a website for the viewing and subscription of the general public. It is also saddled with the responsibility of collation of all laws passed by the State House of Assembly, collation of Articles and Journals for publication and other related issues.
The functioning staff strength of the Department at the moment is 2. The Director — Barr. Ben Adigwe and Mr. Ekaeze Esq. The Department within its short period of inception has received about seven hundred judgments from judiciary and has uploaded and published at the website about three hundred and fifty judgments.
The office of the Public Defender was established by Delta State Government vide the Delta State Office of the Public Defender law, 2018 with the core mandate to provide free legal services to the indigent persons resident in Delta State whose income does not exceed the national Minimum Wage. The office provides free legal services in two (2) broad areas of criminal defence services and assistance in civil matters which includes;
- Free legal advice
- Mediation
- Legal representation in court
- Counselling services
- Visits to courts and detention centres
- Visits to correctional centres, juvenile homes and welfare centres
The office is made up of ten legal officers and one administrative staff. Four of these legal officers are in the Head office in Asaba, one in Otu-Jeremi, three in Warri, two in Effurun and one in Sapele zonal offices of the department
The innovative approach taken by the state government in tackling youth resistance violence and promoting peace and security for all residents of Delta state has resulted in the creation of the Department of People’s Rights within the Ministry of Justice. This department is responsible for resolving justiciable grievances and disputes through the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms.
What Do We Do?
• We use various methods to protect labor rights and resolve disputes without litigation.
•This includes resolving disputes between companies and host communities, as well as addressing common disputes between landlords and tenants, employers, and employees.
• We protect customers’ legal rights including but not limited to matrimonial disputes, construction contracts, and intellectual property.
• In addition, we conduct public enlightenment campaigns to educate citizens on their rights and obligations, particularly in Delta State and across Nigeria.
• We also partner with other organizations to protect the rights of underprivileged children and young individuals.
•Our department plays a central role in negotiations by signing MOUs and GMOUs.
• We specialize in resolving disputes between communities and families, such as land and boundary disputes.
• We perform the functions of the Ministry of Justice’s (ADR) arm through mediation, conciliation, negotiation, expert determination, and arbitration.
Mrs. Juliet Evuohwo Ojefia MCArb.
Director, Dept. of People’s Right