The director, of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, United States (US) Embassy Nigeria, Jason Smith, says Washington is strengthening the justice sector in Kaduna, Nasarawa, and Plateau States, for a stable and secure Nigeria.
He said a stable Nigeria would translate into a stable Africa and the world at large.
At a workshop to build the capacity of Court Administration and Case Management Projects for officers from Kaduna, Nasarawa and Plateau, an event organised by the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) with sponsorship from the US government, Smith said they are working hard for a functional justice system in Nigeria and increase access to justice.
Smith said it is the desire of the US for a true justice system in Nigeria adding that if the project succeeds in Kaduna, Nasarawa and Plateau States, they will scale it up to other states.
“International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is a US government funded programme on justice issues such as investigations, narcotics and criminal issues.
“Having a stable, secured country everywhere in the world is important to the US.
“We are helping our partners here to have a functional criminal justice system and improve access to justice. Our goal is to help ourselves by helping you to deal with the challenges Nigeria faces, domestic challenges, regional and global challenges.
“When we have excited partners at the local level working on projects, it gives us deep desires to do more. This is a pilot project. If we can find success, we can expand it to more states,” Smith said.
Also, the PPDC Board chairman, Chibuzor Ekwekwo, who thanked the states for the partnership, added that if Nigeria must get it right, the justice system must work well.
“You are doing very important work, and we are happy that you are partnering with us to carry out this Project. The feedback I get is good. The feedback is not filtered, not controlled,” Ekwekwo said.
Earlier, the PPDC CEO, Jubril Shittu said the project is a watershed that is aimed at transforming the justice system.
“This has a lot of impact in the judicial system,” Shittu said.
PPDC is building the capacity of Court Administration and Case Management Projects in Kaduna, Nasarawa, and Plateau States in performance monitoring and evaluation.