NILDS, NJI seek collaboration on training of lawmakers, judges, others

Tosin AinaSeptember 20, 20252 Mins read50 Views

The National Institute for the Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) and the National Judicial Institute (NJI) have sought collaboration on how they can enhance their respective functions as the training arms of the legislature and the judiciary in the country.

NILDS, a research organ of the National Assembly, is saddled with the responsibility of training senators, members of the House of Representatives, State Houses of Assembly and all legislative structures, including political parties, in the country.

The NJI, on its part, plays a similar role in the training of judicial officers and other members of staff of the Judiciary.

The two bodies, following a meeting in Abuja on Friday, set up a nine-member joint committee to work out areas of collaboration, knowledge-sharing, capacity building and research that would strengthen their duties.

It came as a delegation led by the Administrator of the NJI, Justice B.A. Adejumo paid a courtesy visit to the Director-General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, at the institute’s headquarters in Abuja.

Sulaiman, who suggested the idea of the committee, noted that both institutes played vital roles in training important decision makers, especially lawmakers and judges, adding that a synergy between the two would greatly impact on their work.

or instance, Sulaiman said while the NJI might not perform advocacy functions, NILDS could fit into that role on its behalf, using the vast clientele and facilities at its disposal to carry out the role, while the NJI could avail the institute of its legal manpower for the training of legislators.

He spoke more, “The mandate of our institute is that it is the research wing of the legislature and democratic actors in Nigeria and West Africa. The only legally-backed body to train our lawmakers and nurture their skills.

“We also train political parties, Non-Governmental Organisations, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the media.

“We have been providing all manner of assistance, especially when it comes to legislation. This is the leading institute in West Africa today in that regard, and we remain the ladder on which the parliament stands.”

Sulaiman added that a lot could be achieved through the synergy in guiding some of the “conflicting pronouncements” by our courts through equipping judicial officers with the requisite skills to avoid missteps.

He further stated that a better-equipped NJI could become the hub for the training of judicial officers from across Africa, thereby saving the nation the scarce resources spent on foreign training in places like Harvard and Oxford.

“So, in this area, the NJI can speak out, they can guide, they can advise. We need to share knowledge, even in the training we give to our clients.

“We also run Master’s and PhD programmes in NILDS, and we have resource persons and lecturers from many other bodies.

“We can’t be wasting resources going to Harvard all the time. NJI can fit in here and make Nigeria the place other African judges can come to be trained,” the DG said.

Speaking earlier, Adejumo shared the same views as Sulaiman, agreeing that both institutes “have a lot to learn from each other”, despite executing different mandates.

According to him, the ever-evolving nature of law means that judicial officers also must always be a step ahead by expanding their skills.

“We need sister agencies like NILDS to achieve our training objectives. So, I am here to understudy, learn from you and synergise. You may need our support, too, and so on.

“NILDs is one of those few institutes we need to collaborate with to meet our own objectives,” the administrator admitted.

Both sides immediately nominated a nine-member joint committee to work out the details of the areas of possible collaboration and submit a report for review and implementation.