Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), hosted the High Commissioner of the Great Britain, Ms. Catriona Laing on Thursday.
The meeting which lasted for almost an hour discussed bilateral issues.
Twitter ban, Asset Recovery, anti-corruption crusade, Electoral Act ammendment, the Audit Bill, Petroleum Industry Bill, and counter terrorism were deliberated.
Malami said the fundamental interest and objective of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was to leverage on the bill to enhance value in terms of creating an amiable environment for investment, protecting the public interest for the maximum benefit of the country.
On the Petroleum Industry Bill, the minister noted that necessary steps have been taken to ensure the pending bills are transmitted to the President for assent.
Malami said the essence of the Electoral Act amendment was to enhance the democratic system thereby addressing delays in judicial determination of pre-election matters, as well as ensuring justice and fairness in the conduct of election processes including party primaries.
He explained that the government came up with the Proceeds of Crime Bill and Audit Bill as part of efforts to fight corruption.
Malami said public interest has been the uppermost consideration within which the context of freedom of expressions should be regulated, noting that reasonable restrictions to freedom of expressions are locally and internationally recognized.
“Our government is not averse to freedom. Freedom is not borderless. Freedom of expression must not be used in such a manner that incites citizens to violence or calls for an overthrow of a democratically elected government. There are bounds to freedom within the laws,” he said.
On Twitter ban in the country, Malami said the government has established a committee on the matter and that the company has approached the government over the issue. He maintained that the interest of Nigerian interest matters most for any company that wants to do business in the country.
“If you want to operate as a business entity in Nigeria, you must do so within the context of Nigerian laws. Nothing offensive or that breaches the Nigerian laws should be entertained”.
In her remarks, the High Commissioner of the Great Britain, Ms. Catriona Laing, thanked Malami for the “clarification” of the issues, maintaining that the steps taken in the fight against corruption and electoral reforms are “really encouraging”.
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