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2007 Assessment

Nigeria: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Nigeria: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: National Ombudsman
Indicators		Score
52	In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?	100
53	Is the national ombudsman effective?	43
54	Can citizens access the reports of the ombudsman?	0

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?

52: In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: 1. Public Complaints Commission, Public Complaints Commission Act (1975 as ammended)

Is the national ombudsman effective?

53a: In law, the ombudsman is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Sections 1 -5, Public Complaints Commission Act (1975 as ammended)

53b: In practice, the ombudsman is protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments: The agency is sometimes independent, but being unlawfully under the presidency, there are sometimes interferences.

References: 1.Emeka Ononamadu, deputy executve director, Community Action for Popular Participation (CAPP), CAPP office, Aug. 29, 2007; 2 Dr. Uyim Akpabio, director, Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), CCB's Abuja office, August 14, 2007

53c: In practice, the head of the ombudsman agency/entity is protected from removal without relevant justification.

Score:

100

Comments: The agency is really a moribund one, so there has been no interest in its leadership.

53d: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: The Public Complaints Commission is fully staffed, and like most government institutions may even be over staffed.

53e: In practice, agency appointments support the independence of the ombudsman agency (or agencies).

Score:

100

Comments: Mostly it is done without political bias, but like with lots of government institutions, the ruling party sometimes influences appointments.

53f: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) receives regular funding.

Score:

100

Comments: The Commission recieves regular funding, but is really under-funded. Funds are not sufficient to carry out activities effectively.

53g: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) makes publicly available reports.

Score:

100

Comments: Not much is ever heard about this agency, even in the news. Many Nigerians have forgotten it exists, because it is largely ineffective and does not make reports available.

53h: In practice, when necessary, the national ombudsman (or equivalent agency or agencies) initiates investigations.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The agency aggressively starts investigations -- or participates fully with cooperating agencies\' investigations -- into judicial misconduct. The agency is fair in its application of this power. <p>50 Score Criteria: The agency will start or cooperate in investigations, but often relies on external pressure to set priorities, or has limited effectiveness when investigating. The agency, though limited in effectiveness, is still fair in its application of power. <p>0 Score Criteria: The agency rarely investigates on its own or cooperates in other agencies\' investigations, or the agency is partisan in its application of this power.$

Comments: The agency initiates investigations, but not much is known about the outcome. It is fair in its application of power.

53i: In practice, when necessary, the national ombudsman (or equivalent agency or agencies) imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: In the period under review, the agency has not been able to effectively penalize offenders.

Peer Review Comments: The ombudsman is statutorily empowered to try cases and impose penalties, although is ineffective in doing so.

53j: In practice, the government acts on the findings of the ombudsman agency (or agencies).

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Ombudsman\'s reports are taken seriously, with negative findings drawing prompt corrective action. <p>50 Score Criteria: In most cases, ombudsman\'s reports are acted on, though some exceptions may occur for politicalally sensitive issues, or particularly resistant agencies. <p>0 Score Criteria: Ombudsman reports are often ignored, or given superficial attention. Ombudsman reports do not lead to policy changes.$

Comments: Reports by the Commission are hardly acted upon by apropriate authorities. The law itself is vague about the specific agencies to report complants to. It say " appropriate person or body".

Peer Review Comments: I agree with the comment.

53k: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) acts on citizen complaints within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The Commission is very slow in investigating complaints and sometimes complaints are not dealt with at all and feedback is rarely given.

Peer Review Comments: I agree with the comment.

Can citizens access the reports of the ombudsman?

54a: In law, citizens can access reports of the ombudsman(s).

Score:

YES

Comments: There is no specific provision in the law.

References: Public Complaints Commission Act (1975 as ammended)

54b: In practice, citizens can access the reports of the ombudsman(s) within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Reports are almost never available.

Peer Review Comments: It is not completely impossible to access the reports .

54c: In practice, citizens can access the reports of the ombudsman(s) at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: There are no reports to retrieve.

Peer Review Comments: I agree with the comment.