LEGAL SERVICES
The Legal Services Department is created under Section 17(1)(7) of the National Boundary Commission (Establishment) Act,2006. The Department is saddled with the statutory responsibility of providing legal and related services to the National Boundary Commission in the day-to-day performance of the Commission’s functions, towards achieving its statutory mandate and the goals. Some of which include:
i. Proffering legal advice, opinion on the matters where same is required.
ii. Representing the Commission in every legal capacity-handling Court cases instituted against and for the Commission, etc.
iii. Drafting, preparing and vetting legal agreements, contracts and all other such instruments that impact on the Commission’s performance.
As a service-oriented Department, the Legal Services Department liaises with other Departments of the Commission for the realization of its statutory responsibilities. To this end, the Department has been involved in various activities, as follows:
i. handling of cases and matters pending in various Courts within Nigeria. The Department has over thirty-five (35) pending cases in various Courts at different stages of trial. While some were concluded, new ones were instituted and still ongoing simultaneously with the old ones not concluded;
ii. rendering legal advice/opinion on any matter with legal connotation referred to the Department from the Commission and the Zonal Liaison Offices;
iii. participating in negotiations, preparing and vetting of Agreements/ Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), International Treaties (Bilateral and Multi-Lateral Agreements), involving the Commissions;
iv. participating in the Tender Processes, award of contracts and preparing all contract Agreements of the Commission;
v. liaising with other service Departments/Units in the Commission such as the Procurement Unit in order to assist in effective discharge of their statutory function;
vi. interfacing with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies in line with Section 4 of NBC Act, all aimed at strengthening and realizing the statutory mandates of the Commission, enshrined under Section 7 of the Act; and,
vii. actively involved in activities of the other Departments of the Commission in connection with Internal/International boundary matters such as the Mixed Commission meetings between Nigeria and Cameroon, Joint Meetings of Official (JMO), otherwise known as stakeholders’ meetings, Town Hall Meetings, Conferences, Workshops amongst others.