The Federal Government and the Italian government have finalised talks on the Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation between their judicial systems.

This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, Salihu Isah.

Isah said the agreement between Nigeria and Italy in the areas of mutual legal assistance, transfer of prisoners and extradition agreements had already been negotiated and were ready for execution.

He said the AGF met with an Italian delegation led by the foreign nation’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Paolo Gentlioni Silveri, last week.

According to Isah, the MoU between the two nations was finalised at the meeting.

Malami was said to have stated, during the meeting, that “the underlying factors attendant to human trafficking, criminality and migration are issues of terrorism and corruption.”

Isah said the occasion was for “the finalisation of the Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the cooperation between the judicial systems between the two nations”.

The statement read partly, “Malami, who emphasised the need for effective cooperation in order to reduce incidents of human trafficking and other associated crimes, explained that unemployment in Nigeria had been a major cause of incessant migration of Nigerians to Italy.

“He informed the Italian delegation that agreements between Nigeria and Italy had already been negotiated and was ready for execution in the following areas: Mutual Legal Assistance, Transfer of Prisoners and Extradition Agreements.

“He therefore urged them to identify the timeline and venue for the execution of the agreements.

“The minister expressed appreciation to the Italian government for its support to its Nigerian counterpart, in particular, as well as the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons requesting further assistance to strengthen NAPTIP skills and capacity.”

The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Silveri, was said to have, in response, concurred that there was a connection between criminality, human trafficking and migration.

He advised the Attorney-General of the Federation to leverage on the opportunity of the agreement between the two nations on the three issues raised at the meeting.

He also said his team was in the ministry to seek for collaboration with the Nigerian government in areas such as strengthening the political and economic relationships between Nigeria and Italy and the need to manage migration especially, migration from Nigeria to Libya.

Culled from PUNCH.NG