The jurists also decried the conduct of some judges in their handling of high-profile cases, saying that there was the urgent need for Nigerian courts to convict high profile suspects standing trial for the past five years to restore confidence in the judiciary.
Eso and Akanbi also faulted the antics of some lawyers and prosecutors, saying that most of the cases are lost due to shoddy investigation and delayed tactics by the lawyers.
They further asked the new chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, to initiate a review of the country’s criminal justice system to reduce the abuse of interlocutory injunctions usually employed by lawyers to frustrate timely delivery of judgement.
Other stakeholders including six legal practitioners – Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Mrs. Funke Adekoya (SAN), Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN), Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN) and two Lagos-based lawyers Wahab Shittu and Emmanuel Ajayi – also concurred with the stance of Eso and Akanbi on the matter.
Eso, Akanbi and the lawyers spoke in separate exclusive interviews with our correspondents yesterday.
Judge Anthony Pitts of Southwark Crown Court, London, UK had on April 17, 2012, sentenced Ibori to 13 years for his involvement in £50 million (about $77 million) fraud and money laundering.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had on December 31, 2008, secured a Mareva injunction (also known as a freezing order) from a London court to freeze all the global assets of Akingbola after discovering funds allegedly belonging to the bank’s depositors traced to Akingbola’s foreign account.
Justice Eso said, “There are inherent things that are wrong with our courts, lawyers and the criminal justice system which make it difficult to secure convictions against the high-profile corruption suspects.
“Take, for instance, the same prosecution (EFCC) that filed 170- count charge against Ibori and failed to obtain conviction in Nigeria court got it right with mere 10- count charge in London court. The Nigerian court judge (Justice Marcel Awokulehin) said Ibori had no case to answer in all the 170- count charge.
‘’But I don’t need to advice Justice Aloma-Muktar because I personally believe that her appointment as the CJN would usher in a new dawn in Nigeria judiciary.
“As for the lawyers, they know the judges they can approach to procure judgement. None of them would dare to come near me for such when I was a judge.”
Akanbi further said the convictions of Ibori and Akingbola by UK courts have exposed the flaws in the nation’s criminal justice system.
For effective administration of justice in the country, the eminent jurist called for the splitting of the office of the minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation (AGF).
He emphasised that the AGF should not be under the control of the executive, adding that such appointee “must be competent, above board and committed to the nation. His loyalty to the nation must be paramount”.
Explaining that the courts do not appear to appreciate the underpinning factor for fighting corruption, Akanbi posited that, for an effective war against corruption, Nigeria requires the services of investigators and prosecutors “who are competent and are above corruption and have ability to perform effectively”.
He said, “The problem with our criminal justice is either we don’t have competent investigators or prosecutors. One finds it difficult to understand what is happening. This is not the Nigeria we used to know. The offences committed by Ibori and Akingbola are of high magnitude to ignore.”
Blaming the politicisation of appointment of judges for the dearth of courageous judges in the country, he said, “As you lay your bed, you lie on it. How are judges appointed? In the past there was no question of lobbying; you are invited to the Bench. But today, people lobby, use influence to become judges. The politicians lobby for people to be appointed as judges. Unless we go back to the roots and appoint men of honour as judges, the problem will persist. The ‘fear of the unknown’ also encouraged judges not to be upright in the discharge of their duties.”
Sagay, Adekoya, Mallami, others react
Also speaking on the issue, Sagay said, “There are two main reasons. Most of these major cases involving persons are stalled because they are part of the establishment. It’s like protecting each other.
“Our judicial system permits preliminary objection. Instead of going to defend yourself, you can file an application that the court has no jurisdiction over the matter. And then the appeal on the preliminary objection is dragged until it gets to the Supreme Court.
“Remove the right to make a preliminary objection. If you have a case, go and defend yourself. And if it is not possible to remove the application for preliminary objection, then the court should be allowed to take the preliminary objection and the substantive case together. Either you remove it or you allow for both the preliminary objection and the substantive case together.”
Adekoya said, “I believe the difficulty in obtaining convictions or concluding the trials of high-profile corruption cases in Nigerian courts is a result of the weak criminal justice system in Nigeria. UK newspaper reports show the amount of time and resources spent on investigating the offences before the offenders are brought to trial. Documents, bank statements and banking records are meticulously cross-checked before trial in order to ensure that charges brought can be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
‘’It is this lack of supporting infrastructure within our criminal investigative units that make convictions difficult. Sufficient investigation is not done before the accused is brought to court for trial. Once remanded on bail, investigations continue and eventually die out, either due to lack of resources or lack of commitment. Our criminal investigators require training in current methods of investigating especially in areas such as electronic bank transfers etc. If the political will to stamp out corruption exists, the funds will be made available to acquire the needed training and, where necessary, equipment.”
Malami said, ‘’The problem lies largely with the executive which owns the police, the EFCC, and the justice ministry that are charged with responsibilities to investigate, arraign or prosecute these high-profile corruption cases.
“There is an extent a judge can go with a hopeless investigative report - hopeless proof of evidence placed before him for the trial of these suspects. What do you expect a judge to do with the investigative report borne out of executive compromise and inefficiency other than to throw out such cases or keep it pending until the executive is able to do the needful.”
But Izinyon said, ‘’I won’t say that everybody is wrong or castigate anyone or the system in the trial of these cases. The London courts did not decide these matters within the same day they were filed. Some have dragged for years also in their courts.
“The two criminal justice systems differ. Ours was modelled to guarantee fair hearing. You can’t deny a person who raise objection against some charges because you want the matter decided immediately. But that does not mean that one would rule out manipulation by either the defence counsel or the other in this type of cases. The prosecution can be ready while the defence may raise one thing or the other to allow the matter drag endlessly.”
For Shittu, “the Nigerian judiciary system is not working the way it should work. This is attributed to the delay in the judicial process and the corruption in the judiciary. This is not to say that the entire judiciary is corrupt but you cannot overrule that there is corruption in the judiciary.
“But you cannot blame the judges alone. I think all stakeholders including lawyers, police officers and others should also be blamed. I think everyone has a fair share. The idea is to strengthen the integrity of the process.”
Ajayi said, “The rich can afford the service of a lawyer of high legal standing, mostly SANs, to whom the courts often give regard and preference. The senior lawyers often approach the court with different kinds of injunctions which are capable of stalling proceedings.
“Another factor is corruption. Our society generally gives preference to status, hence the reason we have political interference in cases involving the rich who, at one time or the other, had made contributions towards installing a candidate into one political office or the other.
EFCC, ICPC convictions
Since inception, the EFCC has successfully arraigned over 20 former governors and a handful of ex-ministers over corruption charges. In April 2007, pioneer chairman of the EFCC Mallam Nuhu Ribadu stated that 31 serving governors were corrupt. His claim later prepared the ground for the trial of state governors who were alleged to have been corrupt. Till his exit from office, trial of allegedly corrupt governors continued without conclusion and was subsequently handed over to his successor, Farida Waziri.
From inception in year 2000, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has also been unsuccessful in securing judgement against high-profile offenders for corrupt charges. The commission, during the days of its pioneer chairman Mustapha Akanbi, was able to arrest the now late cabinet minister, S.M. Afolabi as well as Akwanga, Mrs Akerele, and Senator Wabara, and, of late, Sunday Ehindero. There cases are still hanging in the balance as of today.
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