Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has warned lawyers to stop
frustrating corruption cases.
He said some defence counsels
stall prosecution of cases by filing frivolous and endless interlocutory
applications
Magu, who was represented by
EFCC’s Head of legal services, Gbolahan Latona, issued the warning at the Fifth
Criminal Justice Reform Conference in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
The EFCC Czar also accused
lawyers of intimidating judges with “groundless petitions.”
He said, “It is extremely
challenging in Nigeria today to prosecute defendants, particularly in
corruption, economic and financial crimes.
“Some defence counsel pride
themselves in their ability to stall prosecution of cases by endless and sometimes
frivolous interlocutory applications and appeals; blackmailing and intimidating
judges who do not yield to their gimmicks with groundless petitions, and
encouraging their defendant clients to malinger etc.
“To those lawyers, what makes a
good lawyer is his ability to use every means available to prevent or frustrate
the trial, weary the anti-corruption agencies and their witnesses so that the
case would not be determined on its merits but rather on technicality.
“Undue delay in the judicial
process has been identified as one of the most daunting challenges in the
prosecution of corruption, economic and financial crimes in particular and
others in general. It has become an albatross of the entire criminal justice
system of Nigeria.
“However, the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act now has provisions that attempts to curb some of these
excesses.”
“A transfer of a Federal High
Court judge poses a great challenge in the prosecution of corruption related
crimes. Although fiats can be granted to judges for the conclusion of
part-heard cases, it may be burdensome for the concerned judges, given the
heavy caseloads in their new divisions.
“Some of them who show strong
determination to conclude such cases sometimes become wearied or discouraged by
the negative attitude of counsel, particularly the defence.
“Several cases have been started
de novo or afresh because of the transfer, retirement or elevation of the
presiding judges. This entails bringing the witnesses to court afresh for their
testimonies with the attendant challenges in terms of their availability,
willingness; and incidental financial costs.
“This above scenario necessitated
major players in the criminal justice sector to question the effectiveness of
extant provisions such as Section 19 (3) of the EFCC Act aimed at expediting
criminal trials.
“Calls were therefore made for a
paradigm shift which included the enactment of new procedural rules and
creation of special courts to try corruption related offences.”
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