The executive, the legislature and the judiciary held a dialogue
in Abuja last week on the justice sector’s reform and the
anti-corruption campaign. The event, which had three sessions,
featured no fewer than 22 speakers, including lawmakers, academics,
judges, legal experts, technocrats and journalists. JOSEPH JIBUEZE
highlights the key recommendations at the one-day event at the
State House Abuja.
The plan of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration when
it took the saddle about three years ago was to use the
instrumentality of government to fight corruption. But the battle
is far from being won.
Reason! The three arms of government, expected to unite against
graft have not flown in the same direction
Making the battle more herculean is the fact that the organs of
government are not only undermining themselves but working at cross
purposes and the trend has become worrisome to the Presidential
Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), which last week,
organised a one-day “dialogue of organs of government on reform of
justice sector and campaign against corruption.”
The dialogue, organised in collaboration with the Federal
Ministry of Justice, was staged at the State House Banquet Hall in
Abuja and was. It drew
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki,
House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Chief Justice of
Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen and Attorney-General of the
Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami, SAN.
Represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Mr.
Ade Ipaye, Osinbajo, called for a harmonious relationship between
the legislative, judiciary and executive arms of government,
without which he foreclosed development.
The vice president said: “Conflicts could arise from
misunderstanding of constitutional responsibilities; inordinate
foray or venture by one organ into the territory of another organ,
inordinate ambition or domineering attitude by one over others,
power struggle, greed or self-interest, hypocrisy; lack of
patriotism and corruption.”
According to him, unresolved conflicts slows down the pace of
governance, creates suspicion and hostility, encourages bad
governance, creates distraction and tension, encourages the culture
of impunity and disregard for the rule of law among the political
class, with attendant political instability that divides the
populace.
“In order to avoid these consequences and for a government to
deliver development to the people, it is imperative for the three
arms of government to constantly bury the hatchet and focus on
collaborative efforts within their constitutional responsibilities
to formulate and implement effective governance laws and policies,”
he said.
Dr. Saraki, who was represented by Senator David Omoru, spoke of
the need to strengthen institutions and processes “so that we can
fight the good fight without let or hindrance, and without any bias
whatsoever.”
Pledging the lawmakers’ commitment to the anti-graft war, the
Senate President said: “Let me assure you that we as lawmakers in
the Eighth National Assembly take very seriously the fight against
corruption to sanitise our polity and instill greater probity,
openness and accountability in the system.
“That way, we would be better able to power the economic
development of this country, rather than having up to 25 per cent
of our annual GDP (Gross Domestic Product) disappear into private
pockets,” he said.
The AGF said the campaign against corruption can only succeed if
it actively involves all stakeholders and enjoys ownership by all
the arms of government.
Malami said: “It is also significant to posit that the
efficiency of the justice sector is critical to the speed at which
the results of our collective efforts can become available to the
public.
“No matter our best intentions, no matter the urgency in our
methods as an executive branch, the application of the rule of law
by the judiciary and the expeditious consideration of supporting
laws by the legislature are equally critical to the overall success
we hope to achieve in order to promote greater prosperity and
stability in our country.”
Dogara, represented by Jide Akinloye, said the House would “go
the whole hog to support any attempt to fight corruption”.
Sagay: Corrupt judges rubbishing judiciary
The PACAC Chairman, Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) said it was corrupt
judges have been doing more damage to the judiciary, not those who
point out its failing.
According to him, judges must not be afraid to bring the full
weight of the law on their corrupt colleagues.
To the constitutional lawyer, all organs of government must be
harsher in dealing with corrupt persons within their fold.
He said judges must have zero tolerance for lawyers who try to
compromise them, but should expose such lawyers and have them
struck off the rolls.
Sagay said: “Judges must be prepared to bring to justice any of
their colleagues who accept or demand bribes.
“These are the ones who rubbish the image of the judiciary, not
the legitimate critics of such gross misconduct.
“It takes only one apple to contaminate and make all the other
apples in the barrel rotten also. So, self-criticism and firm
punishment for culprits within a sector by colleagues is mandatory
in order to establish zero tolerance for corruption in that
sector.”
He urged judges to strictly apply provisions of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 in order to
enhance speedy and fair justice.
“Some judges are currently carrying on as if the ACJA does not
exist,” he noted.
According to him, there must be no espiri de corp between a
clean member and a corrupt member in any arm of government.
Sagay said those who are known to be corrupt have no moral right
to pontificate on the fight.
The PACAC chief said: “There is a lot of lip service by various
high profile public servants in the anti-corruption war.
“When a person who is known by the Nigerian public as an
irredeemably corrupt person begins to wax lyrical about the
devastating effects of corruption, it sounds very ill in his mouth
and it ridicules and belittles the fight against corruption.
“Public figures that are already notorious for their penchant
for corruption are doing disservice to the anti-corruption struggle
by pretending to hate corruption. Let such people remain silent
rather than ridiculing the war against corruption.”
Urging lawmakers to fight budget padding and unjust remuneration
and to pass pending anti-corruption bills, Sagay advised agencies
of the executive, such as Customs, not to demand bribes to do their
jobs.
He said: “If they deserve higher remuneration, they should
demand it. In fact, we should allow Customs, Inland Revenue
Department, EFCC and ICPC to retain a small portion of the assets
recovered or collected by them in order to promote internal
integrity in those services.
“We must tackle the following matters with all seriousness:
prevention of corruption; speedy, effective and efficient trials;
recovery of looted assets, and discouragement and deterrence of
bribery, corruption and economic financial crimes in the public and
private sectors.”
Falana, others speak
The event had three sessions, with the sub-themes: Campaign
against corruption and justice sector reform: Journey so far;
strengthening justice sector institutions/law enforcement agencies
for improved sanctions and enforcement; and preventing corruption
and sustaining justice sector reforms.
Speakers and contributors include: Justice A. D. Yahaya of the
Court of Appeal, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, Prof Larry Chukwu, a
lawmaker Jimi Benson, Justice T. Akomolafe Benson, Justice E. Agim,
Justice Chinyere Ani, activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), a
professor of law Ayo Atsenuwa, a journalist Mr. Lanre Arogundade,
former Nigerian Law School Director-General Lanre Onadeko (SAN),
The Nation’s Managing Editor, Northern Operations Yusuf Alli,
Executive Director at the Access to Justice (A2J) Mr. Joseph Otteh
and Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi of PACAC, among others.
Falana urged Attorneys-General to do more in the fight against
corruption under their jurisdiction. The activist-lawyer noted that
impunity has continued because some of them abuse the power of
nolle-prosequi.
“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) cannot go
to a state to prosecute without the fiat of the Attorney-General in
many of the cases. What are they doing in pursuing cases of
corruption in their state?” he asked.
On sentencing, Falana wondered why someone who stole billions of
naira would be jailed for a mere 10 years or less. To him, it was a
class issue that must be addressed.
He said an armed robbery suspect who robbed only one person may
be sentenced to death, and no one would raise an eyebrow.
Falana said: “But, the man who has stolen money meant for
building a road – and because that road is not built, people are
dying, or the one who diverted money meant for building a hospital
– are only asked to plea bargain.
“The worst case of fraud that has been recorded was that of a
bank executive who was alleged to have returned through plea
bargain N191.4 billion in money and other assets. He was sentenced
for six months in a highbrow hospital in Lagos. Whereas, in Osun
State, a young man was sentenced to 50 years for stealing a handset
worth N7, 000.
“For us not to expose the law to ridicule, there would be the
need on the part of PACAC perhaps to organise a seminar on
sentencing, because people out there are laughing.”
Falana accused anti-corruption agencies of not applying Section
10 of the Recovery of Public Property Special Provisions Act.
The section, the lawyer noted, provides that if a person fails
to declare assets worth over N1 million, the person is liable to
life imprisonment.
“That law is there, but nobody applies it,” Falana said.
The SAN said workers emoluments, health insurance and other
benefits are given high priority in countries where corruption is
genuinely fought.
According to him, people are likely to be tempted to steal if
they know they would retire into penury.
“How do we create an enabling environment for us to live good
lives so that we’ll not be tempted to want to loot the treasury?”
Falana wondered.
Justice Ani said corruption results in poverty, high level of
unemployment, infrastructural deficit and lack of foreign
investments, among other ills.
She regretted that some high profile cases were badly
investigated, which makes it difficult to prove the essential
ingredients of a crime.
On the part of judges, she said there was “entrenched” lack of
know-how by some of them, adding that lack of enough budgetary
provisions also hampers the anti-graft war.
Justice Ani recommended the equipment of courts for efficiency,
as most of the court use manual recording systems; improvement in
inter-agency collaboration, as well as an amendment of the section
of the ACJA on video recording of suspects during interrogation to
replace the word “May” with “Shall.’
Alli said there was too much political interference in the
anti-graft war, even as there was lack of manpower among anti-graft
agencies.
According to him, investigators must have insurance policy and
very good welfare package to keep them motivated.
On the way forward, Alli said there should be less politics in
the anti-graft war, adding that it should not been seen as a
political tool.
To him, the office of the AGF should be separated from the
Minister of Justice, while anti-graft agencies need to be
sanitised.
Alli said: “Anti-graft agencies must operate within the ambit of
the law, and merit should take preeminence over any other thing,”
he said.
On the issue of media trial, Alli said the press does not go
beyond filtered information given to them by anti-graft
agencies.
EFCC’s Head of Legal Department Gbolahan Latona said it was a
miracle that anti-graft agencies were doing the much they do
considering the low budget they operate with compared to their
counterparts abroad.
Onadeko decried the fact that corruption cases were lasting too
long in courts. To him, corruption cannot be fought conventionally.
New approaches must be adopted, he said.
Prof Atsenuwa said the ACJA would not work unless it was
properly funded.
“I’m not aware of who has mapped the budgetary implication of
ACJA’s implementation. There has to be an implementation framework
for the ACJA,” she said.
She added that in the investigation of cases, lawyers need to
guide investigators on what to look out for.
Justice Yahaya, who chaired one of the sessions, said there were
enough laws; the problem was with their implementation.
“The problem is the indiscipline that is in us. Without a
committed and disciplined people, I don’t see us succeeding.
Something is going to collapse unless we all address the challenges
and face them,” he said.
Otteh called for the introduction of a Financial Disclosures
Rule which would limit the amount of physical cash that judicial
officers can hold at any time.
He said the rule that “he who alleges must prove” should be
revised so that those founds with suspicious amounts of money could
be called upon to explain how they came about them.
Besides, he said the war against corruption would not be won
when the courts are shut down on flimsy excuses, such as when all
judges of a court are attending a burial or seminar.
PACAC member Prof Femi Odekunle cited the example of South Korea
where the elite got together and fought corruption to save the
country. He said the elite must agree to kill corruption if the
fight must be won.
“Like the President said, if we don’t kill corruption, it will
kill us. He appears to be the only one saying so. It has not been
bought by the elite collectively. If the elite in the three major
organs of government get together and fight corruption, it will
filter down the other agencies,” he said.
Prof Odekunle said the three arms of government have more to do.
For instance, he said the National Assembly had punished its
members who tried to expose corruption by suspending them, and has
not been transparent about lawmakers’ allowances. According to him,
“any of them who breaks out of the code of silence” gets
punished.
He faulted the executive for recalling a man who was suspended
over allegations of corruption, adding that the judiciary appears
to condone corruption among its members.
Odekunle said: “I said about two years ago that you have to
sacrifice the blood of two judges and two SANs to cleanse and do
libation to be able to liberate the legal profession from
corruption.
“If the executive had gone along, there’d be no Maina case, no
Babachir case and the NIA case.
“I agree there should be separation of powers, but there should
be no separation of the core values, the ethos, the philosophy of
social organisation.
“I think the elite must get together and say: ‘Corruption will
kill us if we don’t kill it’. They must lead the way.
“To me, it’s a matter of a visionary leadership, but all the
elites must agree; otherwise I don’t think we’ll make
progress.”
The executive, the legislature and the judiciary held a dialogue
in Abuja last week on the justice sector’s reform and the
anti-corruption campaign. The event, which had three sessions,
featured no fewer than 22 speakers, including lawmakers, academics,
judges, legal experts, technocrats and journalists. JOSEPH JIBUEZE
highlights the key recommendations at the one-day event at the
State House Abuja.
The plan of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration when
it took the saddle about three years ago was to use the
instrumentality of government to fight corruption. But the battle
is far from being won.
Reason! The three arms of government, expected to unite against
graft have not flown in the same direction
Making the battle more herculean is the fact that the organs of
government are not only undermining themselves but working at cross
purposes and the trend has become worrisome to the Presidential
Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), which last week,
organised a one-day “dialogue of organs of government on reform of
justice sector and campaign against corruption.”
The dialogue, organised in collaboration with the Federal
Ministry of Justice, was staged at the State House Banquet Hall in
Abuja and was. It drew
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki,
House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Chief Justice of
Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen and Attorney-General of the
Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami, SAN.
Represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Mr.
Ade Ipaye, Osinbajo, called for a harmonious relationship between
the legislative, judiciary and executive arms of government,
without which he foreclosed development.
The vice president said: “Conflicts could arise from
misunderstanding of constitutional responsibilities; inordinate
foray or venture by one organ into the territory of another organ,
inordinate ambition or domineering attitude by one over others,
power struggle, greed or self-interest, hypocrisy; lack of
patriotism and corruption.”
According to him, unresolved conflicts slows down the pace of
governance, creates suspicion and hostility, encourages bad
governance, creates distraction and tension, encourages the culture
of impunity and disregard for the rule of law among the political
class, with attendant political instability that divides the
populace.
“In order to avoid these consequences and for a government to
deliver development to the people, it is imperative for the three
arms of government to constantly bury the hatchet and focus on
collaborative efforts within their constitutional responsibilities
to formulate and implement effective governance laws and policies,”
he said.
Dr. Saraki, who was represented by Senator David Omoru, spoke of
the need to strengthen institutions and processes “so that we can
fight the good fight without let or hindrance, and without any bias
whatsoever.”
Pledging the lawmakers’ commitment to the anti-graft war, the
Senate President said: “Let me assure you that we as lawmakers in
the Eighth National Assembly take very seriously the fight against
corruption to sanitise our polity and instill greater probity,
openness and accountability in the system.
“That way, we would be better able to power the economic
development of this country, rather than having up to 25 per cent
of our annual GDP (Gross Domestic Product) disappear into private
pockets,” he said.
The AGF said the campaign against corruption can only succeed if
it actively involves all stakeholders and enjoys ownership by all
the arms of government.
Malami said: “It is also significant to posit that the
efficiency of the justice sector is critical to the speed at which
the results of our collective efforts can become available to the
public.
“No matter our best intentions, no matter the urgency in our
methods as an executive branch, the application of the rule of law
by the judiciary and the expeditious consideration of supporting
laws by the legislature are equally critical to the overall success
we hope to achieve in order to promote greater prosperity and
stability in our country.”
Dogara, represented by Jide Akinloye, said the House would “go
the whole hog to support any attempt to fight corruption”.
Sagay: Corrupt judges rubbishing judiciary
The PACAC Chairman, Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) said it was corrupt
judges have been doing more damage to the judiciary, not those who
point out its failing.
According to him, judges must not be afraid to bring the full
weight of the law on their corrupt colleagues.
To the constitutional lawyer, all organs of government must be
harsher in dealing with corrupt persons within their fold.
He said judges must have zero tolerance for lawyers who try to
compromise them, but should expose such lawyers and have them
struck off the rolls.
Sagay said: “Judges must be prepared to bring to justice any of
their colleagues who accept or demand bribes.
“These are the ones who rubbish the image of the judiciary, not
the legitimate critics of such gross misconduct.
“It takes only one apple to contaminate and make all the other
apples in the barrel rotten also. So, self-criticism and firm
punishment for culprits within a sector by colleagues is mandatory
in order to establish zero tolerance for corruption in that
sector.”
He urged judges to strictly apply provisions of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 in order to
enhance speedy and fair justice.
“Some judges are currently carrying on as if the ACJA does not
exist,” he noted.
According to him, there must be no espiri de corp between a
clean member and a corrupt member in any arm of government.
Sagay said those who are known to be corrupt have no moral right
to pontificate on the fight.
The PACAC chief said: “There is a lot of lip service by various
high profile public servants in the anti-corruption war.
“When a person who is known by the Nigerian public as an
irredeemably corrupt person begins to wax lyrical about the
devastating effects of corruption, it sounds very ill in his mouth
and it ridicules and belittles the fight against corruption.
“Public figures that are already notorious for their penchant
for corruption are doing disservice to the anti-corruption struggle
by pretending to hate corruption. Let such people remain silent
rather than ridiculing the war against corruption.”
Urging lawmakers to fight budget padding and unjust remuneration
and to pass pending anti-corruption bills, Sagay advised agencies
of the executive, such as Customs, not to demand bribes to do their
jobs.
He said: “If they deserve higher remuneration, they should
demand it. In fact, we should allow Customs, Inland Revenue
Department, EFCC and ICPC to retain a small portion of the assets
recovered or collected by them in order to promote internal
integrity in those services.
“We must tackle the following matters with all seriousness:
prevention of corruption; speedy, effective and efficient trials;
recovery of looted assets, and discouragement and deterrence of
bribery, corruption and economic financial crimes in the public and
private sectors.”
Falana, others speak
The event had three sessions, with the sub-themes: Campaign
against corruption and justice sector reform: Journey so far;
strengthening justice sector institutions/law enforcement agencies
for improved sanctions and enforcement; and preventing corruption
and sustaining justice sector reforms.
Speakers and contributors include: Justice A. D. Yahaya of the
Court of Appeal, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, Prof Larry Chukwu, a
lawmaker Jimi Benson, Justice T. Akomolafe Benson, Justice E. Agim,
Justice Chinyere Ani, activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), a
professor of law Ayo Atsenuwa, a journalist Mr. Lanre Arogundade,
former Nigerian Law School Director-General Lanre Onadeko (SAN),
The Nation’s Managing Editor, Northern Operations Yusuf Alli,
Executive Director at the Access to Justice (A2J) Mr. Joseph Otteh
and Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi of PACAC, among others.
Falana urged Attorneys-General to do more in the fight against
corruption under their jurisdiction. The activist-lawyer noted that
impunity has continued because some of them abuse the power of
nolle-prosequi.
“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) cannot go
to a state to prosecute without the fiat of the Attorney-General in
many of the cases. What are they doing in pursuing cases of
corruption in their state?” he asked.
On sentencing, Falana wondered why someone who stole billions of
naira would be jailed for a mere 10 years or less. To him, it was a
class issue that must be addressed.
He said an armed robbery suspect who robbed only one person may
be sentenced to death, and no one would raise an eyebrow.
Falana said: “But, the man who has stolen money meant for
building a road – and because that road is not built, people are
dying, or the one who diverted money meant for building a hospital
– are only asked to plea bargain.
“The worst case of fraud that has been recorded was that of a
bank executive who was alleged to have returned through plea
bargain N191.4 billion in money and other assets. He was sentenced
for six months in a highbrow hospital in Lagos. Whereas, in Osun
State, a young man was sentenced to 50 years for stealing a handset
worth N7, 000.
“For us not to expose the law to ridicule, there would be the
need on the part of PACAC perhaps to organise a seminar on
sentencing, because people out there are laughing.”
Falana accused anti-corruption agencies of not applying Section
10 of the Recovery of Public Property Special Provisions Act.
The section, the lawyer noted, provides that if a person fails
to declare assets worth over N1 million, the person is liable to
life imprisonment.
“That law is there, but nobody applies it,” Falana said.
The SAN said workers emoluments, health insurance and other
benefits are given high priority in countries where corruption is
genuinely fought.
According to him, people are likely to be tempted to steal if
they know they would retire into penury.
“How do we create an enabling environment for us to live good
lives so that we’ll not be tempted to want to loot the treasury?”
Falana wondered.
Justice Ani said corruption results in poverty, high level of
unemployment, infrastructural deficit and lack of foreign
investments, among other ills.
She regretted that some high profile cases were badly
investigated, which makes it difficult to prove the essential
ingredients of a crime.
On the part of judges, she said there was “entrenched” lack of
know-how by some of them, adding that lack of enough budgetary
provisions also hampers the anti-graft war.
Justice Ani recommended the equipment of courts for efficiency,
as most of the court use manual recording systems; improvement in
inter-agency collaboration, as well as an amendment of the section
of the ACJA on video recording of suspects during interrogation to
replace the word “May” with “Shall.’
Alli said there was too much political interference in the
anti-graft war, even as there was lack of manpower among anti-graft
agencies.
According to him, investigators must have insurance policy and
very good welfare package to keep them motivated.
On the way forward, Alli said there should be less politics in
the anti-graft war, adding that it should not been seen as a
political tool.
To him, the office of the AGF should be separated from the
Minister of Justice, while anti-graft agencies need to be
sanitised.
Alli said: “Anti-graft agencies must operate within the ambit of
the law, and merit should take preeminence over any other thing,”
he said.
On the issue of media trial, Alli said the press does not go
beyond filtered information given to them by anti-graft
agencies.
EFCC’s Head of Legal Department Gbolahan Latona said it was a
miracle that anti-graft agencies were doing the much they do
considering the low budget they operate with compared to their
counterparts abroad.
Onadeko decried the fact that corruption cases were lasting too
long in courts. To him, corruption cannot be fought conventionally.
New approaches must be adopted, he said.
Prof Atsenuwa said the ACJA would not work unless it was
properly funded.
“I’m not aware of who has mapped the budgetary implication of
ACJA’s implementation. There has to be an implementation framework
for the ACJA,” she said.
She added that in the investigation of cases, lawyers need to
guide investigators on what to look out for.
Justice Yahaya, who chaired one of the sessions, said there were
enough laws; the problem was with their implementation.
“The problem is the indiscipline that is in us. Without a
committed and disciplined people, I don’t see us succeeding.
Something is going to collapse unless we all address the challenges
and face them,” he said.
Otteh called for the introduction of a Financial Disclosures
Rule which would limit the amount of physical cash that judicial
officers can hold at any time.
He said the rule that “he who alleges must prove” should be
revised so that those founds with suspicious amounts of money could
be called upon to explain how they came about them.
Besides, he said the war against corruption would not be won
when the courts are shut down on flimsy excuses, such as when all
judges of a court are attending a burial or seminar.
PACAC member Prof Femi Odekunle cited the example of South Korea
where the elite got together and fought corruption to save the
country. He said the elite must agree to kill corruption if the
fight must be won.
“Like the President said, if we don’t kill corruption, it will
kill us. He appears to be the only one saying so. It has not been
bought by the elite collectively. If the elite in the three major
organs of government get together and fight corruption, it will
filter down the other agencies,” he said.
Prof Odekunle said the three arms of government have more to do.
For instance, he said the National Assembly had punished its
members who tried to expose corruption by suspending them, and has
not been transparent about lawmakers’ allowances. According to him,
“any of them who breaks out of the code of silence” gets
punished.
He faulted the executive for recalling a man who was suspended
over allegations of corruption, adding that the judiciary appears
to condone corruption among its members.
Odekunle said: “I said about two years ago that you have to
sacrifice the blood of two judges and two SANs to cleanse and do
libation to be able to liberate the legal profession from
corruption.
“If the executive had gone along, there’d be no Maina case, no
Babachir case and the NIA case.
“I agree there should be separation of powers, but there should
be no separation of the core values, the ethos, the philosophy of
social organisation.
“I think the elite must get together and say: ‘Corruption will
kill us if we don’t kill it’. They must lead the way.
“To me, it’s a matter of a visionary leadership, but all the
elites must agree; otherwise I don’t think we’ll make
progress.”
Read more https://nairalaw.com/executive-legislature-judiciary-join-forces-against-graft/