Three CJs lament delays in high-profile corruption cases

Chief judges of the Federal High Court, Lagos State and the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and other stakeholders in the
judicial sector, on Thursday decried the delays being suffered by
criminal cases, particularly corruption matters involving high
profile personalities in the country.

As part of the moves to ensure speedier justice delivery and the
release of unjustly detained awaiting trial inmates in Abuja, the
Chief Judge, Justice Ishaq Bello, said he had directed the release
of all detainees with three or more years of stay in prison without
trial.

The stakeholders spoke in Abuja during a workshop with heads of
courts and other stakeholders’ which was organised by a civil
society group, the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies and the National
Judicial Council’s Corruption and Financial Cases Trial Monitoring
Committee.

In his opening remark, the President of CSLS, Prof. Yemi
Akinseye-George (SAN), noted that some observers had pointed out
that “whilst several convictions are being recorded, only a few of
these are high profile in the sense of involving
politically-exposed defendants.

“The fear has therefore been expressed that the modest successes
so far achieved in implementing the Administration of Criminal
Justice Act may be under threat.”

In search for solution to the problem, the Chief Judge of the
FCT, Justice Bello, said he had set up two committees to ensure the
decongestion of cases at both the magisterial and the high court
levels.

He said the committees had been given the instruction to ensure
that all detainees awaiting trials for over three years should be
discharged.

He said, “I have taken the bull by the horns. I have instructed
as part of the terms for those panels that they should not bother;
any person in prison from three years and above without trial they
should discharge the person once they give date and the prosecution
is not found,” Justice Bello said.

Also, Justice John Tsoho, who represented the Chief Judge of the
Federal High Court, Justice Adamu Abdul-Kafarati, described as an
embarrassment to Nigeria the delays often caused by sloppy
prosecution in Nigeria.

He narrated how a former governor fled Nigeria over corruption
allegations only to be convicted abroad shortly after, but two
years after the ex-governor’s associates were put on trial in
Nigeria, the prosecution was still giving an excuse of not being
able to conclude investigations.

Although Justice Tsoho did not mention the name of the
ex-governor, his description fitted a former governor of Delta
State, James Ibori.

He said, “It is indeed embarrassing to this country. We all know
what damage corruption has done to our economy and the society in
general.

“We remember a former governor who was standing trial here and
was being celebrated. Somehow, he fled to another country … and
under record time, he was tried and convicted and then his
associates, in the alleged crime were arraigned before me in
Lagos.

“Almost two years after, the prosecution was still telling
stories about not having been able to conclude investigations and
it baffled me.

“By then the alleged chief culprit had already been convicted
somewhere and they had not been able to conclude investigations
here let alone the commencement of trial. It is rather
unfortunate.”

While commending the CSLS and COMTIMCO for their efforts to
ensure speedy justice delivery, Justice Tsoho called for an
amendment of the provision of section 36 of the 1999 Constitution
to remove the latitude of rights to fair hearing being capitalised
on by the defendants to delay trials.

Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo, who represented the Lagos State’s
Chief Judge, Justice Opeyemi Oke, said the state’s judiciary had
always been in the forefront of amending relevant laws and rules to
ensure speedier justice delivery.

Also speaking, a judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Adebukola
Banjoko, advocated among others, the establishment of timeframe for
the conduct of criminal cases.

The Chairman of COTRIMCO, Justice Suleiman Galadima (retd.), who
applauded his committee for its various achievements, said within
the last six months, “the work of the committee has resulted in
judgments being delivered in at least 354 cases” nationwide by
courts designated to hear corruption-related cases.”

The President of CSLS, Akinseye-George, advocated improved
welfare of judges, deployment of Information Technology in court
proceedings, and affordable solution to the long-standing problem
of electronic recording in courts.

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