Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami
An Abuja based activist, Hameed Ajibola Jimoh Esq., has shown
displeasure at the way in which cases of suspects who are been
prosecuted for one heinous crime or the other are struck out, with
the suspect discharged on the ground of unwanted Prosecution.
Mr. Hameed made this known in a letter addressed to the Attorney
General of the Federation, Malami Abubarkar, with the subject,
“APPEAL FOR NECESSARY PRE-EMPTIVE ACTIONS TOWARDS CRIMINAL
SUITS CONTINUOUSLY BEING STRUCK OUT BY TRIAL COURTS FOR THE
PROSECUTION’S LACK OF DILIGENT PROSECUTION IN COURTS IN THE FEDERAL
CAPITAL TERRITORY-ABUJA”.
The letter which was dated the 21st November, 2018, and made
available to TheNigerialawyer (TNL) reads in part:
” I have observed with dissatisfaction on several
occasions, the striking out of suits by trial courts in the Federal
Capital Territory-Abuja, in criminal proceedings, upon the
applications of the Defendant’s counsel, the application which has
been made pursuant to section 351(1) of the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act, 2015-herein after referred to as ACJA-,
leading to the discharge of the defendants by the trial courts.
I have also observed that the acts of the prosecuting counsel
warranting the striking out order of the trial court have been due
to the following among other reasons: (i) prosecution not being in
court on the date fixed for trial or hearing of the suit without
any reasonable or acceptable excuse to the court; (ii) prosecution
not making its witnesses available for evidence in court after
several adjournments, among others.
I could not hide my dissatisfaction and or displeasure at
this attitude of the prosecuting counsel, and considering the
present state of insecurity all across the nation, hence the
writing of this letter as an appeal to Your Excellency for
necessary preemptive actions in curbing this act of lack of
diligence on the part of the prosecuting counsel leading to the
discharge of the defendant in courts.
“Your Excellency, it is observable in these suits being
struck out and the defendants being discharged, that the offences
have been bothered on: armed robbery, theft, among other offences
(including serious/indictable offences which threaten the security
of this nation or cause injury to persons) yet, without considering
the seriousness of these offences, and the dangers that some of
these defendants if actually they were culpable, could pose to the
public and their accompanying insecurity, the counsel in those
matters were not diligent in prosecuting those cases with the
intention of bringing the defendants to necessary and required
justice according to laws of the land.
“Furthermore, Your Excellency would recall that the issue of
‘jungle justice’ which can be defined as the capital punishment
meted out by individuals without any legal authority on a suspected
individual (s), males, females or children or animals’, has been
criticized and prohibited by all and sundry and the laws of our
land for the negative effects it has on its victim(s). Members of
the public have therefore through various orientation, counseling,
seminars, among others, been counseled on the need to always submit
and hand over any person arrested by them to the police or the
appropriate law enforcement agency (either such person was arrested
in the course of the act i.e. while committing the alleged criminal
act or upon subsequent arrest made on him after the commission of
the offence).
“This instruction, I believe, a high number of the members
of the public have obeyed and trusted encouraging them to hand over
the suspects to the law enforcement agency, causing a reduction in
the cases of ‘jungle justice’ in Nigeria, and in the FCT
specifically. Disappointingly, these arrested suspects that the
public expected would be made to face the wrath of the laws of the
land are charged to court and the prosecution would thereafter be
reckless and not diligent in prosecuting the said defendants,
leading to their discharge and being set free by the courts-
including the High Court of the Federal Capital
Territory-Abuja.
“Your Excellency, with due respect, it is noteworthy that
the lack of diligence on the part of the prosecuting counsel who
are under your control poses a great threat to the security of this
nation. Some of these discharged persons for lack of the
prosecution’s diligence, might lay a retaliatory attack on their
victims or the informant or complainant who lead to their arrests
which at the same time, upon the awareness of their discharge by
the complainant, puts the complainant and his family or the
community into fear of retaliation by their alleged suspects. Also,
some of these suspects are unrepentant to the extent that they then
utilize the opportunity of their freedom to perfect their ways of
operation.
“Permit me to submit, Your Excellency, with due respect, and
as a human rights activist, and having the progress of this nation
at heart, that I find no one blameworthy for the lack of diligence
on the part of the prosecution, than Your Excellency’s Office and
that of the Director of Public Prosecution-herein after referred to
as the DPP. This is because, public prosecution of offences by
section 174(1)(a) and (b), (2) and (3) of the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)- herein after
referred to as the Constitution- has been placed on Your Office
thus ‘
‘174.–(1) The Attorney-General of the Federation shall have
power— (a) to institute and undertake criminal proceedings against
any person before any court of law in Nigeria, other than a
court-martial, in respect of any offence created by or under any
Act of the National Assembly ;
(b) to take over and continue any such criminal proceedings
that may have been instituted by any other authority or person ;
and
(2) The powers conferred upon the Attorney-General of the
Federation under subsection (1) of this section may be exercised by
him in person or through officers of his department.
(3) In exercising his powers under this section the
Attorney-General shall have regard to the public interest, the
interest of justice and the need to prevent abuse of legal
process.’.
Therefore, and considering the provisions of the section
174(1)(a) and (b), (2) and (3) of the Constitution (supra), it is
in my respectful submission that Your Excellency and the DPP are
the ones not diligent because those prosecuting counsel are under
the control and watch of Your Excellency’s Office and that of the
DPP, so, vicarious liability would not allow any rejection of
blame(s) from Your Excellency and the DPP.
“Having said all the above, I hereby recommend the following
as what I consider as what could be a way-out of this
situation:
“Your Excellency should call for records of all cases
prosecuted in all courts in the FCT-Abuja (from the lowest courts
to the High Courts) and the records of proceedings, especially
those prosecuted since 2015 till date;
“Your Excellency should set up an investigative
committee/panel (consisting of both legal practitioners in the
public and private practice) to: gather the number of such cases
struck out for lack of diligence prosecution; review and study the
records of the proceedings; the reasons why those cases were struck
out; the counsel that handled the cases or handling same,
recommendations for strategic practice, etc.
“Necessary actions to be taken to forestall any such act of
non-diligence of the prosecuting counsel from Your Office or any
other Office of other prosecuting government’s agencies (Your
Excellency being the Minister for Justice of the Federation by
virtue of Section 150(1) of the Constitution).
“Necessary disciplinary action should be taken against any of
the counsel that the investigative panel finds to have not been
diligent with his duties which causes Your Office public
embarrassment and public displeasure and breach of public’s
trust.
“Finally, I am of the firm belief that Your Excellency would
utilize your good authority to correct some of these alleged errors
as being reported by this letter, and that the recommendations if
carried out effectively would be of great assistance in the
administration of criminal justice system in the prosecution of
offences applicable to the FCT-Abuja and those of the Federal
offences, in no time.
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