President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has identified frivolous appeals, intimidation of judges by lawyers and judgments based on technicalities as some of the major challenges impeding the war against corruption in the country.
The President said until these challenges are curtailed, they will continue to hamper the speedy adjudication of corruption cases in Nigeria.
President Tinubu stated this while declaring open the 6th Economic and Financial Crimes Commission/National Judicial Institute Capacity Building Workshop for Justices and Judges at the National Judicial Institute (NJI), in Abuja on Monday.
He however disclosed that prosecution of corruption cases has improved remarkably, following the justice sector reforms in the last few years.
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, President Tinubu described the capacity-building workshop as a platform to collectively raise a strong voice against Nigeria’s common enemy called corruption.
Tinubu said: “There is no gainsaying the fact that the judiciary is central to the success of the anticorruption efforts. The commitment, courage and patriotism of judicial officers are ingredients that make the difference in the fight against corruption.
“Though I am aware that prosecution of corruption matters has improved in the light of the justice sector reforms in the last few years, we are not oblivious of some challenges that continue to impede the speedy adjudication of corruption cases.
“They include frivolous applications and appeals, meant to delay the trial, intimidation of judges by counsel, and judgment based not on the facts of cases but on technicalities”.
Tinubu pointed out that “corruption is cancer which continues to deny the nation the full benefits of her God-given resources,” noting that only the Anti-Corruption Agencies cannot find the solutions to this malaise.
Earlier in her address, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, commended the efforts of the current leadership of anti-graft agencies in the country noting that law enforcement agencies must begin to see judicial officials as partners in the anti-graft campaign in Nigeria.
She pledged the support and commitment of the judiciary in the campaign through capacity-building initiatives for justices, judges and prosecuting officers, stating that economic and financial crimes pose significant threats to national and global economies and must be tackled by all stakeholders.
On his part, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio who was represented by the Deputy Senate President, Sen. Jibrin Barau, praised the collaboration between anti-graft agencies and the judiciary.
“It is incumbent on us all as stakeholders to adopt and implement pragmatic solutions that will help address challenges confronting our country, including financial crimes,” he said.
Akpabio also advocated a periodic review of laws relating to economic crimes and the creation of a central database for use by law enforcement agencies, maintaining that the complexity of financial crimes requires constant tweaking of the laws.
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