Anti-graft War: CJN Okays Special Courts, Judges To Try Alleged Looters
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, on Monday, directed all Heads of Courts in the country to compile and forward to the National Judicial Council, NJC, comprehensive lists of all corruption and financial crime cases being handled by their various courts.
The CJN, who gave the directive during a special court session the Supreme Court held to mark the opening of the 2017/2018 legal year, noted that “inexplicable and seemingly intractable delays”, has been the bane of criminal justice administration in the country.
He decried that such delays, “result in the unfortunate disruption of due process”.
Consequently, Justice Onnoghen ordered all the Heads of Courts to designate at least one court in their various jurisdictions as Special Courts, solely for the purpose of hearing and speedily determining corruption and financial crime cases.
He said where such cases proceeded on appeal, to either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court, special dates on each week should be fixed, solely for hearing and determining such appeals.
He said the National Judicial Council, NJC, would at its next meeting, constitute an Anti-Corruption Cases Trial Monitoring Committee that will continually monitor the progress of high-profile criminal cases. According to the CJN, “This committee would be saddled with, among other things, the responsibility of ensuring that both Trial and Appellate Courts handling corruption and financial crime cases key into and abide by our renewed efforts at ridding our Country of the canker worm”.
Warning that it would no longer be business as usual for corrupt elements in the judiciary, the CJN, gave all Heads of Courts in the country the nod to clampdown on both Prosecution and Defence Counsel who indulge in the unethical practice of deploying delay tactics to stall criminal trials.
He said the Heads of Courts should report cases of unnecessary delays to the NJC, which in turn, would transmit them to the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), in the case of SANs, and the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), in the case of other legal practitioners.
“We must not lose sight of the indispensable role of the judiciary in the fight against corruption. Corruption continues to place the judiciary in the eye of the storm, but, we cannot allow that to deter us or weaken our resolve.
“It is regrettable that the image of the Judiciary has been tarnished by the notion that the Nigerian Judiciary is bedeviled by corrupt elements, hence the need for an image building parade.
“We must accept that acts of misconduct of a few rub off on the rest of the judiciary and create the impression that all judicial officers have their hands soiled with the proceeds of corruption.
“Let me be clear here; it is not going to be business as usual for the few unscrupulous elements in our midst. I am determined to redeem the unfairly battered image of the judiciary.
“Any Judicial Officer found wanting would be dealt with decisively, and shown the way out swiftly. It is therefore for this reason that the independence of the judiciary must be entrenched if we are to hold the trust and confidence of the citizens of Nigeria.
“We, in the judiciary are fully aware and in fact worried by concerns expressed by members of the public on the very slow speed with which corruption cases in particular are being heard or determined by our Courts.
“Although the Administration of Criminal Justice Act contains many commendable provisions aimed at speeding up the process of criminal prosecution generally, it is clear that we still need to employ more strategies to support and strengthen this law in fast tracking the criminal justice system”, the CJN added.
Justice Onnoghen who also used the occasion to swear-in 29 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, vowed to bring the full weight of the law on anyone found to have offered gratification to a judicial officer.
