PROSECUTION OF CORRUPT PUBLIC OFFICERS: CDHR WANTS NJC INTERVENTION ON COURT ORDERS RESTRAINING EFCC TO CARRY OUT INVESTIGATION
OpenLife Nigeria reports that the Nigeria leading anti-corruption agency, EFCC, has described several experte orders and restrained court orders from various Nigerian courts as bottlenecks impeding investigation and trial of corrupt public officers. This was contained in a report credited to the head of the antigraft agency, Olanipekun Olukoyede.
A statement jointly signed by Comrade Debo Adeniran, National President CDHR Nigeria and Comrade Idris Afees Olayinka, National Publicity Secretary CDHR Nigeria which was made available to OpenLife stated that court restraining orders have continued to impede the investigation of corrupt officers currently ongoing in about 10 states of the Federation. According to the statement, the agency is not able to carry out investigations due to court orders restraining them.
He made the remarks at a capacity building workshop for Justices and Judges in Abuja with the theme “Integrating Stakeholders in Curbing Economic and Financial Crimes”
Also, in another development, CDHR gathered that frequent adjournment of high-profile cases, contempt orders, and undue reliance on technical grounds delay investigation of corruption cases and dispensation of criminal justice.
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, however, calls the attention of the Chief Justice of the Federation and the National Judicial Council to beam their search lights into the activities of the courts handling EFCC cases. CDHR wants the NJC to put in place appropriate measures to caution the affected courts.
In as much as CDHR wants the antigraft agencies to adhere to the rules of law in carrying out the statutory responsibilities of sanitising the society against corruption, criminality, and indiscipline, the court processes shouldn’t mitigate again such. The courts should ease the antigraft investigation of corruption by giving them necessary legal support to make cases and adequately punish the offenders to serve as deterrent to others with similar tendencies in comiting Crimes.
CDHR also employs the Economic and Financial Crime Commission to reform the processes of their investigation in accordance with the provisions of the law. The agency should not be overzealous in the pursuit of achieving conviction at all costs to the extent of disobeying court orders to apprehend suspects. They must not disregard court orders even if such order is delivered by a drunken judge.
All antigraft agencies should also be proactive in their investigations. They should take the advantage of using existing anti-corruption instruments available in statute books like NFIU, ACTU, SCUML etc to discretely gather evidence without making it known to the public until when they are sure of winnable cases before hitting the courts vis-à-vis public.
It is also imperative for the government to adequately fund antigraft agencies as well as their operatives. Providing necessary equipment, training, protection, and other supports to motivate them to optimally carry out their functions without regard to what they commit to it.
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