By Richard Akinnola
SINCE this administration came on stream three years ago, a major thrust of its programme has been the fight against corruption.

Inevitably, the main focus has been the judicial arm of the government. The judiciary has been the “whipping boy”, as it were, of this administration in the corruption war. The judiciary has been lampooned as being a cesspit of corruption. While the internal cleaning mechanism of the judiciary via the National Judicial Council, NJC, has been up and doing within its mandate in dealing with judicial malfeasance among judicial officers, focus has also been shifted to how the judiciary can help in the anti-corruption war.

corruption

The high point of the judiciary in the last one year has been the trial of alleged corrupt elements in the Jonathan dispensation. However, despite the clear provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, which with all intents and purposes, were meant to fast track criminal justice dispensation, proceedings in these corruption cases have been moving at snail speed. But more fundamentally, the high point of high profile cases in the last one year are the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, trial of Senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki and the trial of some judges.

Dr. Saraki was discharged and acquitted on all counts by the CCT after a no-case submission. But the prosecution appealed and the Court of Appeal ruled that the Senate president has a case to answer in two of the earlier 18 quashed charges, a development that led to a pending appeal at the Supreme Court.

In respect of the trial of judges, only one case had been concluded. Justice Niyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, who was standing trial along with his wife, was discharged and acquitted by a High court after a no-case submission. However, a major development that has impeded further trials of judicial officers was the Court of Appeal judgment in the case of Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa.

Justice Nganjiwa was charged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 14 count charge for allegedly receiving $260,000 and N8.65 million gratification. However, his counsel, Chief Robert Clarke (SAN), challenged the court’s jurisdiction. According to him, a court cannot try a judicial officer for alleged offences committed in the course of his judicial function without first being disciplined by the NJC. The lower court ruled against him and he went to court of appeal, which in that landmark judgment, held that a judge could not be prosecuted without first being retired or dismissed by the NJC.

With this decision, the trial of other judges were put on hold by other courts pending the outcome of the appeal lodged against this judgment at the Supreme Court by the EFCC. For example, the CCT which was trying Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court, for alleged false declaration of assets, had to put the trial on hold due to the Court of Appeal judgment on Justice Nganjiwa’s case.

Justice Ngwuta, who was facing an eight-count charge, had filed an application challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal to try him in view of the Court of Appeal judgment in respect of Justice Nganjiwa.

Challenges facing  corruption cases

It is instructive, however, to applaud the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, for the setting up of corruption and financial crime cases monitoring committee. Made up of credible senior lawyers and judges, the committee was to advise the CJN on how best to fast track corruption cases by suggesting various ways to assist the judiciary.

In its interim report submitted last week, the committee identified poor prosecution, multiplicity of charges, non-adherence to court rules/procedures, retirement and reassignment of cases as part of the challenges facing corruption and financial crimes cases.

Also to the credit of the CJN in the last one year, is the designation of special courts to handle corruption cases. This is with the view to expediting corruption cases. No doubt, the current CJN has been quite proactive in his attempt to rejig the whole judicial process and thereby exculpate the judiciary from the various charges of being lethargic regarding corruption cases.