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| Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen |
A total of 1,124 corruption cases have been
forward to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for speedy trial in the proposed
special corruption courts across the country.
Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter
Onnoghen, made the disclosure yesterday in Abuja at the formal inauguration of
the Corruption and Other Financial Crimes Cases Trials Monitoring Committee
(COTRIMCO).
The committee which is headed by a former
Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Suleiman Galadima (rtd), apart from
monitoring the proceedings of high profile corruption cases at the various
courts, is also expected to propose practice directions that would help uproot
all encumbrances to the speedy trial of corruption cases in the courts.
Following the stance of President Muhammadu
Buhari on corruption in the country, a lot of alleged looters of the country’s
resources have been arrested and currently undergoing trials in various courts
across the country.
However, two years down the line, little or nothing has been achieved in the prosecution of these cases in courts, prompting a larger number of the public to allude that the judiciary is corrupt.
However, two years down the line, little or nothing has been achieved in the prosecution of these cases in courts, prompting a larger number of the public to allude that the judiciary is corrupt.
“As I stated recently, the society we serve
appears dissatisfied with our performance, and we must neither dismiss nor
relegate these rising criticisms as mere sentiments or unfounded accusations
devoid of substance.
“We must rise and protect the dignity and integrity of our judicial system,” he said.
“We must rise and protect the dignity and integrity of our judicial system,” he said.
The CJN stated that consequent upon this, the
NJC decided to initiate far-reaching measures that would eradicate delays in
the trials of corruption and other economic crime cases in the courts.
According to him, “We did announced that Heads
of Courts were directed to compile and submit a compendium of all corruption
cases being handled by their various divisions and I also directed them to
designate a court or more in their jurisdictions, depending on the volume of
such cases, solely for the trial of such cases.
“So far, we have received a total of 1,124
such cases reported to us from various jurisdictions across the country.”
He commended the chairman and other members of
the committee for who, in spite of their numerous other engagements, accepted
to serve their fatherland through this assignment.
The CJN said their membership of the committee
is purely on merit and in recognition of their track records of service to
their fatherland as well as their contributions to the development of the nation’s
law and jurisprudence.
While stressing the importance of the
assignment to the judiciary and the country at large, Onnoghen urged them to
come up with strategies that will help eliminate delays and its attendant
effects on the speedy disposal of corruption cases.
He, however, admonished both prosecution and
defence counsel to “shun all unethical antics being deployed that may result in
the delays usually experienced in the hearing and determination of corruption
cases.”
While responding, Chairman of the committee,
Justice Galadima, thanked the CJN and the NJC for the confidence reposed in
them.
He assured them that given the necessary tools
and encouragement, he and his colleagues would deliver on the said task.
The committee is made up of eminent
stakeholders drawn from the Bench, Bar and civil society groups.
Source: This Day
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