The recent conviction of a former acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Nwabuoku, has rekindled the clamour for the establishment of special courts to handle corruption cases, similar to the National Industrial Court handling labour matters, Wale Igbintade writes
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) secured a major victory last week when a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja sentenced a former acting Accountant-General of the Federation (AGoF), Chukwunyere Nwabuoku to eight years imprisonment.
Nwabuoku, who was convicted on all nine counts in the money laundering charges brought against him, was prosecuted for a crime bordering on money laundering to the tune of N868 million.
He was alleged to have perpetrated the act while serving as the Director of Finance and Accounts in the Ministry of Defence between 2019 and 2021.
In his judgment, Justice James Omotosho held that the EFCC sufficiently proved the offences alleged in the charge beyond reasonable doubt as required by law. The judge, who declined to grant the defendant an option of fine, described as appalling Nwabuoku’s conduct of diverting funds meant for security and defence while he served as the Director of Finance and Account in the Ministry of Defence.
While commending the anti-graft commission for being detailed in its prosecution, Justice Omotosho noted that the evidence of the ninth prosecution witness that revealed that Nwabuoku voluntarily refunded over N200 million during investigation was not controverted by the defence.
During the trial, the EFCC called nine witnesses, including a Zenith Bank staff member, Ms Eucharia Ezeodi, and a director in the Federal Civil Service, Mr. Felix Nweke.
In July last year, the former acting AGoF and his co-defendant, Nweke, asked the court for time to refund the alleged loot, but later withdrew the request. The commission subsequently amended the charges, naming Nwabuoku as the sole defendant, and Nweke one of the prosecution witnesses. The commission re-arraigned him on January 15, 2025.
While EFCC has been commended for successfully and diligently prosecuting the matter to a logical conclusion, what is however surprising to many is that while Nwabuoku will spend the next eight years in prison, the case of his predecessor, Ahmed Idris, who was arrested and charged with an alleged N109 billion fraud since July 2022 is still pending before the Federal Capital Territory High Court due to the unnecessary slow wheel of justice.
Idris is standing trial alongside two others on charges bordering on gratification, theft, and criminal breach of trust. He is specifically accused of using public funds to purchase properties across Nigeria.
On February 1, 2024, his lawyer, Chris Uche, (SAN) alleged that the EFCC coerced his client into making self-incriminating statements under duress. The allegation temporarily paused the main trial and led to the commencement of a trial within trial.
It is against this background that legal experts have renewed the clamour for a special court to give the prosecution of corruption cases a boost.
These experts expressed worries over the manipulations and frustration of the commission’s cases by those arraigned and their lawyers when they are granted bail.
Those in support of special courts for corruption cases argued that labour matters used to take many years at the conventional courts until a specialised court – the National Industrial Court (NIC) – was established. They further stated that to tackle the challenges facing the anti-corruption war, special courts must be considered as one stepping stone for the system to deliver justice fairly, squarely and swiftly.
Even successive chairmen of the EFCC had at several fora expressed dissatisfaction with the way judges have been handling corruption-related cases before them. This further fuelled the agitation for a separate special court to try cases of economic and financial crimes in the country as it is done in some developed countries. This, they believe, is one of the most effective strategies needed to adequately tackle graft in the country.
At a forum recently, a former EFCC boss pointedly blamed the courts for the delay in the trial of some corrupt officials the commission had arraigned. According to him, the judiciary was slowing down the anti-graft war, as the rulings and other processes used by the accused persons to escape prosecution gives the impression that the commission is not living up to expectation.
“I think this should be brought to the knowledge of Nigerians. I cannot investigate, take the witnesses to court, exhibits are tendered, and the cases are adjourned. I cannot do anything more than I have done. A special court for EFCC-related offences will take us away from the undue legalities that many brilliant lawyers have capitalized on to twist the hand of the courts and the commission,” he declared.
On one occasion, former chairman of the commission, Ibrahim Lamorde, had called on the National Assembly to amend the EFCC Act by empowering it to refer cases to special courts, adding that the delay in the trial of suspects charged for corruption at the conventional courts was frustrating the operations of the commission.
“In most cases, people are arrested and arraigned before the court only to be released the next day on bail. Honestly, we are getting frustrated because the man you picked up looks you in the face and tells you that you are wasting your time. The slow judicial processes our courts are known for and the bureaucratic and legalistic bottlenecks of the judicial system of this country do not allow us to achieve our stated goals easily. The legal process takes quite a lot of money, energy, time, and deployment of personnel to get a single conviction. To speed up prosecution of our cases, the National Assembly should begin the process of creating special courts with the requisite jurisdiction bringing to book, public and private officials involved in corrupt acts.” he declared.
Supporting the argument for the establishment of special courts, a senior lawyer who confided in THISDAY, said it is the way to go if the country wants quick and smooth dispensation of prosecution.
“We have to improve our system, especially when it is not delivering optimal results. The idea of specialised anti-corruption courts is not arguable right now. It is something that is very necessary. We already have a specialised court for labour matters: the National Industrial Court. To tackle the challenges facing the anti-corruption war, special courts must be considered as a good stepping stone. The system needs to deliver justice fairly, squarely and swiftly,” he said.
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