The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, yesterday passed a damning verdict on members of the inner bar as he accused prominent lawyers of frustrating the ongoing war against corruption in the country.
According to him, these prominent members of the bar collect corruption-tainted briefs, then aid and abet those who commit crimes by furnishing them with technical knowledge of how to escape the long arms of the law, as well as how to hide the loot they had stolen.
Speaking when the national executive of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) paid him courtesy call in his office at the Commission’s headquarters, Abuja, Magu asked the NBA to face reality by admitting the fact that some persons in its fold were not fit to be called lawyers.
“We must tell ourselves the truth: there are lawyers within the fold of the NBA who ought not to be among your noble ranks. Those people are not fit to be called ministers; rather, they are vandals of the temple of justice”, he said, adding that while the burden of expectation is not only on the shoulders of those of them at the EFCC, Nigerians are expecting so much from the legal practitioners as well.
Stating that some prominent lawyers are frustrating the anti-corruption war, the EFCC boss said, “While we are mindful of the fact that there may be more than one side to a situation which are equally deserving of robust representation and defence, we believe that no matter the positions we take on any issue, Nigeria should come first.
“It is you who say that justice should be a three-way street: justice to the victim, justice to the perpetrator of the crime and justice to the society. But society is not served when prominent members of the Bar not only take clearly tainted briefs but even facilitate the commission of crimes by knowingly supplying the technical know-how, and, later, helping in the dispersal of the proceeds of crime.
The EFCC explained that the war against economic and financial crimes is fought on a number of flanks, some of which include fraud, corruption and money laundering, and that the activities of certain professional can either help the cause, or hinder it.
“However, there is no flank from which the war is waged that the input and effects of professionals such as lawyers, bankers and journalists is not felt, either as part of the problem or as critical ingredients in the solution mix.
“Law enforcement, just as the judiciary, encompassing the bar and bench, is a critical link in the justice delivery system of any society. The two, whilst they operate independently of one another, cannot afford, in the interest of the society, to pull in divergent directions.
“I dare say that even when opinions and tactics differ, the interests of the two blocs cannot but converge on the overriding interest of the people.
“It was along that line that I pledged on my appointment (and have maintained ever since), that I would discharge my duties as the head of the EFCC, guided solely by the fear of Almighty God, the overriding interest of our fatherland, Nigeria and the Rule of Law.
“I have tried to keep faith with those principles, in appreciation of the enormous burden placed on my shoulders by Mr. President and the huge expectations of ordinary Nigerians,” he said.
Magu also observed that in the history of Nigeria, there had never been a more destructive force than corruption.
“The war that we have been recruited to fight is not one for the faint at heart; nor is it a war of half-measures. I can tell you, without fear of contradiction, that we at the EFCC are totally committed to the war against economic and financial crimes, including corruption and money laundering.
“Our people have suffered too long to continue to be abandoned to the cruel fate imposed by crooks and thieves. We are willing hostages to the urgency of now and cannot afford to fail our compatriots,” the EFCC boss asserted.
He faulted the positions held by some lawyers that the fight against corruption was one-sided and biased, saying it is not a balanced argument.
Magu sad, “We all know that crimes have no political affiliation. And the victims of crimes such as money laundering, embezzlement, diversion of funds and fraud are the ordinary Nigerians, even you and me.
“Furthermore,” he asked, “is it a defence in law to say that one individual indicted of any of these crimes should not be prosecuted because another individual who is perceived to be corrupt has not yet been prosecuted? As officers in the temple of justice, I enjoin you all to join in the campaign against corruption.”
Magu continued: “The duties and responsibilities imposed on us by our current realities are directly linked to the shared vision of Nigerians to live, work and aspire in a just and equitable society.
“However, the arduous task of reaching that goal is not an enterprise that can be undertaken by only an individual, group of persons or a section of the society. All hands must be on deck. That is why I find very significant, the chance offered me today to meet minds with you, who, individually and as a bloc, are some of the most important stakeholders in the fight against corruption.”
Magu further declared that no agency of government in Nigeria had ever beaten the prosecution and conviction record of the EFCC, a feat which he described as “a testimony to the professional premiums we place on diligent investigation and prosecution.
“Notwithstanding our hard-won successes, we are very worried that, on a number of occasions, some members of the NBA have elected to side with those who do not want the good of Nigeria. I believe it is part of the professional ethical code of lawyers to ask questions as to the source of their clients’ wealth”, he said.
“This is where we have – and will continue to have – issues with the concerned individuals. And this is where so much is expected from the NBA.
“As a Commission, EFCC has the greatest respect for members of the Bar and Bench and regard the NBA highly for all the sacrifices of its members, both living and dead, who through professional practice of the highest standards and dogged, focused advocacy have helped in the achievements we celebrate today not just in the EFCC, but in Nigeria as a whole.
“The NBA is at a critical junction in the justice delivery chain and, being as it is, a self-regulating professional association, so much is expected from the body in ensuring that all members attain the highest possible professional heights, not judged by how many briefs they have or how fat those briefs are, but by how much professional integrity and patriotism they infuse into their practice.”
EFCC Grills Ex-Governor Shema’s Aides, Others
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are currently in Katsina State where they are interrogating the aides of former Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema, LEADERSHIP learnt.
Some former heads of government agencies and some serving government officials are among those being grilled by men of the anti-graft agency.
It was gathered that 34 former local government chairmen who were elected under the former People Democratic Party (PDP) regime in the state are also being quizzed by the operatives.
A reliable source told our correspondent that some serving permanent secretaries who had served in the same capacity during the administration of former Governor Shema are among those scheduled to appear before the EFCC officials.
It was further gathered that the operatives are currently sitting at the Conference Hall in the office of the secretary to Katsina State Government where scores of former officials have been appearing before them to answer questions.
When our correspondent visited the office of secretary to Katsina State Government located at the state secretariat, former local government chairmen and some former special advisers to ex-Governor Shema were seen waiting their turn to face the EFCC operatives.
“Some of them have already appeared and many more are going to appear because this is one investigation that is all-encompassing,” a government official told our correspondent.
Although spokesman of EFCC, Wilson Uwajiaren, could not confirm the operation when contacted by our correspondent, the Katsina State commissioner of Information, Muhammad Brodo, said men of the anti-graft agency were in the state to investigate issues bordering on “corruption of the past administration.”
LEADERSHIP recalls that the Katsina State governor, Bello Masari, had declared that his administration would stop at nothing in recovering monies stolen by previous administration, just as he had accused his successor of looting billions of naira belonging to the state.
Only recently, the chief of staff to Governor Masari, Dikko Umaru Radda, had told journalists during an interview that about N70 billion had been stolen by the immediate past administration, and that the state government was interested in recovering monies “out rightly stolen and monies taken for projects not executed.”
Election Cases: NBA backs Supreme Court
The president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Augustine Alegeh, SAN, yesterday condemned those he accused of deliberately trying to tarnish the image of judges and the judiciary.
Alegeh made this comment at the valedictory session in honour of the retiring Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Muhammad Muntaka-Coomassie, yesterday in Abuja.
The NBA boss said it was unfortunate that politicians commend the Supreme Court only when decisions go their way.
“It is sad to note that some persons who commend the Supreme Court when the decisions favour them deride the same court when the decisions go against them.
“The NBA will continue to defend the Supreme Court which remains the highest court of our land as the court has always dispensed justice in accordance with law,” he said.
Alegeh stressed the need for the courts to be adequately fortified and made safe for both judicial officers and the litigants, pointing out that it is the duty of the federal government to provide a secure environment for judicial workers.'
“Instances where judicial officers are threatened in open courts by litigants or counsel are highly regrettable and condemnable. The NBA will not hesitate to take disciplinary steps against counsel who engage in this show of shame,” he warned.
NBA boss, however, admitted that there may be few bad eggs in the system, but the urged members of the public to stop generalizing the whole judiciary as being corrupt, and called on people making such allegations to come forward with evidence.
He said, “The NBA restates unequivocally that the categorization of the entire judiciary as corrupt is a misconception and (NBA) will stand solidly behind the judiciary in any attempt to intimidate or harass its personnel.
“The NBA however wishes to sound a note of warning to the few bad eggs in the system to desist from further causing untold embarrassment to the judicial arm of government and (NBA) will henceforth petition any judicial officer involved in, or is suspected to be involved in, any corrupt or fraudulent transaction to the appropriate quarters for action.”
Earlier, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Mahmud Mohammed, had described those calling judicial officers corrupt as inconsiderate and ignorant of how the judiciary operates.
The CJN said such criticisms are made without due considerations of the law and the system of government in the country, adding that the judiciary is duty bound to act and would continue to act in accordance with the dictates of the law as it stands, and not as its critics would like it to be.
Leadership.
According to him, these prominent members of the bar collect corruption-tainted briefs, then aid and abet those who commit crimes by furnishing them with technical knowledge of how to escape the long arms of the law, as well as how to hide the loot they had stolen.
Speaking when the national executive of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) paid him courtesy call in his office at the Commission’s headquarters, Abuja, Magu asked the NBA to face reality by admitting the fact that some persons in its fold were not fit to be called lawyers.
“We must tell ourselves the truth: there are lawyers within the fold of the NBA who ought not to be among your noble ranks. Those people are not fit to be called ministers; rather, they are vandals of the temple of justice”, he said, adding that while the burden of expectation is not only on the shoulders of those of them at the EFCC, Nigerians are expecting so much from the legal practitioners as well.
Stating that some prominent lawyers are frustrating the anti-corruption war, the EFCC boss said, “While we are mindful of the fact that there may be more than one side to a situation which are equally deserving of robust representation and defence, we believe that no matter the positions we take on any issue, Nigeria should come first.
“It is you who say that justice should be a three-way street: justice to the victim, justice to the perpetrator of the crime and justice to the society. But society is not served when prominent members of the Bar not only take clearly tainted briefs but even facilitate the commission of crimes by knowingly supplying the technical know-how, and, later, helping in the dispersal of the proceeds of crime.
The EFCC explained that the war against economic and financial crimes is fought on a number of flanks, some of which include fraud, corruption and money laundering, and that the activities of certain professional can either help the cause, or hinder it.
“However, there is no flank from which the war is waged that the input and effects of professionals such as lawyers, bankers and journalists is not felt, either as part of the problem or as critical ingredients in the solution mix.
“Law enforcement, just as the judiciary, encompassing the bar and bench, is a critical link in the justice delivery system of any society. The two, whilst they operate independently of one another, cannot afford, in the interest of the society, to pull in divergent directions.
“I dare say that even when opinions and tactics differ, the interests of the two blocs cannot but converge on the overriding interest of the people.
“It was along that line that I pledged on my appointment (and have maintained ever since), that I would discharge my duties as the head of the EFCC, guided solely by the fear of Almighty God, the overriding interest of our fatherland, Nigeria and the Rule of Law.
“I have tried to keep faith with those principles, in appreciation of the enormous burden placed on my shoulders by Mr. President and the huge expectations of ordinary Nigerians,” he said.
Magu also observed that in the history of Nigeria, there had never been a more destructive force than corruption.
“The war that we have been recruited to fight is not one for the faint at heart; nor is it a war of half-measures. I can tell you, without fear of contradiction, that we at the EFCC are totally committed to the war against economic and financial crimes, including corruption and money laundering.
“Our people have suffered too long to continue to be abandoned to the cruel fate imposed by crooks and thieves. We are willing hostages to the urgency of now and cannot afford to fail our compatriots,” the EFCC boss asserted.
He faulted the positions held by some lawyers that the fight against corruption was one-sided and biased, saying it is not a balanced argument.
Magu sad, “We all know that crimes have no political affiliation. And the victims of crimes such as money laundering, embezzlement, diversion of funds and fraud are the ordinary Nigerians, even you and me.
“Furthermore,” he asked, “is it a defence in law to say that one individual indicted of any of these crimes should not be prosecuted because another individual who is perceived to be corrupt has not yet been prosecuted? As officers in the temple of justice, I enjoin you all to join in the campaign against corruption.”
Magu continued: “The duties and responsibilities imposed on us by our current realities are directly linked to the shared vision of Nigerians to live, work and aspire in a just and equitable society.
“However, the arduous task of reaching that goal is not an enterprise that can be undertaken by only an individual, group of persons or a section of the society. All hands must be on deck. That is why I find very significant, the chance offered me today to meet minds with you, who, individually and as a bloc, are some of the most important stakeholders in the fight against corruption.”
Magu further declared that no agency of government in Nigeria had ever beaten the prosecution and conviction record of the EFCC, a feat which he described as “a testimony to the professional premiums we place on diligent investigation and prosecution.
“Notwithstanding our hard-won successes, we are very worried that, on a number of occasions, some members of the NBA have elected to side with those who do not want the good of Nigeria. I believe it is part of the professional ethical code of lawyers to ask questions as to the source of their clients’ wealth”, he said.
“This is where we have – and will continue to have – issues with the concerned individuals. And this is where so much is expected from the NBA.
“As a Commission, EFCC has the greatest respect for members of the Bar and Bench and regard the NBA highly for all the sacrifices of its members, both living and dead, who through professional practice of the highest standards and dogged, focused advocacy have helped in the achievements we celebrate today not just in the EFCC, but in Nigeria as a whole.
“The NBA is at a critical junction in the justice delivery chain and, being as it is, a self-regulating professional association, so much is expected from the body in ensuring that all members attain the highest possible professional heights, not judged by how many briefs they have or how fat those briefs are, but by how much professional integrity and patriotism they infuse into their practice.”
EFCC Grills Ex-Governor Shema’s Aides, Others
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are currently in Katsina State where they are interrogating the aides of former Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema, LEADERSHIP learnt.
Some former heads of government agencies and some serving government officials are among those being grilled by men of the anti-graft agency.
It was gathered that 34 former local government chairmen who were elected under the former People Democratic Party (PDP) regime in the state are also being quizzed by the operatives.
A reliable source told our correspondent that some serving permanent secretaries who had served in the same capacity during the administration of former Governor Shema are among those scheduled to appear before the EFCC officials.
It was further gathered that the operatives are currently sitting at the Conference Hall in the office of the secretary to Katsina State Government where scores of former officials have been appearing before them to answer questions.
When our correspondent visited the office of secretary to Katsina State Government located at the state secretariat, former local government chairmen and some former special advisers to ex-Governor Shema were seen waiting their turn to face the EFCC operatives.
“Some of them have already appeared and many more are going to appear because this is one investigation that is all-encompassing,” a government official told our correspondent.
Although spokesman of EFCC, Wilson Uwajiaren, could not confirm the operation when contacted by our correspondent, the Katsina State commissioner of Information, Muhammad Brodo, said men of the anti-graft agency were in the state to investigate issues bordering on “corruption of the past administration.”
LEADERSHIP recalls that the Katsina State governor, Bello Masari, had declared that his administration would stop at nothing in recovering monies stolen by previous administration, just as he had accused his successor of looting billions of naira belonging to the state.
Only recently, the chief of staff to Governor Masari, Dikko Umaru Radda, had told journalists during an interview that about N70 billion had been stolen by the immediate past administration, and that the state government was interested in recovering monies “out rightly stolen and monies taken for projects not executed.”
Election Cases: NBA backs Supreme Court
The president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Augustine Alegeh, SAN, yesterday condemned those he accused of deliberately trying to tarnish the image of judges and the judiciary.
Alegeh made this comment at the valedictory session in honour of the retiring Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Muhammad Muntaka-Coomassie, yesterday in Abuja.
The NBA boss said it was unfortunate that politicians commend the Supreme Court only when decisions go their way.
“It is sad to note that some persons who commend the Supreme Court when the decisions favour them deride the same court when the decisions go against them.
“The NBA will continue to defend the Supreme Court which remains the highest court of our land as the court has always dispensed justice in accordance with law,” he said.
Alegeh stressed the need for the courts to be adequately fortified and made safe for both judicial officers and the litigants, pointing out that it is the duty of the federal government to provide a secure environment for judicial workers.'
“Instances where judicial officers are threatened in open courts by litigants or counsel are highly regrettable and condemnable. The NBA will not hesitate to take disciplinary steps against counsel who engage in this show of shame,” he warned.
NBA boss, however, admitted that there may be few bad eggs in the system, but the urged members of the public to stop generalizing the whole judiciary as being corrupt, and called on people making such allegations to come forward with evidence.
He said, “The NBA restates unequivocally that the categorization of the entire judiciary as corrupt is a misconception and (NBA) will stand solidly behind the judiciary in any attempt to intimidate or harass its personnel.
“The NBA however wishes to sound a note of warning to the few bad eggs in the system to desist from further causing untold embarrassment to the judicial arm of government and (NBA) will henceforth petition any judicial officer involved in, or is suspected to be involved in, any corrupt or fraudulent transaction to the appropriate quarters for action.”
Earlier, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Mahmud Mohammed, had described those calling judicial officers corrupt as inconsiderate and ignorant of how the judiciary operates.
The CJN said such criticisms are made without due considerations of the law and the system of government in the country, adding that the judiciary is duty bound to act and would continue to act in accordance with the dictates of the law as it stands, and not as its critics would like it to be.
Leadership.
No comments:
Post a Comment