Anti-corruption: Sagay, EFCC absolve Buhari of interference

Sagay

Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Thursday absolved President Muhammadu Buhari of interference in the fight against corruption.

Sagay and the EFCC declared in Lagos Thursday that the president does not interfere in their day-to-day activities as anti-corruption agencies, stressing that the ongoing anti-corruption campaign was not a witch-hunt.

The occasion was the 2016 Lecture and Award Ceremony of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), Lagos chapter held at the Function Room of the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

The theme of the lecture was “The judiciary, media, anti-graft agencies and the fight against corruption.”

Sagay said, “I am involved in the anti-corruption struggle, I have never received a call from the President giving me instructions on anything. He has assigned responsibilities and he is facing the governance of the country which is what he was elected for.

“We regard corruption cases from the last administration as low hanging fruits because they are the most obvious and have the most impact in terms of resolution,” he said.

Sagay said special courts would soon be established for the prosecution of financial crimes emphasizing that they would be presided over by special judges to speed up the process of prosecution.

Towards this end, he said, his committee had concluded the drawing up of the Special Crimes Act for judges who will be specifically selected to adjudicate on such special crimes such as financial crimes, kidnapping, cybercrimes and drugs to ensure conclusion of such cases within record time.

Sagay added that the committee had also made various reforms that would tremendously aid the speedy dispensation of justice of high profile corruption cases in the country.

He said: “We have created a new manual for prosecution of financial cases which will give prosecutors a step by step process for prosecution. We have recommended that for effective prosecution, the prosecution should be made up of a team comprising an investigator, prosecutor and other lawyers.

“A series of workshops have been organised by the committee for 180 prosecutors across the country in which we brought in a number of experts to teach them how to draft charges to prevent the charges being faulted in court.”

The Head, Public Affairs, EFCC Zone 2, Mr. Samin Amaddin, also said that the commission does not engage in any form of persecution nor receives any dictation or directive from President Buhari on who to investigate or prosecute for corruption.

According to Amaddin, “We only act on petitions received from members of the public and it is only when we investigate and find the allegations to be true that we go after such person.”

Guest lecturer, Mr Godwin Obla (SAN), said the judiciary was pivotal in the fight against corruption.

“The institutional role of the judiciary puts it on a pedestal as a tool for social engineering which is done through the instrumentality of the court system.

He contended, “The judiciary cannot remain soulless, it must connect with the values of the people in justice delivery”.

Obla maintained that the adjudicatory system in the country supports case law and that the interpretation of statutes by judges has a role in effective justice delivery.