Rights
activist, Femi Falana, has applauded the Chief Justice of the Federation
(CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, for issuing a directive to all heads of
courts across the country to create special courts for the exclusive
trial of corruption cases...
Falana, in a statement he personally signed yesterday, said the CJN deserved commendation for the radical initiative.
“No doubt, the timely intervention of the
Chief Justice will go a long way to speed up the trial of corruption
cases in all our courts,” he said.
The fiery senior lawyer recalled that as part of anti corruption policy of President
Mohammadu Buhari’s administration, an Executive Bill for the
establishment of a special court with exclusive jurisdiction to try
corruption cases was submitted to the National Assembly.
“Although it was submitted over a year
ago, the federal legislators have not deemed it fit to pass the crucial
bill into law for reasons best known to them. Hence corruption cases
have been subjected to inordinate delays in our courts which are
congested with many other cases,” Falana noted.
He urged the CJN to direct the Chairman
of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, the Chief Judges of the States and the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) “to issue practice directions to
accelerate the determination of corruption cases
in order to make a success of the special courts.”
“To obviate undue delay in the
determination of corruption cases, the practice directions have made
special provision for the service of processes on parties by electronic
mail addresses, facsimile number and GSM Telephone number or any other
available mode of communication.”
He said even though the Supreme Court has
upheld the constitutional validity of section 306 of the Administration
of Criminal Justice Act with respect to the abolition of stay of
proceedings in criminal trials in all federal courts, some defence
counsels have devised new dilatory tactics, including the practice of
subjecting each prosecution witness to cross examination lasting 20 days
or more by asking irrelevant questions and sending junior lawyers to
court to ask for adjournment to allow senior counsels in chambers to
personally handle the cross examination of prosecution witnesses.
“Trial courts should stop such delay
tactics which are programmed to defeat the letter and spirit of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015. Finally, defence counsel
who conspire with their clients to frustrate the prosecution of
corruption cases should be made to pay punitive costs, while not more
than three lawyers should appear in court for any of the parties in
corruption cases,” he said.
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