Barrister Oluwasegun Ojemuyiwa, a prominent legal practitioner and social commentator based in Lagos, expresses pessimism with the manner the Nigerian anti-corruption agencies go about trying to curb corruption saying the strategy would not yield the needed result. In a live interview session monitored by our correspondent, the lawyer suggested ways that can be adopted in the fight against corruption.
Q: Are you optimistic that in line with the Criminal Justice Act, there should be smooth sailing in the fight against corruption?
I am not optimistic. Maybe because the Act is still very new, because I can tell you that even as at today, most lawyers are not yet conversant with the law. They know this law is in existence, it was signed towards the last days of (Goodluck) Jonathan. I have gone through the Act and I know there are one or two areas where the Supreme Court may have to have the last say. For instance, on the issue of bail, the Section 151 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 gives the impression that you are entitled to bail but there will never be a time where any law will take away the discretion of the court or the judge presiding over any particular matter whether or not to grant or refuse a bail. The Administration of Criminal Justice Act, to my mind, tends to suggest that being given a bail when you are charged with a crime before a court, seems to be a matter…of course it will never be. The court or judge will always have to look at the peculiar fact of a particular case before it or him in order to determine whether to grant a bail or not.
Barr. Segun Ojemuyiwa has said the manner the Nigerian anti-corruption agencies go about trying to curb corruption would not yield result
Q: While some are of the view that judges should handle current cases without fear or favour, others have reservations. Do you think the reservations are justified?
Yes, they are. If I’m a judge and I’m not too sure of my security, other considerations come in. You have a country where you are in distress, you call the police, you don’t get response. You have a country where you are being guided by security men that you are not even sure who they are talking to or what they are supposed to do.
Q: But should that mean that they should not dispense justice as they should?
To be honest with you, the way the law enforcement agencies go about investigations in Nigeria is far below average. In civilised crimes, before the policeman even shows up to arrest you, believe me, 95 percent of the investigation is already done and it is easy when you come to arrest a suspect he comes to know that all the routes of escape are already sealed. The person is even inclined to quickly admit his guilt. There is a tendency for someone who knows there is no way out to confess. They don’t waste the time of the court or tax-payers’ money. This instalmental presentation of charges in court is not ideal.
Q: But there could be fresh things being discovered…
What are the fresh things being discovered? Why can’t investigations be done holistically? As I have said before, all things are lawful but not expedient. You must guide perfections. You don’t want to be painted in a light that you are not. It is not tidy to bring somebody to court, the court grants him bail, he steps out and you arrest him and take him back to court, then he is granted bail and you re-arrest him.
Q: How do you keep someone in custody while investigations are still ongoing and you are not allowed to keep the person in custody?
It is not possible for you to charge somebody and while the matter is going on, you file an amendment charge. Why not let the matter proceed and as you come with the new information warranting a new charge, while not amend the charge sheet? What it means is that maybe you are done with some witnesses, all you need to do is to re-apply to call more witnesses or bring in additional witnesses. In most cases, it will be granted because the court is after attaining justice. In a criminal trial, it is the principle of law that the law will rather have 10 guilty persons escape justice than have one innocent person be punished for an offence that he or she did not commit.
Q: When a man is charged for stealing state fund, should the state be after getting back the fund or jail?
The state should be after getting back the fund and at the same time, the state should be after sending a warning or deterrent to others planning or thinking of committing the same offence. The moment it is seen that you would not be able to enjoy the proceed of your crime, you will discover that people who might want to do certain things will think twice. We don’t have that restraint in Nigeria. It is like: “this man did it and got away with it, I know my way.” It is a well-known fact that no matter what, if you must steal, you steal big. That means that you can settle everybody. It still happens like you want to engage in a bank fraud; you steal so much that whoever you come across in the process of arrest that is trying to be a problem, you’ll be able to settle them. That’s what has been going on. And I want to say that the government is not getting it really right. Why don’t we leave the better way and go for the best way? There’s a best way of doing whatever you want to do. Why don’t you go for the best way that achieves the aim without too many toes being stepped on?
Q: What is this best way?
One of the best ways that I will proffer is: do your investigation. Let investigations be thoroughly funded. Use forensics. Why not take trainings? How is this thing done neatly without anybody feeling you are proceeding on him or her on a vendetta? You must be seen to be fair. You must remove yourself from being accused of being on a personal revenge…what I will plead with the judges in Nigeria is: “please take judicial notice of the fact that corruption is endemic in Nigeria and is a canker-worm that must be with and quickly too.” They should also take cognisance of the fact that the law is an instrument of social engineering, the law is not above the society, the society is above the law. The law is done in order to achieve an orderly society.
Q: In the light of Criminal Justice Act, by the end of this year, how far do you think cases before the court now should have gone?
I’m usually a very optimistic person, but believe me, the way and manner EFCC and the relevant agencies are going about this things do not give hope. And on a personal note, I remember saying that people like me factor in on the presence of Prof. (Yemi) Osinbajo in this administration. The focus is factored at what will get us the result and really as at today, I’m not as optimistic as I used to be because we don’t seem to be moving in the right direction.
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