President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has identified frivolous appeals, alleged intimidation of judges by lawyers and judgments delivered on grounds of technicalities as some of the major challenges impeding the war against corruption in Nigeria.
According to him, until these challenges are curtailed, they will continue to hamper the speedy adjudication of corruption cases.
President Tinubu who spoke on Monday while declaring open the 6th Economic and Financial Crimes Commission/National Judicial Institute Capacity Building Workshop for Justices and Judges at the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Abuja, however, acknowledged that prosecution of corruption cases has improved remarkably, following the justice sector reforms in the last few years.
Represented at the event by his deputy, Vice President Kashim Shettima, the President described the capacity-building workshop as a platform to collectively raise a strong voice against Nigeria’s common enemy called corruption.
VP Shettima, while delivering the President’s speech at the event, said there is no gainsaying the fact that the judiciary is central to the success of the anticorruption efforts.
He said commitment, courage and patriotism of judicial officers are ingredients that make the difference in the fight against corruption.
President Tinubu pointed out that “no Nigerian is immune to corruption, a cancer which continues to deny the nation the full benefits of her God-given resources,” even as he maintained that only the enlightened collective interest of all Nigerians “to close ranks and aggressively tackle this common enemy” can make the difference, instead of looking up “to only the Anti-Corruption Agencies for solutions to this malaise.”
He urged the judiciary arm of government to ensure that the courts are equipped with the required knowledge to handle cases involving these new forms of crime.
