ZUL-HAJJ 16 1430 A.H.
THURSDAY DECEMBER 3 2009.
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Special Courts as panacea to corruption in Nigeria
By TONY ANGEL TERSOO
Corruption in Nigeria has remained in the front burner of various for a within and outside the country as the impairment to Nigeria’s development. It is a pandemic in the Nigeria society. The cankerworm has eaten so deep into the Nigeria fabric that except something drastic is done, the next generation would be messed up as infrastrustures are fast decaying and national resources fast depleting on daily basis owing to our individual corruptive tendencies. It is against this backdrop that there is the need for concerted efforts along with adequate attention to effectively curb the menace of corruption from our society.
At the moment, the only institutional component with the power to confer the status of finality on the trial process is the conventional court. Sadly enough these courts have turned out to be the clog in the wheel of speedy trial of corrupt cases.
With this at the back of our minds, I make bold to join in the clarion call by Mrs. Farida Waziri, Chairman, EFCC for the establishment of Special Courts to speedy up the trials of some former corrupt leaders charged to courts with embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds and money laundering need not be delayed any longer as we presently experienced now. Yes, this fight, as Mrs. Waziri rightly posited, is a long drawn one, “but it is winnable”. We must all be prepared to fight it to the next level.
This is not to say that the Nigerian populace has lost hope in the conventional structures of the court system. But for emphasis, there is no denying the fact that every sane person will reason with me that high profile corrupt cases handled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have been delayed for too long because of perpetual injunctions which have become permanent immunity to some people who are under investigation even when they have lost their constitutional immunity.
These unscrupulously accused persons have perfected the act of delaying justice by utilizing the technicalities of procedure of the conventional courts.
When cases are unduly delayed through the antics of the accused persons, it is justice denied to the public. When a corrupt case drags on and on, the constitutional right to a fair trial within a reasonable time is undermined. The courts must try to follow the principles laid down in plethora of cases like: SHELL PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (NIG) LTD VS UDI (1996) 6 NWLR (pt 8 455)483 at pages 496-497 in giving this particular judgment it was upheld that:
Discretion must be exercise judicially and judiciously; it must be patiently clear from the record where the discretion is exercise one way or the other, and that the court should bear in mind the requirement that justice should be done to both parties, and that is also in the interest of justice, that the hearing of a case should not be unduly delayed.
However, the judiciary’s role in the functioning of the state is the dispensation of justice. Justice within the law administration does not mean justice to the accused person only. Justice must also be done to the interest represented by the state when it prosecutes.
If we must make progress as a nation and hopefully attain the level of the top twenty economies of the world, there is an urgent need to follow the precedence of the developed economies of the world.
Special courts differ from general-jurisdiction courts in several other respects besides having a more limited jurisdiction. Cases are more likely to be disposed of without trial in Special Courts, and if there is a trial or hearing, it is usually heard more rapidly that in a court of general jurisdiction.
In the United States of America, most a times, Special Courts procedures are commenced without the benefit or expense of attorneys or even law-trained judges
By and large, it is based on the above premise that I hereby align with the EFCC Chairman Mrs. Farida Waziri, and other well meaning Nigerians, that the creation of Special Court will indicate the willingness and determination of both the executive and the legislative arm of government to bring to an end this madness of perpetual injunctions to stall court proceedings.
While the difference between Special Courts and conventional courts are marked in terms of their subject matter, jurisdiction, composition and location, they never the less, share common philosophical assumption to eradicate and sanitize the country. Notable Nigerians and even we the commoners are seriously agitating for Special Courts; for instance, the Vice Chancellor University of Jos, Prof Sonni Tyoden, has called for the establishment of Special Court in the country to try corrupt public officers.
He said this in a paper presented at the 2008 Gindiri Old Student Association, GOSA, convention. He stated emphatically that special court to try corrupt public office holders would guarantee quick disposal of cases and ultimately serve as a deterrent to corrupt officers.
In aligning with that the chairman of the Supreme Council of Sharia, Lagos state chapter, Mr. Ishaq Adesina said: “the idea of creating special court to handle corrupt cases for quick dispensation of justice is laudable. This will give us the opportunity to ensure that justice is not only done but seen to have been done when those who are corrupt are quickly brought to book”.
Another notable Nigerian and a house hold name in the field of journalism and media in general who has also thrown his support on this issue of Special Court is Mr. Peter Enahoro. According to him, “corruption has been with us for ages therefore, Special Court is the solution, since it does not truncate due process and with the present leadership of Mrs. Waziri it is timely for Nigeria to have Special Court”.
