He also warned law enforcement agencies against shoddy investigations as he charged them to have their facts before summoning anyone for questioning.
The AGF, who spoke in Abuja at a roundtable organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for state Attorneys General in Abuja yesterday, equally warned state Attorney Generals against acts of political witch-hunting, nepotism, rivalry and bigotry in the discharge of their duties.
“I will suggest in our next constitution review exercise that we expunge those found guilty of corruption from benefiting from powers of ‘Prerogative of Mercy’ to serve as a deterrent to others,” he said.
A statement by his media aide, Kamarudeen Ogundele said the minister sought the cooperation of all stakeholders, especially the AGs, which he said was crucial in the fight against corruption.
Fagbemi advised the AGs to eschew nepotism, political witch-hunting, rivalry, and bigotry in the fight against corruption just because they want to please their governors.
He also said there should be no basis for rationalising corruption or crimes.
He said their legal opinions on cases must be based on the facts as practiced in the advanced countries, adding, “We should not give in to public sentiments. In Nigeria, we are polarised along political lines.”
The AGF advised participants and anti-graft agencies to conduct thorough investigations of cases before arresting suspects to avoid media trials.
“Let us be thorough and take our time before inviting someone for questioning. Don’t do a shoddy job and be quick to say we have caught a big fish…You will catch a big fish. If it is two or three big fish you are able to get in a year and you are thorough, it is alright,” he added.
The AGF also counselled against filing bogus counts of charges against defendants just to generate frenzy in the public against the suspect.
“Nobody wants a 50-count charge…make it five or six and be sure. Make sure you get him (suspect) in,” he said.
