Abuja – Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George, (SAN) member, Council of Legal Education in Nigeria, has called for strict implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 to enhance speedy conclusion of corruption cases.
He made the call on Monday in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said that delay by courts in concluding high profile criminal cases on interlocutory appeals frustrate the hearing and determination of substantive matters.
“There is need to address the problem of inability of courts to conclude high profile criminal cases and to do this we must address the problem of interlocutory appeals.
“These appeals are the main instrument used by defence lawyers to delay trial of cases and the Supreme Court has lamented this unfortunate trend.
“The Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 must be given purposeful interpretation because it empowers courts to consider interlocutory applications and the substantive case together.
“It allows for judgments and ruling on all applications and substantive matter at the same time,” he said.
Akinseye-George solicited support for the new leadership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to enable it develop clear cut blue print and incentives for the commission to fight corruption.
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He stressed the need for regular audit of staff of the EFCC to ensure sanity and to weed out those who had compromised their responsibilities.
“The EFCC should be linked with mentor organisations like the Metropolitan Police and FBI because combating corruption had gone international.
He also stressed the need for members of staff of anti-corruption agencies to be given necessary incentive to insulate them from undue compromise. (NAN)
