AGF sets up centre for criminal prosecutions
Coordinating Centre for all federal government criminal justice agencies as well as an investigation unit.The reforms will be inaugurated in October, he said.
The minister said the coordinating centre has become “eminently necessary” because of lack of effective cooperation and collaboration among the criminal justice and security agencies in Nigeria.
It is intended to achieve effective coordination of all criminal justice agencies in the country to enable proactive case management and effective prosecutions, he said.
This will enable his office to have first-hand information of the status of all criminal investigations/trials in the country and:
*Promote and enhance quick and easy coordination of all federal criminal cases within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
*To enable the Office of the HAGF to checkmate abuse and or proliferation of criminal cases in Nigeria.
*To facilitate centralization and easy access to information for a robust and effective criminal justice system in Nigeria.
Malami also said the establishment of the investigation unit is to address the failure of legal expertise in the conduct and process of investigations by the various security agencies.
*To address such anomalies that leads to consistent rejection of vital/relevant evidence in the course of prosecution and
*The witling down of the probative value of such evidence owing to inappropriate investigation.
The unit, he said, shall coordinate and form part of every investigation in Nigeria for a robust investigation and successful prosecution of such cases.
The core function/mandate of the Investigation Unit shall consist of the following:
*To advise every security agency carrying out investigation on the best lawful and admissible means of such investigation for effective prosecution thereafter.
*To actively form part of every sensitive and important investigation, as a synergy to successful investigation and prosecution of such cases.
*To ensure that every evidence obtained maintain the nature, value and form admissible in law court.
*To ensure that every investigation is comprehensibly and conclusively conducted.
There have been reports of failure of anti-corruption agencies to send update of ‘serious or complex’ cases before them to the minister’s office, which was said to have prevented him from giving necessary legal advice.
The agencies that will come under the supervision of the coordinating centre according to the minister’s spokesman, Salihu Othman Isah, in recent statement, include Department of State Services (DSS); Nigeria Police Force (NPF); the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC); the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); the National Agency for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP); the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA); the Directorate Military Investigation (DMI); and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB); Lawyers have described the minister’s action as constitutional. A senior constitutional lawyer, who pleaded anonymity, said by the constitutional provision, all the criminal justice agencies are supposed to report directly to the AGF
“So the AGF is very correct, his office wields such powers,” he said.
Reacting, Gordy Uche (SAN) said AGF is in order in setting up the coordinating centre, adding that constitutionally, the AGF has the powers to investigate and prosecute and has merely delegated the functions to the other agencies.
“They ought to act in obedience to his orders and directives with regards to prosecutions. What happens in Nigeria is because the heads of these agencies are just appointed by the presidency, so somewhat they see themselves as rivals the AGF,” he said.
“Ordinarily there should not be an issue. They should constitutionally report to him. Even if they institute any criminal proceeding, he can by nolle prosequi discontinue it without reference to them or anybody.
“So it is even in their own interest that they work in sync with the AGF to achieve a better resulted,” he added.
The minister in a statement last week Wednesday accused the EFCC and its Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, of frustrating the anti-graft war. Malami said Magu and the EFCC leadership had “manipulated and misused intelligence to the detriment of the fight against corruption and financial crimes in Nigeria.”
He also accused them of working to prevent the lifting of Nigeria’s suspension by the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units (Egmont Group) and ensure the country’s formal expulsion.
The statement, issued by his spokesman, Salihu Othman Isah, reads: “The EFCC is now in a state of paranoia, as it dreads the effort of the government to have an independent NFIU, which it has stood against stoically since 2006.
“As it presently stands, the NFIU staff are all deployed by the EFCC to serve in the interest of whoever is its current Chairman. This has to stop if it must conform to the new thinking and global best practice. Nigeria cannot be an island of its own. It cannot fight corruption in isolation.
“The threat of expulsion from the Egmont Group calls for a thorough review of the NFIU and the manner in which the EFCC leadership has manipulated and misused intelligence to the detriment of the fight against corruption and financial crime in Nigeria.
“To achieve the desired goal, NFIU needs to stand alone as an agency with full complements of power to recruit its staff and an annual budgetary allocation guaranteed for its operations.
“Its independence must be ascertained in the new law to set up Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency (NFIA) to enable it carry out its mandate, which shall include responsibilities for receiving, requesting, analysing and disseminating financial intelligence reports on money laundering, terrorist financing and other relevant information to law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies, and other relevant authorities.”