The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), said on Wednesday he was shocked by the acquittal of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
Sagay said he followed the case closely and was convinced that the prosecution presented sufficient evidence to secure a conviction.
The PACAC chairman said he was concerned about Saraki’s acquittal based on a no-case submission, especially coming soon after Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, who was accused of corrupt enrichment, was also similarly discharged.
A no-case is a term in criminal law whereby a defendant seeks acquittal without having to present a defence.
It refers to a submission made by a defendant or an accused in a court, which states that the claim or prosecution is not sufficient for conviction or judgment. The defendant supports his/her submission by pleading that the case is based on insufficient legal grounds.
Sagay said he was “thoroughly shocked” that the CCT did not consider the prosecution’s evidence weighty enough as to reach a guilty verdict.
Asked if he was bothered that Saraki’s acquittal on a no-case submission came soon after that of Ademola, Sagay said: “Of course I’m concerned.”
The PACAC chairman added: “To start with, I’m shocked, because a lot of materials were put before the court. And for a court to uphold a no-case submission means that there was no prima facie case made.
“That’s why I’m a bit shocked because I followed the proceedings very closely.
“But there’s going to be an appeal. We’ll just wait and see happen then, but I’m thoroughly shocked, yes.”
A former chairman of the Lagos Branch of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Chijioke Okoli (SAN), said the Federal Government seemed to be losing high profile cases involving politically exposed persons.
He attributed it to a “multiplicity of factors,” including shortcoming on the part of the prosecution and the ability of high profile suspects to hire the best defence lawyers.
Okoli, however, said the federal government had secured some convictions as published by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recently.
He said: “We don’t have exact statistics to deal with (on loss of high profile cases). I’m aware that recently, EFCC chairman reeled out some impressive number of convictions they have secured.
“However, from an anecdotal evidence based on what we read in the papers, it does appear that the politically exposed persons seems to be getting away scot free.
“One may ask: ‘If the vast majority of politically exposed persons are getting acquitted, then is it the man on the street or you and I who are the perpetrators of this much vaunted bribery corruption?’
“So, it’s something that does not lend itself to a straight forward answer. A number of it (losses) may well be due to the system. I don’t want to believe that the prosecution is inept as some people say.” - The Nation
No comments:
Post a Comment