‘Delay in trials, bane of fight against corruption’

A maxim in law states that justice delayed is justice denied and this in literal terms means that if the wheel of justice turns too slowly and litigants don’t get it within reasonable time, it has the same effect as lack of justice.

And over time, activists, non governmental bodies and other stakeholders have argued that delay in the justice process is one of the reasons that the anti-corruption war is suffering a setback.

A legal expert and rights activist, Emeka Ozoani, lent his voice to the call for the process of justice to be fashioned in a way that will move it from snail speed to a pace that will serve all parties, citing the various anticorruption suits which seem on a standstill as example.

According to him, there is no way the anti corruption fight can make headway if cases continue to crawl before the courts as often this leads to various issues; witnesses becoming available, testimonies being watered down and a feeling of apathy on all sides.

The various cases stemming from corruption before the courts he said seems to be on a standstill with no end in sight; the case of the Senate President; Bukola Saraki, Dasuki amongst many others were cited as examples.

In the case of Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, the matter continues to drag with different issues cropping up and various allegations and counter allegations flying about amidst delay of amendment of charges.

The government during the course of trial amended the 16-count criminal charge pending against Saraki, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) in Abuja led by Justice Danladi Umar, to 18- count charges. Trial initially started on September 22, 2015 on a 13-count charge but he was later re-arraigned on April 28, 2016, on an amended 16-count corruption charge which was further amended to 18 counts on allegations bordering on false/anticipatory declaration of assets, operation of foreign accounts while in office as Kwara State governor and collecting governorship salary four years after his tenure had elapsed.

Before the amendment, two witnesses had been called and they testified that discrepancies were uncovered in Saraki’s declaration to the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB. But while this was on, the head of the tribunal, Danladi Yakubu Umar, started having issues; there were various petitions, allegations of corruption and organized protests against him, leading to a suspension of hearing in Saraki’s matter.

Cases came up before the court and the Senate held hearings to determine the veracity of the allegations against him, even as applications were filed to contest the jurisdiction of the tribunal. Some civil society bodies also came up with issues even after he was cleared of graft.

The Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), a coalition of over 150 anti-corruption organizations, in a petition, asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), re-investigate Umar, over alleged case of bribery and abuse of office. CSNAC’s national chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, said the myriad of witnesses on the alleged issue of bribery and abuse of office from a case between the CCT chair and a retired Comptroller of Customs, Rasheed Taiwo, appears to indicting Umar, hence the need for investigation on the matter.

“Mr. Umar was alleged to have demanded a N10 million bribe from a retired Comptroller of Customs, Rasheed Taiwo, who was at the material prosecuted at the CCT for allegedly failing to declare his asset while in office. The newspaper stated that the retired Comptroller of Customs, Mr. Taiwo had reported the demand to the EFCC and was advised to play along, leading to the payment of N1.8 million to the Chairman of CCT through the latter’s Personal Assistant.

There were further allegations that three staffs of the tribunal – the accountant, Shotunde Adeyinka, and two administrative officers, Lucky Eronlan and Johnson Owopetu – who were transferred out of Abuja to Ondo, Bauchi and Katsina states respectively, under controversial circumstances, had petitioned the EFCC on Mr. Umar’s corrupt practices and highhandedness in office, allegedly listing a barrage of corruption allegations, including awarding contracts without due process, making full contract payments to contractors instead of mobilization fees, and dysfunctional appointments and promotion without board approval or regards to federal character.

The CCT however defended Umar. The Head of Public Relations of the agency, Ibraheem Al-hassan, had sometimes disclosed that the allegations leveled against Justice Umar were mere suspicious and consequently insufficient to successfully prosecute the offence.

CSNAC further demanded that EFCC reinvestigates the matter for the truth to emerge.

All these actions according to the activist, leads to a continuous and unnecessary delay in trial and may actually become justice denied if not addressed. He added that for people’s belief in the judiciary not to wane, cases must be seen to be moving and not be seen as a political procedure.