Lagos lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, SAN, has accused some senior lawyers and judges of allegedly frustrating corruption cases in the country.
Falana, who is also a delegate at the ongoing national conference in Abuja, identified the trials of the former Chief Executive of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, Erastus Akingbola and former governor of Delta State, James Ibori as well as the celebrated Halliburton bribery case as some of the high profile cases the Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, had succeeded in undermining.
In a paper he presented at the 2014 Law Week of the Aba Branch of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Falana said that Akingbola had a N10 billion charge against him at the Federal High Court struck out by retired Justice Clement Archibong for alleged prosecutorial irresponsibility by four SANs.
He stated that the trial in the sister case of N47 billion fraud filed against the defendant at the Lagos State High Court was concluded and adjourned for judgment before the trial judge, Wale Abiru was promoted to the Court of Appeal.
He added that the defendant had challenged the jurisdiction of the same court to try him for stealing and fraud arising from the alleged manipulation of the capital market.
“Although, the ruling of the trial court has been fixed for May 2, 2014, the civil suit filed against the defendant in a British High Court by the Access Bank Plc was concluded in July, 2012.
“In granting the reliefs sought by the plaintiff the trial court ordered the defendant to refund the sum of N212 billion illegally diverted from the bank. The foreign judgment was registered at the Federal High Court in Lagos last week.”
On Ibori’s case, Falana alleged that in a bid to shield the former governor from prosecution, “a number of judges and lawyers threw caution to the winds,” notwithstanding that his (Ibori) record of conviction for stealing building materials in 1995 was tampered with and destroyed at the Upper Area Court.
The case, he said was determined in favour of Ibori even though the judge who jailed him gave oral testimony in a case well conducted at the High Court by the Late Gani Fawehinmi.
He recounted that upon his arraignment, the accused pleaded not guilty and raised a preliminary objection against the charge, noting that though the trial judge, Awokulehin J. struck out the charge and freed the former governor.
“It is interesting to note that Chief Ibori’s objection to the charge on the ground that he had been tried and freed of the same charges by a Nigerian judge was dismissed with an embarrassing indictment of the Nigerian judiciary,” Falana said.
Falana further said from the reports of several investigation panels in the Halliburton scandal, three former heads of state, a former Inspector-General of Police, former ministers, permanent secretaries and other officials of the Federal Government were indicted.
He explained that although some of the suspects indicted in the inquiry made confessional statements, they were not charged to court. He added that some of the privies of the principal suspects who were eventually arraigned in court were left off the hook for want of diligent prosecution.
“In exasperation, the trial judge struck out the charges. The official connivance in sweeping the scandal under the carpet has since exposed the nation to undeserved ridicule at home and abroad.”
He stated that the national embarrassment was aggravated when it was found that Halliburton and its official who bribed the indicted Nigerian officials pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and corruption before criminal courts in the United States and were accordingly convicted.
“While Halliburton was ordered to pay fines of millions of dollars, the convicted officials were sentenced to prison terms,” he stressed.
While stating that the decision of the Jonathan administration to re-open the Halliburton case was in the national interest, Falana said the Attorney General of the federation should ensure this time around that the trial of all the persons involved in the scandals perpetrated by Halliburton, Wilbros, Siemens, Julius Berger, Daimler AG, Panalpina and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Co. Ltd. was handled by a team of incorruptible prosecutors.
He also asked the NBA to, in the public interest, appoint some lawyers to hold a watch brief at the trial. “It is painful to note that the lawyers involved in the prosecution and defence of the cases referred to in this paper are Senior Advocates of Nigeria,” he said.
“The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, owes the legal profession a duty by calling lawyers who frustrate the prosecution of corruption cases to order. Trial courts are also enjoined to report such lawyers to the Disciplinary Committee of the NBA for appropriate actions.”
Falana said a situation whereby the poor are daily railroaded to prison while criminals who are rich and powerful are allowed to breath the air of freedom has to stop.
“Judges should therefore desist from conferring immunity or granting perpetual injunction restraining anti-graft agencies from investigating and prosecuting politically exposed persons.
“In a display of class solidarity with the ruling class the EFCC charges the rich accused of looting the treasury with money laundering while the poor are charged with stealing.
“Since the penalty for money laundering is two years or payment of fine while stealing attracts seven years imprisonment the discriminatory treatment of the two sets of criminal suspects should stop in the interest of justice and fair play.”
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