P
ProfRem
Guest
Former chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take the establishment of special courts to try persons involved in financial crimes as a matter of urgent national importance.
Waziri said in Abuja that the introduction of specialised courts would not only lead to more convictions of persons who have stolen the country’s wealth, but would also ensure that cases of financial crime are speedily dealt with.
The ex-EFCC boss said though amendment to the Administration of Justice Act has greatly reduced the abuse of court process by lawyers desperate to keep their clients out of jail, the establishment of special courts remains a vital reform to greatly reduce the rampant use of delay tactics in regular courts.
“Nigeria needs these special courts even as President Buhari has shown tremendous will power to fight corruption. If we have these courts to handle cases of fraud, our country will be better off.
“If you look at the state of the judiciary, you will see that judges have too many cases to handle at the same time. You will see that in some cases, a judge is trying murder, he is trying arson, rape, kidnapping and economic crime. But this is not the case in a lot of countries that have special courts. Ghana, India and Phillipines, readily come to mind. In these countries, the judges have become experts in the trial of financial crimes. The attorneys also have become experts in prosecuting these cases, in all, such courts make for expediency,” she said.
Waziri said in Abuja that the introduction of specialised courts would not only lead to more convictions of persons who have stolen the country’s wealth, but would also ensure that cases of financial crime are speedily dealt with.
The ex-EFCC boss said though amendment to the Administration of Justice Act has greatly reduced the abuse of court process by lawyers desperate to keep their clients out of jail, the establishment of special courts remains a vital reform to greatly reduce the rampant use of delay tactics in regular courts.
“Nigeria needs these special courts even as President Buhari has shown tremendous will power to fight corruption. If we have these courts to handle cases of fraud, our country will be better off.
“If you look at the state of the judiciary, you will see that judges have too many cases to handle at the same time. You will see that in some cases, a judge is trying murder, he is trying arson, rape, kidnapping and economic crime. But this is not the case in a lot of countries that have special courts. Ghana, India and Phillipines, readily come to mind. In these countries, the judges have become experts in the trial of financial crimes. The attorneys also have become experts in prosecuting these cases, in all, such courts make for expediency,” she said.
