A report that President Goodluck Jonathan is finally backing calls for the creation of special courts to try corruption cases is most welcome, though long overdue. Jonathan has reportedly met with the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, and both have agreed to a proposal to establish six such courts, one in each geo-political zone, to fast-track the prosecution of corruption cases. Should the President follow through on this, it would be a great fillip to the waning war on graft. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other stakeholders have been championing the special courts as the regular courts have proved too slow and too stuck on procedural issues to deal with the mind-boggling scale of corruption which, according to the World Bank, effectively hampers development. Besides, many cases begun in 2006/2007 are either still in progress or stalled! These include charges against former governors, Ayo Fayose (Ekiti); Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu); Saminu Turaki (Jigawa); Jolly Nyame (Taraba); Orji Kalu (Abia) and Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa), among others. Lawyers have mired the courts in endless legal acrobatics that do not address the graft allegations against former and serving public officials, former bank chiefs and their accomplices. One judge in 2007 granted a perpetual injunction to ex-Governor Peter Odili (Rivers), restraining the EFCC from investigating, arresting or prosecuting him, despite the weighty allegations of looting against him. Ex-Governor James Ibori (Delta) escaped effective prosecution until the long arm of the law caught up with him in Dubai from where he was extradited to the United Kingdom for his ongoing trial. The few successful convictions of high profile persons achieved by the anti-graft agencies have come through plea-bargaining deals and punishment has been mild and disproportionate to the sums stolen. The sheer volume of corruption cases reinforces the need for special courts. EFCC says it is currently handling 1,500 cases out of which 75 are high profile ones involving former governors, top bankers, ministers and senior bureaucrats. The regular courts do not prioritise corruption cases but schedule them alongside other cases, leading to long adjournments. Yet, corruption is so pervasive and has severely curtailed the nations ability to develop. The United States Department of Commerce, in an advisory to US businesses in 2009, said corruption adds 40 per cent to the cost of Nigerian government contracts. Jonathan also recently wondered aloud why government procurement costs over 30 per cent more here on the average than in other African countries. EFCC often cites former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitzs assertion that about $400bn was stolen through graft in Nigeria between 1960 and 1999. Between 200,000 and 800,000 barrels of crude oil is said to be stolen from the country daily. The scale of graft therefore demands extraordinary measures as, according to Victor Lar, chairman of the Senates committee on corruption, "When we have an unusual situation, we should adopt unusual methods."Other countries have done just that. A series of anti-graft laws in Singapore in 1960, 1989 and 1999 created the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and special courts which, by 2010, made Transparency International to rank her alongside Denmark and New Zealand as one of the Worlds least corrupt nations while Nigeria remained one of the most corrupt. Malaysia has created special tribunals or "Corruption Sessions Courts" in its capital, Kuala Lumpur, and other commercial centres to fast-track corruption trials and complement the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. Similar measures have been introduced in Hong Kong, Botswana and New Zealand.The President should match his words with action and move very swiftly to facilitate the establishment of the special courts and reverse the image of his administration as one that is timid in fighting corruption. The CJN too should act quickly by designating, as his counterpart in India has done, some judges to handle corruption cases so that they can be disposed of within six months. The National Assembly should urgently pass the necessary legislation to protect whistle blowers. The CJN, the Nigerian Bar Association and other stakeholders should meet to work out the modalities for the special courts. Issues to be clarified, as enunciated by the pioneer Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Justice Mustapha Akanbi, include the status of the special courts, procedures, time limits and the judges that would man them. Unless decisive leadership can push through the necessary reforms, Nigeria will remain trapped in a vicious circle in which pervasive corruption reduces public revenues, undermines public trust, and weakens the credibility of the state. In India, an activist, Anna Hazare, embarked on a well-publicised hunger strike which galvanised millions of his countrymen to participate in 570 protests and demonstrations across the country. This compelled the Indian government to pass a more stringent anti-graft law. Corruption thrives when the civil society is weak and disinterested; Nigerians should adopt all legal means to make public officials accountable.
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