The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday warned lawyers who frustrate the fight against corruption through frivolous applications in court to desist.
EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, spoke at a lecture organised by the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADL) held in Ikeja, Lagos, with the theme, ‘The role of Nigerian lawyers in the fight against corruption’.
He lamented the negative role of some lawyers he termed ‘rogue elements’ in frustrating the fight against corruption and wondered why some judges continued to tolerate the delay tactics of lawyers.
Magu said “refusal to recognise the import and impact of the legislation and continued attempts to delay progress of criminal cases, especially corruption cases, is a gross violation of the Rule 30 of the Rules of Professional conduct and ought to be severely sanction without equivocation.
“Your direct confrontation of the corruption monster through the instrumentality of the law is an inspiration to those of us in the enforcement of the law.
“However, in the course of confronting the monster, we constantly run up against a gang of rogue elements who are not only frustrating the work that we are doing, but also give a terrible name to the Bar and Bench.
“The biggest form of corruption is the one that has eaten deep in the temple of justice. We are all witnesses to the abuse of ability, skills and knowledge of few rogue elements in the profession.
“The EFCC has no choice than to challenge senior lawyers, who are perverting the cause of justice. We are resilient to weed out corrupt individuals, be it in the judiciary or otherwise. There is no time now in Nigeria than to say, enough is enough.”
In his remark, Executive Secretary, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, the guest lecturer at the event, said lawyers had a greater role to play in the fight against corruption.
“The role of lawyers in the fight against corruption is well recognised. Like Ebola and Cancer, corruption has eaten deep in the country until President Muhammadu Buhari came on board.
“Recent mind-bugling revelations of corruption emanating from the military arms contract have established the fact that the effects of corruption in Nigeria is not under estimated.
“If the fight against corruption fails, Nigeria has failed, because if nothing changes, the legal profession will not survive.
“The fight against corruption is not a tea party and when corruption fights back, lawyers are always collaborators.
“Fighting corruption requires resilient. If lawyers fail to fight against corruption, they are not fighting government, but society.
“The more corruption thrives, there will be more crimes such as kidnapping. Where a lawyer takes a bribe in the course of the fight against corruption, he is liable to prosecution”, he stated.
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