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Tag: Imprisonment

  • Man bags 21 years imprisonment for killing lover

    Man bags 21 years imprisonment for killing lover

    • By Elizabeth Eze

    Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of Lagos State High court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a man,  Adeola Agbonri, to 21 years imprisonment for killing his live-in lover, Mathat Farinmade.

    Agbonri pleaded guilty to an amended one-count charge offence dated July 3, 2024 brought against him by the state.

    During the proceedings, the prosecution counsel and Director of Public Prosecutions(DPP), Dr Babajide Martins, told the court that Agbonri and the deceased were friends who were cohabiting as a couple.

    Dr Martins told the court that a fight occurred between the defendant and the deceased on January 5, 2012 when Agbonri challenged the deceased relationship with one Dare Shodipo.

    During trial, the DPP,  Dr.  Martins, called two witnesses, the IPO and the deceased’s mother.

    Read Also: India-bound drug trafficker bags 25 years imprisonment

    The IPO, Inspector Festus Utmoru, gave his evidence on March 14, 2014.

    He explained how he investigated the matter, tendered exhibit P1-P5 which included the statement of the defendant, investigation report and pictures of the deceased.

    PW2, the deceased mother, Elizabeth Faramade, gave her evidence on how the defendant was seen by people hiding between houses in their vicinity after dumping the deceased’s corpse.

    The DPP  urged the court to convict  the defendant as charged.

    “The conviction and sentencing of  the defendant would ensure that justice has been done and help keep our society safe from criminal acts”.

    Delivering judgment on the matter, Justice Akapo-Lawal  held  “the defendant Agbonri showed signs of rage and the deceased was advised not to go home with him.

    “The body of the deceased was later discovered in the early hours of January 7, 2012 in the gutter in front of her mother’s house.”

    Justice Lawal-Akapo consequently sentenced Agbonri to 21 years of imprisonment for the death of Farinmade.

  • 18-year-old bags two-year imprisonment for $500 fraud

    18-year-old bags two-year imprisonment for $500 fraud

    Justice Ismail Ijelu of an Ikeja Special Offences Court on Wednesday sentenced an 18-year-old Secondary School Certificate (SSCE) holder, Henry Bilabi to a two-year imprisonment for impersonating on Tiktok to defraud unsuspecting citizens of $500.

    The convict was however given an option of N1 million fine which must be paid within 30 days.

    Justice Ijelu sentenced Bilabi following his plea bargain agreement to the charge of impersonation proffered against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The judge ordered the convict to carry out six-hour community service for three months, under the supervision of the officials of the Lagos Custodial Centre and write an undertaken never to go back to crime while his iPhone7 was forfeited to the Federal Government.

    The judge held: “The court is satisfied that the defendant understands the plea bargain agreement and accordingly, the defendant is hereby found guilty.”

    Justice Ijelu chastised the convict who just finished secondary school that the only thing he could do well was to commit crimes.

    Read Also: Two smugglers bag two imprisonment for assaulting Customs officer

    EFCC Counsel, Ahmed Yerima, in his review of facts, had told the court that the commission received an intelligence report sometime in October 2023 that some young persons were defrauding innocent citizens around Ajah.

    Yerima said that the convict was arrested and when his phone was analysed under forensic tools, some fraudulent documents were printed out from his TikTok account.

    “He confessed to having created a fake Tiktok account where he represented himself as Grace David with username grace_david2 where he benefited $50. He raised the manager’s cheque of N50,000 in favour of EFCC during the investigation,” he said.

    The convict’s extra-judicial statement, iPhone7, cheque of N50,000 were admitted into evidence, following no objections from the defence counsel, Ms Mary Uzodimma.

    The convict, in his plea for mercy, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy.

  • Man gets life imprisonment for defiling four-year-old girl

    Man gets life imprisonment for defiling four-year-old girl

    An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court yesterday sentenced a 42-year-old Chief Security Officer of a company, Daniel Okon, to life imprisonment for defiling a four-year-old girl.

    Justice Abiola Soladoye held that the prosecution has been able to prove the offence of defilement against the convict beyond reasonable doubt.

    Okon was charged before the court on a one count charge of child defilement contrary to Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

    The State  Prosecuting Counsel Olufunke Adegoke said the incident occured at about 11: 30 a.m., on April 21, 2017, in Aguda, Surulere.

    Mrs Adegoke told the court that the convict had unlawful sexual intercourse with the minor.

    Delivering judgment in the matter, Justice Soladoye held that the victim testified that she started shouting and crying when the defendant defiled her and that this attracted neighbours.

    The court noted that the evidence of the child was also collaborated with her mother’s testimony and that of the doctor that examined her.

    She held that what is crucial in the matter was for the child to be able to identify the defendant.

    The court held: “The evidence of PW 2, confirmed that she saw this defendant when he messed with her daughter’s virginity in 2017.”

    Read Also: Man remanded for ‘defiling’ girl, 12

    “The mother said she heard a commotion and when she went to check she discovered that the defendant had messed with her daughter.

    “We went to the hospital where they confirmed that there was penetration and that she has been infected,” the judge said.

    Justice Soladoye further held that the doctor, who was the 3rd prosecution witness, also testified that there was a vaginal discharge that the hymen was absent and that there was an opening.

    The court noted that the convict in his testimony denied knowing the girl and her mother and that he just went to use the toilet in the compound when he saw a little girl in the stairway crying.

    Justice Soladoye held that the defendant entered into a random compound and under the pretext of using their toilet, he saw a 4-year-old child playing around in the compound.

    “He took her and sexually assaulted her by inserting his finger into her vagina.

    “The child started screaming and people heard and accosted the defendant and when the child’s mother came she picked her child and saw she was assaulted.

    She had the defendant arrested and the child was taken to the hospital.”

    The court held that the defendant is an  pathological liar and that he simply wanted to distance himself from the horrible act.

    Justice Soladoye noted that during cross-examination, the convict claimed he did not know the victim and her mother noting that his evidence is laced with lies and an afterthought.

    “This assertion of the defence can not fly in the face of the overwhelming evidence before the court”, the court held.

    The judge said that there were three ingredients to prove the case of defilement of a child.

    “One is that the child must be underage, that the defendant had sexual intercourse with the child, and that the child can identify the defendant.  

    “When the victim came before this court she was 7 years old, but she was 4 years old when she was defiled.

    ” She said she started shouting from the toilet, in law a child can not give consent to intercourse.

    “She described how the defendant sexually molested her.”

    Justice Soladoye also blamed the mother of the survivor for being negligent for leaving her 4-year-old daughter unattended to.

    “This mother has herself to blame. children are precious and should be treated with tender care.”

    The judge therefore sentences the convict as charged.

    “Daniel Okon this court found you guilty of the offence of defilement of a minor.  You are here by sentenced to life imprisonment. Your name should be registered in the Lagos state sexual offenders register,” the judge said.

    During the trial, the prosecution called three witnesses including the victim while the convict testified for himself.

  • Court sentences driver to eight months imprisonment for forgery

    A Kaduna Chief Magistrates’ Court on Friday sentenced a 35-year-old driver, Umar Aliyu, to eight months imprisonment for forgery and impersonation.

    The magistrate, Mr Ibrahim Emmanuel, convicted Aliyu on a two-count charge of forgery and impersonation.

    The magistrate said that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

    He, however, gave ‎the convict, a resident of Bindi village, Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara, an option to pay N15, 000 fine and warned him to desist from committing crime.

    Read Also:Court restrains Ortom from dissolving councils

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the convict was first arraigned on Feb 12 and he had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The prosecutor, Sgt. Moses Leo, had told the court that a team of policemen on duty along Jere/Kagarko Road, Kaduna, arrested the defendant on Feb. 1.

    Leo said at about 9.00p.m, a team of policemen on duty stopped the defendant’s vehicle for a search and found two car engines in the vehicle.

    He said that when the defendant was asked questions about the car engines, he identified himself as a police officer.

    Leo said that a police warrant card was also found in his possession and during police investigation, all information given by the defendant was discovered to be false.

    The prosecutor said that the offences contravened the provisions of Sections 142 and 345 of the Penal Code of Kaduna State.

  • Fake SAN gets one year imprisonment

    An Ikeja Special Offences Court yesterday sentenced a 27-year-old man, Raphael Omotayo, to one year imprisonment for impersonating a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

    Justice Mojisola Dada found Omotayo guilty of a one-count charge of impersonation after he changed his plea to ‘guilty’ .

    The defendant, who was initially arraigned on February 5, by the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had pleaded not guilty.

    Delivering judgment, Justice Dada noted that an EFCC operative, who led the team to arrest the convict in his house in Egbeda, Lagos on August 27, told the court that laptops, phones and modems were recovered from him.

    “However, the defendant has changed his plea and I found him guilty and he is hereby convicted accordingly.

    “The defendant is thereby sentenced to one year imprisonment for impersonating a Senior Advocate Of Nigeria,” Justice Dada said.

    The sentence, she said, would run from the date of his arrest.

    Before the judgment, the prosecuting counsel, Mr A.A. Adebayo told the court that the commission amended the charge after the convict entered into a plea bargain.

    “My Lord, the defendant has decided to enter into a plea bargain and we are in court today with an amended charge. We urge the court to allow him take his plea,” he said.

    The convict pleaded guilty when the amended charge was read to him.

    In his allocutus, his counsel Adeniyi Quadri urged the court to be lenient with his client.

    Quadri said Omotayo has shown remorse, learnt his lessons and resolved to be of good behaviour.

    “I have had the opportunity to interact with the defendant my Lord, and I can tell the honourable court that he is a changed person. While he was in prison custody, his wife gave birth to a baby boy and he has not had the opportunity to see his child since he was born. I urge Your Lordship to temper justice with mercy.”

    Omotayo was first arraigned by EFCC for parading himself as a SAN.

    EFCC also said Omotayo was found to be in possession of some fraudulent documents, where he also claimed to be Michael Blacks.

    The documents obtained from Omotayo’s computer, EFCC said, revealed that he pretended to be a SAN in order to defraud an American, one Juliet of an undisclosed amount of money.

    Suspecting foul play, Juliet petitioned the EFCC, which swung into action and arrested him.

  • Breaking: Court sentences Dariye to 16 years imprisonment

    …Convicted on charges of criminal breach of trust, criminal misappropriation

     

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Gudu, Abuja has sentenced former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Chibi Dariye to a cumulative term of imprisonment of 16 years.

    Dariye’s sentence followed his conviction on 15 counts on the offences of criminal breach of trust and criminal misappropriation. The court freed him on eight of the 23 counts contained in the charge on which he was tried.

    Read Also:Court adjourns Dariye ’s alleged N1.162bn fraud trial

    Justice Olubukola Banjoko, in a judgment on Tuesday sentenced Dariye,  a serving All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator, representing Plateau Central, to two years for misappropriation and 14 years for criminal breach of trust.

    According to the judge, the sentences are to run concurrently, implying that Dariye may end up spending 14 years in custody.

    Justice Banjoko, who commended the prosecution for a job well done, said the prevalence of corruption and criminality in the nation’s public space requires drastic measures if we must curb the vices.

     

    Details later…

  • Imprisonment: Bill Cosby likens self to Mandela

    Having been found guilty of three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault, embattled American television star, Bill Cosby is said to have invoked the name of Nelson Mandela; liking his situation to that of the former South African president’s experience as a political prisoner. Cosby reportedly says he’s preparing himself mentally for incarceration stemming from his stunning conviction on charges of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman.

    “This is what they wanted,” the 80-year-old Cosby reportedly told the New York Post’s Page Six column in an interview following his conviction last week by a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, jury.

    The column, published Saturday evening, says Cosby repeatedly spoke to Page Six over the past year with the agreement that nothing could be shared publicly during the legal proceeding.

    In an earlier interview, Cosby reportedly told Page Six that he has thought about what Mandela endured in prison to prepare himself for going to “that place,” meaning prison.

    “But, you know, I think back to the time when Camille and I went to visit Nelson Mandela in South Africa,” Cosby said, referring to his wife of 54 years, Camille Cosby. “He was a free man, but I remember when we met him at Robben Island where he had been in a prison for all of those years. I sat in that cell where he lived, and I saw how he lived . . . what he had to eat to live and what he went through.

    “So, if they send me to that place, then that’s what they will do, and I will have to go there.”

    But Andrew Wyatt, Cosby’s spokesman, denied the comedian gave an interview to Page Six.

    “He never did that,” Wyatt told ABC News on Sunday. “That’s totally false. He never gave Page Six an interview.”

    In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the New York Post said, “The Post stands by its story.”

    On Thursday, the Montgomery County jury in Norristown found Cosby guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand – a former director of operations for the women’s basketball team at Temple University, where Cosby had been a trustee and major financial donor.

    Constand testified at both of Cosby’s trials that he gave her a powerful drug that rendered her dizzy, weak and unable to defend herself as he sexually assaulted her in 2004 at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park.

    Last week’s verdict came about 11 months after Cosby’s first trial ended in a mistrial when a jury could not reach a unanimous decision after deliberating six days.

    Unlike the first trial, prosecutors were allowed to call five other women to testify that Cosby assaulted them in the same manner.

    Under conditions of his release, Cosby was ordered to stay confined to his home except for appointments with his attorneys or doctors. He must also wear a GPS ankle bracelet so authorities can monitor his whereabouts.

    In an interview with ABC News’ “Good Morning America” on Friday, Cosby’s publicist, Ebonee Benson, compared the comedian’s conviction to the fate of Emmett Till, the 14-year old child brutalized and murdered in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman.

    “This became a public lynching,” Wyatt told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos in the same interview. “The South came to the East.”

    Meanwhile, Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden said the guilty verdict on three counts of aggravated indecent assault against the 80-year-old TV icon reflected the bravery of victim Andrea Constand, the other accusers who testified as “prior bad acts” witnesses and the jury in Pennsylvania.

    “When the verdict was read, I was just filled with awe and so excited and so happy,” Feden told CNN in a phone interview one day after Thursday’s conviction.

    “I was so happy for Andrea. I was so proud of her. And I was so happy for victims just everywhere. … It was a very awesome message to victims.”

    The jury agreed that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted Constand at his home in a Philadelphia suburb in 2004. At the retrial, five other women testified that Cosby had also drugged and assaulted them decades ago.

    Cosby faces up to 10 years in prison on each count, but he is likely to serve them concurrently.

  • Lagos kicks against imprisonment of minors, pregnant women

    Lagos kicks against imprisonment of minors, pregnant women

    Lagos State government has reiterated that child offenders should not be in prisons.  The newly appointed Director in charge of the Directorate for Citizens’ Rights, Mrs. Omololu Adesina at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, said: “Under the Child’s Right Law, they should be in remand homes or correctional facilities and subsequently transferred to approved schools.’’

    Adesina said institutionalization is a major part of the juvenile welfare system in Lagos State, adding : “The key institutions for holding children are remand homes and the approved school which is provided for by Section 204 of the Child’s Right Law of Lagos State.

    ”The directorate is working closely with other law enforcement agencies to ensure that the prisons are rid of juveniles or minor offenders. Efforts will be made to ensure that pregnant women and women with babies are not allowed in the regular prisons.”

    Adesina, who until her appointment was one of the directors working alongside the former director, Mrs. Clara Ibirogba who was recently appointed as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Establishment and Training.

    She was the Chairperson, Co-operative Arbitration panel, preparing briefs and title deeds on Lagos State farm lands and fish farm estates, conducting land searches.

    Before her appointment, Adesina had mediated between various conflicting parties successfully and enforced child rights under the Child Rights Law.

    Adesina is member of many professional bodies among which the Nigerian Bar Association, International Bar Association, Lagos Court of Arbitration, and Chartered Institute of Arbitration of Nigeria, UK Mediators, Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered).

  • 23 year-old in prison for stealing TV

    23 year-old in prison for stealing TV

    An Iyaganku Magistrate court holden in Ibadan has sentenced one Mathew Adeleke, 23, to a three-month imprisonment for stealing a 32 inches plasma television.

    Adeleke who was charged on three counts was arraigned in Court 12, presided over by Chief Magistrate O. O. Olatunji.

    After reading the counts to him, Adeleke who pleaded guilty to two of the three charges pressed against him prayed the court to have mercy on him, saying that hunger led him to commit the crime.

    The prosecutor, Sergeant S. Hammed told the court that the accused committed the crime on October 2nd and that the offences were contrary to section 383 and punishable under section 413 of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Volume II, Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria.

    The charge sheet reads, “That you Mathew Adeleke, male on the 2nd day of October, 2017, at about 9am at No 7 Adetokunbo Olofin street, Oloogbo  Estate, Ologuneru Area of Ibadan in the Omi Adio Magisterial District broke into the house of Adedotun Augustine, male and thereby committed felony therein to wit stealing, and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 383 and punishable under section 413 of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Volume II, Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria.

    “That you Mathew Adeleke, m, on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned Magisterial District did steal a Samsung Plasma 32 inches Television valued at N45, 000, property of one Adedotun Augustine, m, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 390 (v) of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Volume II Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria, 2000.

    “That you Mathew Adeleke, male sometimes in the month of September 2017 at Yanla, area of Ologuneru Ibadan, stole one phone valued at N65, 000 property of one Joesph Elizabeth, female and thereby contravene an offence punishable under Section 390 (9) of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Volume II laws of Oyo State of Nigeria, 2000”

  • ‘Conceal your assets, face 21 years’ imprisonment’

    ‘Conceal your assets, face 21 years’ imprisonment’

    Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Prosecution, can be fiery if the discussion is on corruption. To him, many lawyers and the courts are not helpful when it comes to tackling the malaise. Obono-Obla, who has just been named chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, tells ERIC IKHILAE  how his panel hopes to operate, his fear for the Judiciary and why it appears difficult to tackle corruption.  

    The constitution of your panel was announced about two weeks ago. When will you begin work?

    We have begun work. Although we are yet to have an office, we have made a request for an office and some other things that we need to start work effectively, and I believe the government is doing something about it.

    Currently, we are doing preliminary work and trying to see how we can map out strategies to enable us do our work well. I am very certain that, in the next two weeks, we should take off effectively.

    By the law setting up your panel, you appear to have a broad mandate. From where do you intend to begin?

    You are right. The law is all-embracing, very comprehensive and broad. But, we do not intend to go on a wild goose chase. We are going to look at certain areas, focus on them and ensure that we do the work the way those who appointed us want us to do it.

    So, what areas are you focusing on?

    We will look at the oil and gas industry for instance. Then, the Judiciary and other areas that need to be urgently cleansed up.

    How do you react to the argument that your panel amounts to a duplication of effort on the part of the government, because the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and other related agencies are already doing what you have been asked to do?

    Those who hold that position are ignorant, with due respect.  First, Nigeria is a member of the United Nations systems. In 2003, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) was enacted. Some aspects of that convention make provisions for national governments to set up multiple anti-corruption bodies to address the issue of corruption.

    This is because the convention identifies corruption as a threat to humanity, to development, to democracy, to the society, among others. I can tell you that organised crimes like terrorism and money laundering are all a dialectical consequences of corruption.

    So, we have the Nigeria Police, which can investigate all forms of crime, including corruption, economic and financial crimes.The EFCC, the ICPC and the CCB are all there doing the same thing.

    So, what distinguishes your panel from these bodies?

    Let me tell you, the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act Cap R4 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria predates the EFCC Act, ICPC Act and even the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act (CCB/T Act). So, I can say that the law, setting up our panel, is the oldest anti-corruption law in Nigeria.

    But, unfortunately, successive governments did not have the will, the commitment to fight corruption. That is why that law was left in a state of limbo. Now, we have a government that is committed to fighting corruption, and the government has gone to exhume the law from where it was buried.

    There are differences between my panel and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCB/T). For example, the CCB/T cannot impose a term of imprisonment. My panel has the jurisdiction to investigate the assets of a public officer.

    If we find out that you suppress some information about your assets, then we can file a charge against you at the Federal High Court. And, if you are found guilty, you will be sentenced to 21 years’ imprisonment. Such provision is not there in the CCB/T Act.

    In what areas is your panel different from the anti-graft bodies?

    Under the law setting us up, if you under declare your assets, or if you have more assets than what your legitimate earnings can accommodate, we can investigate you, send our findings to the Federal High Court. And, if you are found guilty, you will be sentenced to life imprisonment.

    This is the only law that has provision for life imprisonment for corruption, embezzlement, contributing to the economic adversity of Nigeria. You will not that the CCB/T covers public officers alone.

    The law, under which we are to operate, also extends to those in the private sector. It also extends to relatives of public officers. For example, a lot of public officers keep funds and acquire property in the names of relatives, their children, their wives, cousins, aunties, their friends, among others.

    So, this law gives us the power to investigate relatives and friends of public officers to see if they have acquired assets that are inconsistent with their legitimate earnings. So, you can see the differences now between out panel, the EFCC, ICPC and the CCB/T.

    If you say your panel can examine issues relating to economic and financial crimes, how will it work around the obstacle created by Section 6 (C) of the EFCC Act, which grants exclusive powers to the EFCC on such matters?

    You see, as I noted earlier, that, under the UNCAC, there is room for national government to set up agencies whose functions in relation to corruption overlap. So, there is nothing wrong with that.  We will do what we call, inter-agencies collaboration, partnership and cooperation.

    But, I can say that the law that sets up our panel is different substantially from others. The functions may seem similar, but the law is unique in its own way.

    I have given you the example of the provision for life imprisonment that is not in the CCCB/T, which only confiscate the assets found to have been unlawfully acquired and bars the public officer from further holding public office. But, under this law, you will go to prison for 21 years.

    Do you imply that your panel can undertake prosecution on its own?

    Yes. It will be unconstitutional for us to investigate and pass on our findings to another body to do the prosecution. We will investigate and prosecute as far as the assets of public officers and those in private sector are concern.

    For instance, a drug baron may not be working in the public sector, but he has assets. And if we find out that he acquired these assets through unlawful activities (because that is what the law said), then we are empowered to go after such a drug baron.

    Also, somebody who indulges in money laundering, but who cannot be classified as belonging to either the public or private sector, but has acquired assets that are suspicious, we can go after him, seize those assets and charge him to court.

    So, you can see the differences and why I said the laws are different, although they may look similar on the surface.

    The Executive has consistently accused the Judiciary of not supporting its anti-corruption efforts. But, people wonder why this same Executive has not deemed it fit to reach out to the Judiciary for support?

    We do not want to interfere with the functions of the Judiciary. The Constitution has spelt out the functions of the different arms of government. In theory, we are separated, but in practice, we are supposed to work together. But, we will not go out of our way to interfere with the internal workings of the Judiciary.

    We will not tell the judges how to dispense justice. They should dispense justice in accordance with their oath of office. If government says corruption is a problem, we expect the Judiciary, that is part of government to also see corruption as a problem. But, we have not seen that.

    For instance, we have judges, who have been indicted. Yes, I feel a judge, who has been investigated from criminal allegations for corruption, even if he is acquitted by a court of law, his integrity is at stake. His honour is at stake, because a judge ought to be like Caesar’s wife, who is above suspicion.

    So, if a judge has brought himself to the level of being investigated by law enforcement agencies, has been accused of corruption and has been docked, though not sent to prison, that judge has lost his credibility to sit as a judge.

    As a lawyer, I will find it difficult to appear before that judge and defer to him/her. You may ask me why. It is because we, in the legal profession, consider judges as representing God.

    That is why we address judges as ‘My Lord;’ that is why we bow when we see them. We respect them. We consider the status of a judge as prestigious.  So, a judge, who has lost that toga of integrity, credibility and honour should cease to be a judge.

    So, how do think the Judiciary should approach this issue?

    What I expect the Judiciary to do, if it is working in tandem with the Executive, is for the National Judicial Council (NJC) to make a list of all the effected judges and hand to Mr. President to either retire or dismiss them.

    The perception out there is that you, as a person, have, in recent time, been hard on the Judiciary. Don’t you think this could affect you when you return to practice?

    I will return to practice when I am done here. I am not afraid that the position I take now could affect me, because I am not against any judge. I am executing my official brief and I will do it professionally, conscientiously and diligently, without minding whose ox is gored.

    So, that is it. I will return to practice, because I have not done anything wrong. If anybody feels bad that I have done my job professionally, let them forgive me for that, but I have to do my job. I am not hard on the Judiciary.

    I want the proper thing to be done, because I have been part of the system and know what goes on within the system. So, I feel for the legal profession.

    I am passionate about the Bar and the Judiciary as a whole. I tell you, we are endangered if we do not take steps to restore the confidence of the public to the system. We are on the blink of extinction.

    How will you react to the criticism that this administration has not recorded much success in the prosecution of high-profile corruption cases despite its claim to be fighting corruption?

    I do not agree with the position, because we have had quite a number of convictions. As a matter of fact, the EFCC said last week that it recently recorded about 200 convictions. That is salutary.

    The case of the former Adamawa State governor, whose conviction was reversed by the Court of Appeal, has not been concluded. I believe an appeal should be before the Supreme Court by now. So, we can only conclude on that after the Supreme Court gives its verdict. The Supreme Court can restore his conviction.

    So, we should wait until all these cases are heard at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court before we can say whether or not the cases were properly handled. But for now, it is premature to say so. I believe the EFCC is doing a good work and we are going to see more convictions in the next few months.

    The report on bribery and corruption in Nigeria, which was just released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), confirmed that, despite this government’s claim of fighting corruption, it is still prevalent. What do you think is wrong?

    That survey was carried out five years ago. It is not a reflection of the true position of things in the country. Let us be fair. This government has done well as long as fighting corruption is concerned. It is not easy.

    Corruption in Nigeria has become endemic. And this government has done very well.  Look at the amount of money that we have recovered. Look at the property we have recovered from looters. Look at the number of cases on-going in court. This is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria.

    High placed persons, ex-ministers, ex-governors and others are standing trial. So, you cannot say that this government’s fight against corruption is not yielding results. You know it will be impossible to totally eradicate corruption. We will reduce corruption, because there is corruption in every society.

    The most important thing is that anybody that is found corrupt should be punished. And that is what we are trying to do – to punish anybody, who indulges in corruption. But we are not saying we are going to eradicate corruption completely. You know that is impossible. But, we will try to reduce corruption to the barest minimum,

    What is the government doing to recover the $15 million seized from the Goodluck Jonathan-government by the South African government? Has Nigeria forfeited it  to South Africa?

    I do not have a brief on that. Maybe you should ask the EFCC or other relevant agencies. I also read about the seizure during President Jonathan’s government, but I do not know what the current situation is.

    Shouldn’t your panel be interested in such issues?

    If it is brought to our attention, we will look at it. We can take steps. We can request for documents relating to the transaction. We can execute bench warrant on anybody. So, maybe we will look into it. We will look into it.