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Tag: Sagay

  • NJC faults Sagay on recall of suspended judges

    NJC faults Sagay on recall of suspended judges

    • Says no valid appeal against Justice Ademola’s acquittal
    • Claims judiciary supports govt’s anti-graft war

    The National Judicial Council (NJC) yesterday rejected the accusation made against it by the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay, that the judiciary was not in support of the current administration’s anti-corruption war.

    It insisted that its recent decision to recall the six judges suspended in the wake of their investigation for corruption allegation by the Department of State Services (DSS) was in order.

    The NJC said in a statement that the Judiciary was in full support of the administration’s efforts to curb corrupt practices in the country and would continue to do so within the ambit of the law.

    The council’s Director of Information, Soji Oye, who signed the statement also dismissed claim by the Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, Okoi Obono-Obla, that the federal government has appealed the acquittal of Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court.

    It said investigation by its officials revealed that there was no valid appeal filed yet against the April 5 ruling by Justice Jude Okeke of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) acquitting Justice Ademola, his wife and a lawyer, Joe Agi (SAN).

    Justice Okeke had, in the ruling, upheld the no-case submission by Justice Ademola and his co-defendants, charged with corruption related offences.

    The NJC expressed regret that the Executive was not cooperating with the judiciary in cases of judges that have been recommended for either sack or compulsory retirement.

    The NJC said: “Contrary to the allegations by Professor Itse Sagay, (SAN), Chairman, PACAC, that Judiciary took a hasty decision to recall the Judges, and that it is not on board with anti-graft war of the federal government, the number of judicial officers that have been removed from office for misconduct particularly for corrupt practices since President Buhari administration came on board, that has been made public by NJC in October and November, 2016, speaks for itself in that vein.

    “Some of the judicial officers were removed from office by dismissal or compulsory retirement by the Ppresident or governors on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council.

    “While a number of the judicial officers were reprimanded by Council in the exercise of its Constitutional powers to exercise disciplinary control over judges of superior courts of record in the federation.”

    It claimed that some of the judicial officers it recommended for dismissal or compulsory retirement from office by the presidency or governors, have not to date been removed from office.

    It added:”But for suspension of the affected judicial officers from office by NJC, they would have to date been still performing their Judicial duties.

    “And these are officers that have been found culpable of gross misconduct by National Judicial Council after due process and diligent fact finding investigation by Council based on the Rule of Law enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, NJC Judicial Discipline Regulations and Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “The NJC will soon issue an advertorial on the foregoing and list out the number of judicial officers that have since April, 2000 when it held its inaugural meeting to date, been dismissed or compulsorily retired by the president or governors for gross misconduct or corrupt practices, on its recommendation; and also reprimanded by council by suspension or warning/caution.

    “Council is not oblivious of the fact that some major stakeholders in the Judiciary and justice delivery sector in conjunction with the Nigerian Bar Association, met with the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and anti-graft and security agencies before the judicial officers were recalled, to discuss the subject matter and in particular the fate of the judicial officers that have not been charged and arraigned.

    “When no progress was made, the NJC, which is the only constitutional institution empowered to exercise disciplinary control over judicial officers for misconduct, decided to recall the judicial officers.

    “It is to be stressed that our criminal justice is also predicated on accusatorial system and not inquisitorial.

    “Thus, every accused person is presumed to be innocent until his guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution.

    On Obono-Obla’s statement that the Attorney-General of the Federation filed a notice of appeal against the ruling of Justice Jude Okeke discharging and acquitting Justice Ademola and 2 ORS on 7th April, 2017,the council said  the registry of the High Court of the FCT, Abuja, informed the Department of Information of the NJC that the AGF office filed two Notices of Appeal in the Court; the first one on 7th April, 2017, against Justice  Ademola, his wife, and  Agi, while the second one was filed on 6th of June, 2017, two days after the press release was issued by the NJC, with additional grounds of appeal against only Ademola.

    “It is on record that when the parties were invited by High Court of the FCT for settlement of records to be transmitted to the Court of Appeal on 18th April, 2017, the Appellant failed to turn up,” the NJC said.

  • Sagay to judiciary: you’re hostile to anti-graft war 

    Sagay to judiciary: you’re hostile to anti-graft war 

    The judiciary is undermining the war against corruption. That was the verdict yesterday from the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC).

    Chairman Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) said the judiciary had been hostile towards efforts to rid Nigeria of graft.

    “The judiciary is not on board in the anti-corruption fight,” Sagay said in his closing remarks at a conference on “Promoting International Cooperation in Combating Illicit Financial Flows and Enhancing Asset Recovery to Foster Sustainable Development” in Abuja.

    The three-day conference was organised by PACAC in collaboration with the ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs.

    Eminent professor of International law and jurisprudence Akin Oyebode agreed with Sagay’s assessment.

    He said the judiciary had lost its glory and needed “redemption” from its “transgressions”.

    Sagay faulted the National Judicial Council (NJC) for recalling judges who were suspended for allege corruption.

    He said one of the recalled judges, whose name he did not state, was notorious for making financial demands from lawyers and accepting gratifications.

    To him, such a judge should not be allowed to remain on the Bench.

    The PACAC chairman also criticised the recall of Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

    The judge was arraigned on 18 counts of corruption charges, but an FCT High Court upheld his no-case submission and struck out the case.

    The prosecution appealed the verdict.

    Besides, there is a pending charge against Justice Ademola at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

    Sagay said: “NJC’s decision to recall them, especially Ademola, whose case is a life case, and others who have not been charged but are going to be charged, for me, is a sign of hostility to the fight against corruption.

    “We cannot afford the judicial hierarchy to engage in espirit de corps (a shared feeling of loyalty) with members of their group that have fallen in the corruption struggle.

    “They must join the executive whose mantra is total or near elimination of corruption for the sake of the survival of this country. Judges have a duty to join in this determination.

    “So, that sort of decision that was taken gives the impression that they are hostile to the struggle. That’s one reason I said they’re not on board,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.

    According to Sagay, corruption is so rife in the judiciary that some judges brazenly demand money from lawyers, and despite being aware of such judges, NJC tolerates them.

    “There are so many judges now who demand money from lawyers or accept money from them. I know a judge who will come to you today and say: ‘My mother died, please send money to me’. Lawyers will send N200,000 to him. The next day, he’d say: ‘My daughter is getting married’. Another day: ‘My uncle has been made a chief; we’re contributing.’

    “Nobody in the judicial hierarchy will deny that these judges exist. And one of them is among those going back now. He has collected money from hundreds of lawyers. And everybody knows this.

    “Should that person be on the Bench? He has desecrated the Bench; he has brought it down; he’s a common beggar, who is ready to compromise his position if you give him money on the excuse of burying his father.

    “That man has millions of naira and dollars in his account already accumulated through this means. People like that are being asked to go back. That’s why I said the judiciary, for now, is not with us in the struggle against corruption, and they need to be with us if that struggle is not to crash and if this country is not to crash with it,” Sagay said.

    He said PACAC would continue to engage with the judiciary to make judges realise that the country’s future is bleak if they do not join the battle.

    “We interact with judges a lot, from the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to the magistrates. We’ve visited most of them, and we’ll keep on visiting and talking and persuading them to realise that it is in their own interest to be as fervent and determined and passionate about elimiminating the sourge of corruption, and that any of their brethren who is suspected to be guilty of corruption is a destroyer of all that the judiciary stands for. He’s an enemy of the judiciary.

    “The judiciary, in my view, is the highest of the three arms of government. When a judge descends from that level and comes into the mud to join in looting and accepting money from lawyers who have no name to protect, the judicial hierarchy, the clean ones should come down hard on such judges, harder than the poor man who is sentenced everyday for stealing a goat.

    “The judge who is guilty of corruption is almost guilty of a crime against humanity, because what he is doing is to undermine the whole integrity of the state.

    “It means that when we have a major issue that can affect the future of the country, we can’t go to him, because he’s dishonest, he lacks integrity and is fraudulent and will not decide the case according to the justice of it.

    “So it’s a very dangerous thing that is happening now and the judges must embrace the fight against corruption, otherwise this country has no future,” Sagay said.

    The PACAC chairman said there was no pressure from the executive on the judiciary to convict those accused of corruption at all cost.

    However, he urged judges not to consider only the legal aspects of a case, but the justice side as well.

    Sagay said: “They should apply the law and justice. Law without justice is useless.

    “When a case comes before a judge, before he even hears the legal arguments, he looks at the facts and claims. He should be able to say in his mind: ‘Justice seems to be on this side’. There are some cases in which the legal arguments favour one side. But that side is the unjust side.

    “The English legal system and common law have educated us and given us a culture of being able to, as a judge, look at the case, use our own creativity to ensure justice is not lost because of legal arguments, and to use creative argument to ensure that justice prevails. That’s the way we were trained, but that is not happening.”

    In Prof Oyebode’s view, the judiciary should redeem itself if it is to remain the common man’s last hope.

    “I think the judiciary now seeks redemption because of its transgressions. We just have to wish them well and hope that a greater day lies ahead for judges in contemporary times,” he said.

    According to him, appointment of “misfits” as judges contributed to the fall in standards.

    Oyebode said: “Prof Sagay, many years ago, wrote a book saluting the Supreme Court in terms of the judgment they handed down and the effervescence of the judiciary under the leadership of people like the late Kayode Eso, the late Chukwudifu Oputa and other distinguished jurists. They gave a testament to posterity.

    “But, since then a lot of water has passed under the bridge. There have been some misfits appointed to the judiciary – those who have abused or compromised their high judicial office.

    “The judiciary is the custodian of due process and rule of law, and if gold rusts, what should iron do? I am part of those who believe that a people get the judiciary that they deserve.

    “If Nigerians believe that the judiciary has a role to play in the scheme of things, then they must fight and defend the appointees, hoping that the appointees themselves would reflect the confidence that people reside in them.

    “There was a time we had great judges who never compromised their status, role or function. I can’t say that today for some of our judicial officers.

    “It’s not that there are no good men and women in courts. I’m glad to observe that none of my students in the Supreme Court and other courts has been found wanting. I’m not claiming credit for their acting according to their judicial office though.

    “In 1992, I gave a lecture at the Bar Conference in Port Harcourt. The title was: ‘Is the judiciary still the last hope of the common man?’ The jury is still out on whether the judiciary can play their allotted role of being the last hope for the common man.”

  • Sagay: Recalled judges can still be charged

    Sagay: Recalled judges can still be charged

    However, Presiden-tial Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) chairman, Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), is of the view that the recall of the suspended judges does not foreclose their being charged, although he says he has no objection to their recall since they have not been charged.

    Sagay, in his reaction, said if they are eventually charged with any offence in future, the NJC would decide whether to suspend them again.

    His words: “Their recall is to be expected. Since the raid occurred, if there was a substantial case against them, they should have been charged to court. So, I have no personal objection to what the NJC has directed.

    “However, their recall doesn’t mean a charge cannot be brought against any of them. If a charge is ready it’ll be filed and then the case will go on. It’ll then depend on the NJC to decide at that time whether they should continue sitting, but that cannot stop the case from going on.”

    Activist lawyer Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said the judges’ recall was long overdue.

    With respect to Justice Ademola whose case was dismissed, he said: “Until the appellate court upturns the earlier judgment of the lower court, such judgement subsists and is enforceable.

    “The only exception is if there was a stay of execution, since a mere appeal does not operate as a stay of execution.

    “It is, therefore, right for the NJC to recall the judges to work. It was even too late in coming,” he said.

     

  • Sagay to lawmakers: you are enemies of anti-graft war

    Sagay to lawmakers: you are enemies of anti-graft war

    Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) chairman Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) yesterday accused the National Assembly of undermining the anti-corruption war.

    He was reacting to Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara’s claims that the anti-corruption was is ineffective.

    Sagay said the lawmakers have failed to rid the country of corruption.

    He said they refused to pass key anti-graft bills and failed to confirm Ibrahim Magu as Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman.

    He said: “In fact, the National Assembly has constituted itself into an opposition to the anti-corruption struggle. It has mounted a war against the anti-corruption struggle. It has decided to obstruct it at every stage.

    “For example, the bill for a special criminal court is not moving. And we saw the way they tried to stop Magu from being chairman of EFCC just because they found out he was effective, determined and incorruptible.

    “So they really want to weaken it, destroy it and bring it to the level it was when Jonathan was in power. So, they’re enemies of the anti-corruption struggle, there’s no question about that.”

    Sagay denied that the government was determined to send people to prison at all cost.

    He said the National Anti-Corruption Strategy includes prevention, adding that the government was rather determined to recover stolen funds.

    “He (Saraki) said we’re determined to send people to prison. No. What we are determined to do at any cost is to recover every stolen kobo, all the loot taken from Nigeria, 100 per cent.

    “We will not allow any loot to remain with anybody. We need it for development. That is what we’re determined to do. And you will find instances in which we lose a criminal case, and still recover the assets from the person involved,” Sagay said.

    Besides, Sagay said the law provides for alternative means of punishing corrupt persons other than imprisonment.

    “Two things have happened that he (Saraki) is probably not aware of. In the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), there are very comprehensive provisions on plea bargaining and alternative means of sentencing.

    “There are also provisions for reducing sentencing based on the admission of the defendant. So, it is not true that government is favouring punishment alone.

    “We have a national anti-corruption policy document. Prevention is one of the major provisions there. Prevention by education, giving incentives, to make Nigerians realise it is better to be honest than to be corrupt through many means like television plays. We’re not just looking at punishment alone. In short, punishment is the last alternative.”

    On Saraki’s claim that anti-graft agencies were not independent, Sagay said: “We in PACAC are not consulted in most of the cases tried by EFCC and ICPC. We read about them in the newspapers just like everyone else. They are not influenced at all. They use their own independent judgment.

    “All we do is to guide them on how they can successfully, effectively and efficiently do their job. We provide the services, training, workshops and we help them get resources like laboratory equipment. As for giving them instructions, no. they decide what to do.”

    On alleged showmanship, Sagay said: “Again, he is not aware of things that are happening. For example, PACAC has produced a manual on prosecution. It essentially recommends teams for prosecution rather than individuals.

    “When a case arises for investigation, there is an investigator who looks for evidence. He works with lawyers and experts who will guide him on what constitutes the evidence required to prove the offence. The team of five or six meets to determine if there is sufficient evidence to go to court.

    “The showmanship might have existed before – I don’t believe it did – but not now. The idea is to do team work, conduct comprehensive and exhaustive investigation to establish a strong case in order to achieve efficient prosecution and speedy adjudication.”

     

  • NASS undermines anti-graft war – Sagay

    NASS undermines anti-graft war – Sagay

    The chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), on Monday accused the National Assembly of undermining the anti-corruption war.

    He was reacting to Senate President, Bukola Saraki’s claims on anti-graft war.

    Sagay said the lawmakers have not supported efforts to rid the country of corruption.

    He said they refused to pass key anti-graft bills and failed to confirm Ibrahim Magu as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    He said: “In fact, the National Assembly has constituted itself into an opposition to the anti-corruption struggle. It has mounted a war against the anti-corruption struggle. It has decided to obstruct it at every stage.

    “For example, the bill for a special criminal court is not moving. And we saw the way they tried to stop Magu from being chairman of EFCC just because they found out he was effective, determined and incorruptible.

    “So they really want to weaken it, destroy it and bring it to the level it was when Jonathan was in power. So, they’re enemies of the anti-corruption struggle, there’s no question about that.”

    Sagay denied that the government was determined to send people to prison at all cost.

    He said the National Anti-Corruption Strategy includes prevention, adding that the government was rather determined to recover stolen funds.

    “He (Saraki) said we are determined to send people to prison. No. What we are determined to do at any cost is to recover every stolen kobo, all the loot taken from Nigeria, 100 per cent.

    “We will not allow any loot to remain with anybody. We need it for development. That is what we’re determined to do. And you will find instances in which we lose a criminal case, and still recover the assets from the person involved,” Sagay said.

     

  • Why corrupt judges must be punished, by Sagay

    Why corrupt judges must be punished, by Sagay

    Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption Prof. Itse Sagay yesterday emphasised that judges, who brought shame to the judiciary, must be punished to restore authority, power and dignity of the judiciary.

    According to Sagay, public servants and politicians, who conspired to bribe and corrupt the judges, will  not go unpunished.

    He said Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who approach judges and introduce them to corruption, deserve harsher punishment.

    Sagay spoke in Benin City yesterday at the 2017 Annual Law Week of the Nigeria Bar Association, Edo State Branch.

    He urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate, arrest and jail lawyers, who receive loot as fee from corrupt public servants and politicians.

    In his paper titled: “Corruption in the judiciary; the disciplinary role of the NJC vis-à-vis law enforcement agencies”, he said judges must be above board and remain the repository of honour, integrity and high moral authority.

    He said when the law courts failed to interpret, apply and enforce the law, the existence of any civilised society would be endangered, adding that loss of confidence in the judiciary amounts to chaos and disintegration.

    “No one ever expected judges to throw caution, rectitude, honour, justice and the credibility of the judiciary to the winds by selling his judgment. This is the destructive culture brought about by election petitions, which has spread like epidemic through our formerly hallowed judicial system.

    “The disciplinary procedures of the NJC were not set up for such crime. That is why tragically we are now experiencing judges being tried in court like common criminals. That is why the anti-corruption and security agencies have taken it upon themselves to continue from where the NJC’s authority ends.

    “The bottom line is that judges enjoy no immunity from investigation, arrest, trial and conviction.

    “In order to restore the authority, power and dignity of the judiciary, we must go through extra ordinary painful process of punishing those who have brought same and obliging to that sacred institution.

    He added that culpable lawyers should be treated like accomplice after the fact because they share in the proceeds of the crimes of politically exposed persons.

    According to him, “once paid from that stained loot, it becomes their life’s struggle to protect and shield the primary criminals from the consequences of their crime”.

    In his keynote paper, Prof. Lawrence Atsegbua stated that the law has failed as a tool of fighting corruption “because in spite of laws prescribing stiff penalties for corruption, more money than ever has been stolen from the public coffer by corrupt means”.

    Atsegbua noted that all the laws against corruption will fail if disequilibrium in the social status of citizens were not met.

    He said Nigerian leaders lack the political will to fight corruption, a situation which hindered socio-economic development.

    Chairman of the occasion and Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Esther Ikponmwen, said corruption, if not tackled, might continue to hamper the country’s growth.

    Justice Ikponmwen regretted that the judiciary has been affected by the sting of corruption, noting that any act that deviates from acceptable standard of the law profession is corruption.

    Justice Daniel Okungbowa, in his paper, said corruption would stop in Nigeria with the removal of immunity clause and ability to recall lawmakers.

    He prescribed the death penalty for corrupt officials.

     

     

     

     

  • Sani is bitter, frustrated – Sagay

    Sani is bitter, frustrated – Sagay

    The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof Itse Sagay (SAN), on Thursday said Senator Shehu Sani’s call for dissolution of PACAC was borne out of “bitterness” and “frustration.”

    He said the call was due to the Presidency’s refusal to remove the acting chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu.

    The Senate refused to confirm Magu on two occasions, following which the Presidency, with PACAC’s support, backed the Acting EFCC chairman to remain in office.

    Sagay said it was the Senators’ failed bid to truncate the anti-corruption war by removing Magu that has saddened the likes of Sani.

    The eminent professor of law denied ever defending the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal who was indicted by a committee headed by Sani.

    Sagay said: “I’m not surprised at Senator Sani’s effusions because they (Senators) are very, very frustrated by the manner in which we have insisted that Ibrahim Magu continue to head the EFCC.

    “They had hoped that they would be able to run down the struggle against corruption and make it totally ineffective by removing Magu. We stood against it. We have succeeded, so they are angry.

    “His response is one of bitterness that we have stood in the way of their attempt to run down the anti-corruption struggle.

    “It is his frustration that he is expressing in that manner, so I’m not at all surprised.”

    Sagay said it was not true that he defended Lawal.

    “I never did. That is a blatant lie. I never defended Lawal.

    “He (Senator Sani) should stop limiting his whole commitment to democracy on his little job as a sub-committee man that investigated Lawal.

    “He had a life before then and he’s going to have a life after that. He should not limit all his existence on that little report that he wrote. That is over now.

    “We’ve gone beyond that and he has to move on,” the PACAC chairman concluded.

  • Sagay, Olanipekun back suspensions

    Sagay, Olanipekun back suspensions

    Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) chairman Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) said yesterday that suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir David Lawal violated the Code of Conduct for public officials by awarding a contract to a company he had an interest in.

    He said it was a violation of the Constitution and public trust, therefore Lawal’s suspension was unavoidable.

    “I think the suspensions are inevitable, and in my view they are a journey to total disengagement.

    “The SGF is a top member of the administration. He should have known that for him to award a contract to his own company is absolutely prohibited by the Code of Conduct and the Constitution. What he was doing was illegal and unconstitutional.

    “The worse is that he didn’t even award the contract for relevant activity such as for food, rather it was for grass cutting, which is totally unrelated to the needs of this people for very basic life saving materials.”

    On the suspension of the NIA DG, Sagay said: “This one is even worse in my view. How can you hold over $40million of state money in a private apartment, without the knowledge of the head of state to whom you’re responsible?

    “So they’ve turned themselves into a government of their own. They didn’t inform the present administration that they got this money from the Jonathan administration and this is what it was meant for and this is what is left.

    “Once they didn’t do that, then they were all on a criminal conduct which should lead to what has happened now. It’s very clear that they intended to convert it to their private use. That’s why I said everything is inevitable.”

    A former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) said the SGF should have resigned before being suspended.

    “It’s a welcome and reassuring development. That of the SGF is long overdue anyway. As for the DG of the NIA, he should be afforded the full opportunity of his right to fair hearing by the panel headed by the Vice President.”

    Activist-lawyer Chief Mike Ozekhome said (SAN) urged the President not to spare any member of the administration accused of corruption.

    “The chicken is finally coming home to roost. I congratulate the President  on this move, even if belated. But there are still more tons of petitions existing against some serving ministers and other key figures of this government, pending before the anti-graft agencies, but which have so been carefully swept under the carpet.out, or accountability of, recovered  monies and attached properties, corruption today literally walks, not just on all fours, but even on its head and buttocks. Let the music play on. Let the real anti corruption fight begin,” Ozekhome said.

    Others who spoke include Mallam Yusuf Alli (SAN), Prof Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), constitutional lawyer Ike Ofuokwu, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) First Vice President Mr Monday Ubani and NBA Lagos Branch Chairman Martin Ogunleye.

    On the SGF’s suspension, Ali said: “All discerning Nigerians saw it coming. With the indictment of the SGF by the Senate Committee on IDPs, not only was the allegation that he was still running a company as SGF made, it was also alleged that he collected so much money on behalf of the company for grass cutting in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.

    “Given the sensitive nature of the IDPs’ situation, it raised a lot of moral issues. Many Nigerians had been expecting this to happen longer than now. But it doesn’t matter. At least the president listened to the voice of Nigerians. I think it’s salutary.“

    Prof Akinseye-George said it was proper that government officials step aside while allegations of corruption against them are being investigated.

    “There have been too many complaints about the SGF in particular, and he has become more of a liability to the administration.”

    Akinseye-George said the NIA DG’s suspension was also in order, adding that people whose credibility is questioned should not wait to be suspended.

    Ofuokwu said with the suspensions, the president has proved that he is in charge and that no official is untouchable.

    His words: “To have done otherwise is to carry a moral burden which puts a big question mark on the integrity of the President and on his fight against corruption. Though they are yet to be proven guilty by any court or judicial body of competent jurisdiction, their suspension is a perfect step in the right direction.

    To Ogunleye, there is the need to imbibe a culture of transparency in governance, even in matters that concern the President’s close associates.

    He said the ideal scenario would have been for the officials to offer to step aside pending the conclusion of investigation.

  • Sagay’s anguish

    Itse Sagay does not need any help in his current battle against the  bullies in the 8th Senate  which he has predicted ‘will go down as he worst in our nation’s history’ neither does he require any support  to withstand the subtle intimidation from  beseeching  APC, the party in government but not in power. He has abundantly demonstrated over the years that he is capable of fighting his wars against any form of injustice.  It will however not be out of place to remind APC to face its own demons. Sagay is not APC nightmare but Bukola Saraki who traded off  its victory for a port of porridge  and adopted blackmail and self- help tactics to hold on to his coveted trophy. Sagay is similarly not responsible for APC’s failure to cut off a leprous finger and rule with as few as 20 pro-Nigeria senators that share its philosophy. He also did not ask APC to wait until its very foundation is threatened with the same strategy Saraki deployed to destroy PDP, his former party as recently observed by ex-President Obasanjo. Except APC leadership, that had expected  Saraki to suddenly become a left handed man at middle age, Nigerians know Saraki who has never lost a deal since he joined politics is a vicious  trader of influence and power. His father, Oloye Saraki was a victim of his son’s brand of politics. Bukola Saraki was the whistle-blower in the fuel subsidy scandal that finally exposed PDP before it finally disintegrated. Ribadu and Lamornde, past chairmen of EFCC who crossed his path in the past ended up with bloody noses. It is also no more in doubt that Magu’s current travails is not unrelated to his  investigation of Saraki and his wife over alleged financial malfeasance  as well as  some ex-governors turned senators who allegedly stole their states blind when they held sway as, in the words of  London prosecutor of convicted James Ibori, ‘thieves in government houses’.  Senator Ndume suffered the worst fate. For forcing   Saraki and Melaye to clear their names over  Nigerian Customs Service and Sahara Reporters allegations  through a Senate internal  probe that has since confirmed a multimillion bullet-proof SUV vehicle cleared with forged papers to evade the tariff accruable to government was an addition to the Senate President’s fleet; and that irrepressible  and loud  Melaye managed to graduate  from ABU with a third class after spending eight years for a four -year programme, he  was suspended for six months.

    Itse Sagay must have been anguished that our nation is under siege as Saraki has continued to hold us to ransom after capturing the 8th Senate.  Our senators don’t feel obliged to tell us what they pay themselves as salaries. All we know is that some of them who denied collecting double salaries admitted collecting pensions in addition to their huge salaries alleged to be the highest in the world. When El Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State recently dared the senators to inform the nation what they earn as salaries, they resorted to blackmail by challenging him to first disclose his own salary and security vote.

    The travails of Sagay who has fought injustice all his life started when he recently decided to take up arms against senators who according to him  “ think they have power and decided to be unjust, oppressive and dismiss the interest of this country with levity and contempt.”.  He cited as an example the rejection of Magu who he says is “one of the best in a country that is like a cesspool, smelling and rotten with corruption “, as EFCC chairman. He says the Senate which  ‘seems to see itself as  if it is presiding over kindergartens  has developed kindergarten mentality by asking ambassadorial nominee to recite national anthem or by ordering the Customs Comptroller General to wear uniform like a school boy instead of addressing the issues of shortchanging Nigerians’.  He says  the Senate’s directive to the President to first sack Magu before it performs its constitutional duty of confirming names of INEC commissioners  was ‘childish and irresponsible’. But for claiming the Senate is filled with people of questionable character, Deputy Senate leader Bala Ibn Na’allah who insisted the senators do not have questionable characters, pleaded with his colleagues to summon Sagay to come and help them identify if he is aware of any. When Sagay was summoned, he threatened to sue the bullying senators who according to him “have no sense of responsibility, who have no feeling and are there for just vanity and are ready to bring down the country in order to feel important”.

    Tragically, APC leadership that has not been able to find its bearing in the last two years let alone demonstrate to the public what it is doing about APC dominated sick Senate, the subject of Sagay’s anguish, now says it believes ‘the comments attributed to Prof. Sagay are uncalled for, regrettable and could further complicate the relationship between these vital arms of government’. Except the leadership of APC that lives a lie, most Nigerians are aware there can be no meeting point between President Buhari who is committed to fighting corruption and the corrupt-ridden judiciary and the legislature. It is just as well that noble Sagay has insisted APC is not in a position to lecture him on what the relationship between institutions of democracy should be.

    Visibly irritated Sagay must however take solace in the fact that ours is a nation that often finds a way around a problem rather than solve it. In this regard, a brief resort to memory will help. The credit for the federal arrangement that heralded in our independence for instance must go to the colonial masters that served as umpire. They told us some truth about ourselves which for reasons of greed and the desire to dominate others, some of our founding fathers refused to acknowledge. The umpire literarily imposed the three regional federal structure on us.

    By 1962, one leg of our tripod that constituted the federal structure was deliberately removed by those who wanted to dominate others. After the Nigerian judiciary failed to solve that simple problem, the Privy Council, the then highest judicial body tried to bring in sanity. But those who have always held our country down passed a retroactive law to reject the Privy Council ruling.  Again, the task before the military, the custodian of our constitution in 1966 was simple. But instead of restoring order by upholding the sanctity of our constitution, they took over power, plunged the nation into a civil war and between 1970 and 1999 embarked on what has come to be known as social engineering efforts through which they took over education from primary school to university, health sector from primary health care to teaching hospitals, roads and agriculture ending up with a constitution without a residual list. The only thing they have not done is solve the problem. In 1993, Abiola won a pan Nigeria mandate. It was annulled by Babangida who like Idi Amin of Uganda had wanted to hold on to power.  Instead of restoring the mandate freely given to Abiola by Nigerians, the enemies of our nation bargained for an illegal Interim National Government. In 2015, APC and its presidential candidate won a landslide victory over its PDP rival. Saraki and Melaye traded the victory for a senate presidency. Today two years down the line, only a few Nigerians remember the source of our current nightmare. And by intimidating Sagay, APC, the major stakeholder seems to be saying that Saraki’s capture of the 8th Senate has become a force- majeure. Dancing around problem is in our character.

  • Sagay stings like a bee……

    Sagay stings like a bee……

    What irks our elder brother and former teacher, Itse Sagay, so grievously these days? A day hardly passes without the former Law teacher releasing a fearsome bazooka at some luckless foes or enemies of the people. The fear in cowering circles is that the elegant and patrician looking Warri nobleman may unleash a grenade in what his bemused principal famously described as the other room one of these days thinking that the enemy is hiding under the duvet.

    Not since the days of Gani Fawehinmi has Nigeria seen another feisty legal gladiator taking on all comers and crouching to deliver a lethal sucker punch. Gani took no hostages. No one was spared the sharp thrust of his nettling tongue, not even his Ondo kinsmen. It will be recalled that when Chief Alex Akinyele made some derogatory remarks about him, Gani came back like old Smoking Joe. “It shows the kind of fools Babangida would make minister”, he thundered. Exeunt the PR maharaja with his Ondo native multi-colored muffler in smoke.

    With his permanent disobliging frown and moody brio, Sagay was a star Law lecturer at the then University of Ife and tantalisingly charismatic to boot. He went on to distinguish himself as an iconic professor and Dean of Law at the University of Benin crowning it all with a silk and distinguished practice. He has been able to combine all this with notable human rights advocacy as well as consistent progressive politics.

    After decades of being spitefully ignored by evil governance in Nigeria, Sagay’s time finally came when President Buhari tapped him to chair the important PACAC. The Warri legal warrior immediately swung into action slaying legal fools after legal fools. No one could question his patriotic fervour even if you question the wisdom of committing his considerable political and social capital to the quixotic venture of seeking revolutionary justice in a non-revolutionary conjuncture.

    Sagay’s legal carpet-bombing has brought him on a collision course with former students and colleagues alike who could not understand why he could not understand that the legal system could not be lifted clean off its material base and social provenance. In other words, the western legal system inherited by Nigerian can never be deployed as an instrument of fighting social oppression. It is actually there to protect entrenched privileges while throwing the occasional morsel of meat in the direction of radical whippersnappers.

    Snooper hopes the chicken is not coming home to roost for his beloved former teacher. A phoney revolution can also consume its own children. After slamming the senate for daring to summon him, Sagay seemed to have drawn the considerable ire of the ranking grandees of the ruling APC who cautioned the legal titan not to make more enemies for his principal who is seeking an amicable resolution of the executive versus senate imbroglio from a position of weakness. Not to be outpointed by mealy-mouthed and meal-mouthing politicians, Sagay retorted with a withering dismissal of the APC echelons, harshly reminding them that he was not serving at their pleasure.

    With the whole anti-corruption war suffering from deep structural flaws and lack of an integrative intellectual scaffolding, with the EFCC reeling from drastic reversals in the law court and with the presidency back heeling from frontal confrontation with the senate, Professor Itse Sagay may well be an endangered species. In a haunting premonition, the political compromise which he detests so much may see him quietly eased off or promoted to irrelevance.

    That would be a national tragedy.  Despite his choleric candour which rubs many the wrong way, despite his hectic hectoring which often comes close to psychological bullying, Sagay represents the best foot forward of the Buhari administration. Perhaps he should talk less and grant fewer interviews. That office requires an intellectual mystique and a protective aura which reassures everybody that justice is being done.  The problem is that in old age, Sagay does not want to be seen as being used to rubberstamp or justify an elaborate chicanery, a ritual of deliberately aborted justice. Unfortunately his options are few and far between.