…Tribunal proposes seven judicial divisions nationwide to speed up corruption cases
… CCT laments inadequate case inflow, struggles to access N2bn budge
Daud Olatunji
The Code of Conduct Tribunal has begun moves to transform itself into a full-fledged National Anti-Corruption Court with seven judicial divisions and 37 judges dedicated to corruption-related cases.
The proposed court, if approved by the National Assembly, is expected to operate a summary trial system under which corruption cases would be concluded within six weeks of arraignment.
The Acting Director of Litigation at the CCT, Yahaya Laraski, disclosed this on Monday while outlining the achievements and challenges of the tribunal under its new leadership.
Laraski said the proposal was being pursued through an Executive Bill by the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
He explained that the proposed legislation would change the status and name of the tribunal to the National Anti-Corruption Court, giving it broader jurisdiction to handle corruption cases.
According to him, the proposed court would have jurisdiction over cases brought by anti-corruption agencies and other relevant institutions, as well as civil society organisations.
He said, “The new Chairman is pressing the National Assembly, through the Attorney General of the Federation and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, for an Act, as an Executive Bill, to change the name to ‘National Anti-Corruption Court’ as a full-fledged Court with seven Judicial Divisions across Nigeria.”
Laraski added that the proposed 37 judges would be assigned to the specialised court to ensure faster determination of corruption cases.
He said the summary trial procedure was designed to prevent corruption cases from lingering for years in the judicial system.
“It will be a court of summary trial, whereby all cases must be dispensed with within a period of six weeks from the arraignment date,” he stated.
CCT recovers two properties
Meanwhile, the tribunal said its new leadership had recovered two of three estate properties allegedly sold illegally.
The recovered properties, according to Laraski, are the official residence of the tribunal chairman and its North-Eastern States Zonal Office in Bauchi.
He also disclosed that the chairman’s status had been elevated to that of a Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, while members of the tribunal now enjoy the status of Federal High Court judges.
The tribunal, he said, had also created seven new departments to complement the three existing departments as part of efforts to strengthen its operations.
Laraski said outstanding staff promotions had been implemented, while 13 new allowances had been introduced.
He added that staff members had undergone more than 20 capacity-building programmes within one year.
...Tribunal seeks more funding
Despite the reforms, the CCT identified inadequate case inflow and poor funding as major obstacles to its effective operation.
Laraski said the tribunal’s ability to adjudicate cases was largely dependent on referrals from the Code of Conduct Bureau.
He explained that the CCT could only determine cases referred to it by the bureau, thereby limiting the volume of matters before the tribunal.
“The first is that inflow of cases to our Tribunal is determined only by the discretion of the Code of Conduct Bureau. Any case they want is the one we can adjudicate upon,” he said.
On funding, Laraski disclosed that the tribunal had been unable to fully access its N2bn budgetary allocation.
“There is gross inadequacy of funding because we hardly get the N2 billion budget funded by the government,” he said.
He appealed to the Federal Government to improve funding for the tribunal and provide essential infrastructure and operational equipment, including furniture, information and communication technology facilities and vehicles.
Laraski also called for continued investment in staff training and capacity building, saying stronger institutional support would be required if the proposed anti-corruption court was to achieve its objective of delivering speedy justice.
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