The Nigerian Muslim rights group, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has again backed the call for the introduction of special courts to try corruption cases. This was sequel to the call made by the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mr. Umar Abba Mohammed, for the establishment of Special Courts to try corruption cases.
EFCC’s Acting Chairman made the call in Abuja on Friday, 4th September, 2020 while receiving members of the Monitoring Committee of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), who paid him a working visit. MURIC reiterated its support for special courts for corruption cases on Tuesday, 8th September, 2020 in a release issued by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
“Although the war on corruption has registered some convictions and scored victory in some areas, it is very glaring that many cases are being delayed in court courtesy of legal technicalities. Many certificated kleptomaniacs are still hiding under the indulging umbrella of legal razzmatazz to delay and consequently frustrate and escape justice.
“Special courts will remove such obstacles and ensure that cases are speedily and efficiently disposed of. We therefore reiterate our call for the establishment of special courts for trying those who steal public funds. Life imprisonment and death penalty may appear too radical but that is exactly what will scare rogues and fraudsters away from the Nigerian political landscape leaving room for honest and hardworking citizens who nurse a genuine wish to contribute their own quota to national development.
“Those who made it impossible for the jamahiir (masses) to enjoy the dividends of democracy deserve no mercy. Those who rob the masaakiin (poor citizens) of the opportunity to have access to life more abundant do not deserve to roam freely on our streets. Those who frustrated all efforts to make Nigerians enjoy 24-hour power supply but who themselves install four or five silent and powerful generators in their homes should not be allowed to use those generators. They should be thrown into dark dungeons and denied access to both daylight and electricity for life.
“A special prison should be constructed for those who steal pensioners money. The inmates of this jail should be in chains 24-7. Rapists should be castrated while kidnappers should be given long jail terms. This reclassification of punishments will deter criminally-minded Nigerians.
“We therefore charge the National Assembly to expedite action on the establishment of special courts particularly to try corrupt public officials. The present NASS is on course and it should not relent until it gives Nigeria special courts. The machinery for enacting a bill on special courts for corruption into law should be set in motion in the NASS without any delay.
“There is every reason to believe that the executive is ready and willing. The legislature should play its own role because democracy is all about separation of powers. It is only when the legislature has done its duty that the judiciary can make a move. Only then can we add some bite to the war against graft. Posterity will not forgive any arm of government that fails to play its own role.
“The infrastructural development which we see in various places have been made possible by the fact that Nigeria now has an incorruptible leader. We would not have been talking of any Abuja metro line, any Mambilla Hydropower project of 3050 megawatts forty years after it was abandoned, any Itakpe-Warri-Ajaokuta standard gauge rail line abandoned since 1987, any Second Niger Bridge and many more.
“Our assessment is devoid of political sentiment. We are motivated by patriotic zeal for our beloved country. We will continue to support the war against corruption because we know that the latter is the bane of development in this country. Our support will continue even after the exit of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Father of New Nigeria, and it will be for any leader (regardless of political leaning) who shows the will to fight corruption the way the current leader is doing it.”
