President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerian judges to close procedural loopholes that politically uncovered individuals and organised crime suspects exploit to delay or frustrate legal trials.
He stated the combat towards corruption would make little progress with out an unbiased judiciary prepared to adapt to rising types of monetary crime.
Mr Tinubu spoke on Tuesday in Abuja on the eighth annual capacity-building workshop for judges and justices organised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Judicial Institute (NJI). He was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
“Probe prosecution strategies, dismantle outdated precedents, and seal procedural gaps that politically exposed persons and organised crime actors exploit to delay or frustrate trial,” the president stated.
In a press release shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday by Stanley Nkwocha, the media aide to the vp, Mr Tinubu defined that corruption was not the duty of the chief alone, because it affected all arms of presidency and the broader society.
“We must no longer permit legal pyrotechnics and procedural pedantry to shelter criminality,” he stated.
He urged judges to be sure that authorized procedures didn’t develop into a protect for wrongdoing, including that the courts should uphold the general public curiosity.
Digital crimes pose new challenges
Mr Tinubu stated advances in blockchain expertise and synthetic intelligence had made monetary crimes extra subtle, requiring investigators, prosecutors and judges to strengthen their capability to reply.
At the workshop, themed “Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Financial Crimes in a Digital Age”, he cited the EFCC’s restoration of cryptocurrency and different digital property as proof of progress in tackling technology-related monetary crimes.
According to the president, the fee secured the forfeiture of $22,417.91 value of Bitcoin, 1,001,301.87 USDT in digital property and $5.6 million linked to the CBEX scheme in 2025.
He additionally acknowledged that 192 overseas nationals arrested for cyberterrorism and cryptocurrency fraud had been prosecuted and deported.
Mr Tinubu urged the judiciary to enhance its capability to deal with instances involving digital proof and digital property, warning that the justice system risked falling behind technological developments.
He recommended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Kudirat Kekere-Ekun for her efforts to reform the judiciary and pledged the federal authorities’s help for bettering justice supply within the digital age.
CJN requires higher case administration
In her remarks on the occasion, Ms Kekere-Ekun acknowledged that technological developments had modified how digital proof was obtained and recorded, making efficient case administration more and more necessary.
She stated continued coaching for judicial officers was serving to to enhance case administration and the administration of justice.
The Senate Committee Chairman on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, Emmanuel Udende, famous that the workshop was well timed given the rising sophistication of economic crimes, notably instances involving politically uncovered individuals.
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He stated the National Assembly would proceed to help the combat towards corruption by way of laws.
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, represented by the Director of Public Prosecution, Rotimi Oyedepo, known as for higher cooperation amongst authorities establishments and different stakeholders.
Mr Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) urged judges and attorneys to use the workshop to enhance their capability to help thorough investigations and diligent prosecutions.
The Administrator of the NJI, Babatunde Adejumo, stated the institute’s partnership with the EFCC had develop into an necessary a part of efforts to strengthen the judiciary’s response to monetary crimes.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede acknowledged that the workshop was an necessary a part of each establishments’ annual programmes.
He stated the fee had recorded vital convictions and monetary recoveries over the previous three years and confused the necessity for recovered funds and property to be managed transparently.
Mr Olukoyede additionally expressed concern that technological developments had been advancing quicker than the authorized instruments accessible to examine and prosecute monetary crimes.
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