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Ken Achufuna, a Nigerian lawyer in Britain, wants the federal government to sanitise the criminal justice system by creating more courts with specific functions as well as recategorise offences and their penalties

Speedy dispensation of cases in courts is achievable  in Nigeria if more courts or   divisions of courts are created to handle specific matters. This is the view of  Ken Achufuna, a Nigerian lawyer practicing law in Britain. He said in Britain, cases are speedily disposed of because not every matter goes straight to the high court. But in Nigeria, “the high courts are overburdened with all sorts of cases from land to contract and even tort. The time has come when we should have courts with specific functions. It will help speed up cases. Again, in terms of procedure, there is still a great need for a reform,” Achufuna told Newswatch from his London base in an interview conducted via the internet.

He said besides the creation of more courts with specific functions, it was also equally important to completely overhaul or reform the laws presently in place in terms of procedure both criminal and civil. Achufuna noted that although some attempts had been made at reforms in the past, such  were not enough and far-reaching. “Let us re-categorise offences and their penalties because law is dynamic and not static,” he advised.

It is never in dispute that most of the laws in the country’s statute books are  anachronistic and archaic. According to Achufuna, “You will note that Nigeria’s laws are derived from the British Common Law. Whereas in the United Kingdom, most of such laws have been revised or even repealed, in Nigeria, you still find  that these laws are still in place. What relevance has a 1960 Act in a 2012 Nigeria? It’s a shame.”

He said it was equally shameful that the legislative arm of the government at the centre is not proactive or  properly harnessed  to enable it to perform the functions of modernising the laws. Achufuna asked; ‘How many private member bills or amendment to the parent laws have been passed by the National Assembly?” To make the national legislature in Nigeria live up to expectation, the human rights lawyer stressed that there  is an urgent need for a re-orientation of the members on the important aspects of law-making. This is what Citizen Rights Lawyering, a non-governmental organisation, NGO, is doing in Britain. The NGO,of which he is the current UK co-ordinator, organises study sessions for members of parliament on the  important aspects of lawmaking. “I think our legislators will benefit from such a forum,” Achufuna told Newswatch.   

On his assessment of the performances of both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices(and other related offences) Commission, ICPC, Achufuna said: “I think that both bodies have tried averagely in a terrain like Nigeria where there is a thriving culture of impunity by public office holders. Without these two anti-corruption bodies, Nigeria would have been very much like a banana republic. I would rate their performance high in respect of financial crimes by individuals but I find their performance dubious regarding crimes by serving or ex- public officers.”

Achufuna recalled that during the chairmanship of Nuhu Ribadu, the EFCC seemed to have discharged its mandate fearlessly although it was often accused of selectivity and double standards. He remarked: “It would appear that those who faced prosecution by the Commission were either ex-public officers or those who were out of favour with the regime in power.” Although constitutional immunity actually protects public officers like the president, vice-president, governor and deputy governor from criminal prosecution, the human rights lawyer is of the opinion that it does not mean that they cannot be investigated. He asked: “How many state governors have been investigated during their tenure? Has any Nigerian serving president been investigated?”

The answer is ‘No’ but Achufuna knows why. “The problem is from the enabling laws of the two anti-corruption bodies. We need to look at the appointment and the dismissal of the personnel of these bodies and more importantly, their funding. Who appoints the head of these agencies? Their enabling laws need an urgent reform. To enable the EFCC and the ICPC to perform their functions impartially, their heads should be appointed by a less partisan arm of government preferably the judiciary (the chief justice of Nigeria) or a neutral body. You have the same problem in the police. The president appoints the inspector general of police, IGP, presumably on the recommendation of the police council. But has any  president been investigated by the police in the history of Nigeria? Although the president is immune from prosecution, he is not immune from investigation,” he explained.

Asked why corrupt public officers in Nigeria easily pass through the legal net unlike the situation in Britain, Achufuna said the problem could emanate from the quality of evidence presented to the courts against them. He stressed: “To secure a conviction in any jurisdiction, the evidence must be strong. The standard of proof in criminal matters is, of course, proof beyond reasonable doubt. I do know that before the Crown Prosecution Service recommends prosecution in any case, the evidence must be very strong. Confronted with overwhelming evidence, most convicts would usually choose the lesser option of pleading ‘guilty’ and getting a light sentence than pleading ‘not guilty’ and getting a severe sentence when eventually convicted.”

In the case of Nigeria, he said: “ May be in the system here, the evidences  presented to the courts are not very strong…May be also it is not very easy to procure the requisite evidence in Nigeria.”