Former consultant on strategic communications to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Kenny Okolugbo, has blamed Nigeria’s judiciary for slowing down the fight against corruption, calling for the establishment of special courts to handle corruption cases.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Wednesday, Okolugbo said accountability efforts in the country would continue to fail unless corruption trials are fast-tracked through specialised courts.
He argued that many high-profile cases are stalled for years due to prolonged interlocutory appeals and delayed investigations.
Okolugbo cited his personal experience with a case that has remained at the interlocutory appeal stage since 2013 without resolution.
Comparing the current administration with the Buhari era, Okolugbo said he was encouraged by the prosecution of former Buhari-era ministers, noting that such actions lend credibility to anti-corruption.
He said: “So I think the bottom line of this case is that there must be a special court for corruption trial to bring people accountable. Because you see, most of the cases you talk about and accountability we talk about, it’s judiciary that should actually be on trial.
“I talked about the case I have, for example, an interlocutory appeal has been on since 2013 and it has not been decided, not even the final appeal.
“And so when you’re talking about these institutions, ICPC, for example, in 2020 also indicted Bala Mohamed for having acquired a school somewhere when he was a minister. It couldn’t put him on trial because he had become governor. That case is pending.
“Someone sent me an inbox to say he doesn’t like the way I defend the fight against corruption on this administration. I look at the facts that are before us in terms of comparison with the Buhari administration, and I’m happy that a lot of the Buhari ministers are being called to trial, because then when we’re in opposition and we’re talking about these things, it was like we were crying foul.
“And so, the major reason of accountability is that you have to use people as critical example. If you look at it, it’s only Dariye and Nyame, the former governors of Platueu and Taraba, that have been actually held to book in the series of all the trials of politically exposed people.
“When you blackmail the institutions, for example, you make it difficult for them to move forward, and it becomes difficult.
“For example, Malami had been the chief law officer of this country for eight years. Eight good years. You can’t tell a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, in the person of Malami what the law says, but he has an alleged infractions against him.
“And what he says is that there is a report which was not gazetted, and that EFCC is trying to use that as a weapon, instead of defending himself against those allegations that have now been filed in court.
“So I think basically the truth about it is that there must be a special court established. If you don’t establish a special court, the accountability issue in this country will continue.
“Don’t forget, I was a commissioner. Before I was sworn in, I filled my asset declaration form. One of the things that are done by the ICPC is they tell you to fill asset declaration form, because they want to see what you have acquired by the time you’re leaving office. But you don’t take it seriously because it’s not being enforced.”
