criminal suspects.
Presenting a paper on Wednesday at the 2019 law week of the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA), Epe branch, Lagos state, Falana said Nigeria operates
a double criminal justice system, one for the rich and the other for the
poor.
The senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said corrupt politicians and some
senior lawyers have hijacked the criminal justice system, working
together to frustrate the effective prosecution of corruption cases
pending in several courts.
Falana urged “progressive lawyers” to team up with other patriotic
forces to promote equal justice system in the country.
“Apart from two former governors, namely Messrs Joshua Dariye and Jolly
Nyame, the list of convicted persons is made of lowly-placed individuals
in the society,” Falana said.
“Owing to abuse of court process, rich defendants have continued to
frustrate their prosecution with the connivance of some senior lawyers.
“By virtue of section 17 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as
amended), every citizen shall have equality of rights, obligations and
opportunities before the law. But in practice, the rich and poor
defendants are not treated equally by Nigerian courts. Apart from the
fact that rich litigants have the means to hire the services of the best
lawyers in any area of the law, the courts are manned by judges who are
not neutral in the class struggle being waged daily by the Nigerian
people.
“Notwithstanding that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) has been accused by the bourgeois media of engaging in Gestapo
tactics with respect to the treatment of suspects, it cannot be denied
that the rights of influential criminal suspects are well respected by
the commission.
“The big men and women implicated in allegations of serious economic
crimes being investigated by the commission usually receive polite
letters of invitation, telephone calls or text messages advising them to
contact named investigators whose telephone numbers are supplied.”
Falana said rich suspects always apply to be kept in EFCC’s cells since
they are much more comfortable than police and prison cells.
“If and whenever influential criminal suspects report themselves they
are treated with utmost courtesy by the investigators. Since they are
presumed innocent until they are proved guilty by the State they are
never paraded before the media, regardless of the gravity of the offence
committed by them,” Falana said.
“Unlike what obtains in western countries it is infra dignitate to
subject big men and women to the restraint of handcuff in Nigeria.
Hence, hell was let loose when a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic
Party on trial for money laundering was recently handcuffed by the Kuje
prison authorities.
“A few years ago, the Olusegun Obasanjo administration apologized in
writing to a former police chief who was handcuffed by the EFCC while he
was on trial for money laundering and corrupt practices to the tune of
N17 billion.”