EFCC moves to legalise plea-bargaining

Posted by admin EFCC Politics Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has submitted a bill to the National Assembly to legalise the controversial concept of plea-bargaining.

Chairman of the commission, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, made this known on Monday, in a paper delivered at a training programme organised by the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), Abuja branch, in collaboration with Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and Settlement House, held in Abuja.

In a paper delivered on his behalf by the Director of Legal Services, Mrs Elizabeth Ayodele, Lamorde said “it should be noted that except in Lagos State, there is no legal provision in Nigeria directly empowering the prosecution to enter into plea bargaining with persons accused of a crime.

“It is desirable, in view of the controversial nature of plea bargaining and the possibility of abuse inherent therein, to clearly regulate its practice by law. There are steps already being taken in this direction.

“It is worthy to note that there is a draft plea bargaining provision of the Nigerian Administration of Criminal Justice Bill at the National Assembly.”

A source in the commission disclosed to the Nigerian Tribune that the arrangement might be employed in the planned trial in Nigeria of the convicted former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, considering that the plea-bargaining arrangement worked for the prosecution in London.

It was also gathered that two operatives of the commission had been sent to London, following Ibori’s conviction, to have an interface with the London prosecutors.

Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Abuja branch, Afam Osigwe, in his speech, called for the regulation of plea-bargaining, adding that accused should be made to honestly declare their assets before prosecution entered into any bargain with them.

However, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Dahiru Musdapher differed, saying that plea-bargaining amounted to granting undue leniency as reward to criminals for confessing their guilt.

In his speech, delivered by the deputy chief registrar, Ahmed Gambo Saleh, Musdapher said “the concept of plea-bargaining is not only obnoxious as I once described it, but you will see that it had never been part of the history of our legal system, at least until it was surreptitiously smuggled into our statutory laws with the creation of EFCC.”

-Tribunewp_posts