Nigeria’s Attorney General Sets Up Panel To Handle High Profile Corruption Cases

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), has directed various Federal Government agencies with powers to prosecute crimes to compile list of pending cases they are currently handling.

The AGF said the National Prosecution Coordination Committee should collate the cases and issue advice to him on what action to take with respect to the cases.

The Special Adviser to the AGF on Media and Publicity, Mr. Salihu Isah, who doubles as the spokesperson for the NPCC, said this in a statement on Tuesday.

Isah said the minister met with the various relevant agencies of the Federal Government in his office on Monday.

He listed agencies, whose representatives were present at the meeting, to include the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission and the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

Isah said the meeting with the agencies was organised “with a view to briefing them on the exigency and existence of the committee and to fashion out a working synergy between the committee and the agencies.”

He said Malami’s message was read by the Special Assistant to the President on Research and Special Project attached to the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Sylvester Imhanobe, who informed the agencies of the objectives for setting up the prosecution committee.

The statement read in part, “The AGF explained that for a case to be tagged high-profile, it must have overriding public interest elements, but that, ultimately, he determines what case is tagged a high-profile case.

“He added that sometimes, the quantum of value of a case and its sensitivity also influence whether a case is a high-profile case or not.

“According to him, members of the committee are mainly his aides as well as eight external members selected on the basis of experience and expertise, stressing that heads of Agencies are not part of the NPCC due to their busy schedules.

“Malami also hinted that the intention is not to distract the heads of these agencies, but rather to engender smooth synergy between the committee and the agencies.”