LESS than 24 hours after the anti-graft agencies lost their muscle to prosecute suspects, the tune changed yesterday.
The President said on Monday that the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, should supervise all agencies involved in the prosecution of corruption offences who must refer cases to be prosecuted to him. The stand changed suddenly yesterday.
The powers vested in the minister by President Yar’Adua, according to Mr Aondoakaa, does not mean an interference with the work of the agencies.
The agencies that are under the Minister’s purvey include the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Aondoakaa said in Abuja that there was no reason for anyone to get apprehensive over the new supervisory role, adding that it will be wrong for people to assume that the supervisory role he has over the anti-corruption agencies will translate to protecting some people.
Aondoakaa vowed not interfere in the activities of the agencies unless he finds very good reason to do so.
His words: "The message is very clear. There is no hiding place for any corrupt politician. I do not intend to create any impediment on the work of any of the agencies that had inherent powers to their statutes to initiate prosecution. For the avoidance of doubt, I have said that they can proceed as if, except I have good reason to intervene."
A source said last night that the presidency changed its mind following Chief of Staff Major-Gen. Abdullahi Mohammed’s intervention.
The President, The Nation learnt, called a meeting of Government Secretary Babagana Kingibe, ICPC chairman Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, EFCC Chief Nuhu Ribadu, Dr Wale Babalakin, a lawyer and the Attorney-General, who was opposed at the meeting.
It was resolved that EFCC can prosecute, the source said.
The Attorney-General also said that the supervisory role granted him by the President was in line with the 1999 Constitution.
Aondoakaa noted that after examining all the relevant laws of the EFCC and other related agencies, "the powers vested in them to initiate and continue prosecution will continue. The reason is that nobody should think that those supervisory powers given to me are meant to protect anybody. There should be zero tolerance for corruption".
"To that effect, this is the way that I will exercise those powers. The EFCC, ICPC and other agencies that have those constitutional powers enacted in them will proceed and initiate proceedings immediately against any person who has violated those laws. They should proceed immediately without reverting to me in consonance with the relevant powers granted to them by the statutes creating them. They should do it in conformity with rights created under the constitution."
The important issue, according to him, "is to take somebody to court promptly, to arraign the person to a court of law within 48 hours; not to detain the person indefinitely. They will now detain and arraign within 48 hours. They will continue, but as it deemed to be granted by me.
"Secondly, in the course of the prosecution which they will initiate independent of me, if I have good reasons to believe that they are not carrying out prosecution in conformity with the constitution, we will exercise the right of the Attorney-General under the constitution to take over the case or even discontinue where the facts permit.
"That is, they will proceed with the case as their statutes permit them but they should do it in accordance with the constitution that states take somebody to court within 48 hours. And where they are carrying out the prosecution, they should do it in accordance with the Constitution. Where they do not and there is good ground for me to believe that they are not doing it and I do not have any reason to believe that they will not do it, they will do it in accordance with the constitution."
His intervention, he said, would be "as a last resort. I will continue to exercise my supervisory powers to see that all agencies involved in the prosecution of criminal cases under the statutes created by the Act of the National Assembly are done in conformity with the constitution."
