Early discovery of fi-nancial cases, quick trial of suspects and the timely delivery of judgment are measures that will help the Federal Government to check corruption, the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Anti-Corruption, Prof Itse Sagay, has said.
Speaking at a forum organised by the Institute of Directors (IoD) to sensitise directors on how to tackle corruption to promote the growth of their organisations, Sagay said the issue became imperative to ensure transparency and grow the economy.
Others measures, he said, were immediate prosecution of people that are trying to pervert the course of justice, training of members of the judiciary, and reduction of preliminary injunctions by either claimants or defendants, and making judges to know when and how to impose freezing order on assets that are found to be unlawfully acquired.
Sagay said: ‘’We need to start prosecuting people that are compromising judicial process, especially in areas relating to corruption in the society.The President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is seriously against corruption and to complement the government’s actions on the issue, there is the need to put in place measures that would help in reducing the menace. Part of the measures include training and using qualified members of the judiciary to handle such cases, reducing the rates at which cases are been deferred, among others.’’
Sagay said there were cases where people made money illegally, stressing that corrupt practices would reduce when concrete measure are put in place to check them.
He said ordinarily, there could not be more than five adjournments in a case, arguing that it is a different situation in Nigeria as cases are adjourned severally and indefinitely.
‘’There cannot be more than five adjournments in the life span of a case. But it is not in Nigeria,’’ he lamented.
He said the Committee was preparing a roadmap that would enable Nigeria to implement measures that would help reduce corruption.
