Exemplary trial

He was found to have diverted public funds entrusted in his care for security and defence purposes at the ministry into his portfolio account with Quantum Zenith Securities to buy and trade securities. According to the trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, “This is a classic example of what money laundering does. It is the act of putting dirty money into legitimate business that helps to clean the money...As a global phenomenon, money laundering means cleaning money from unlawful sources to make it look clean and legal”.

Justice Omotosho highlighted the linkage between corruption and the country’s protracted underdevelopment when he asserted that “These monies were probably meant to improve the security situation in the country. Unfortunately, they were siphoned into private pockets. I must say the defendant was ingenious in trying to hide the source of these funds by using shell companies and using friends and associates. However, the diligent investigation of the prosecution was able to link him to the said funds”.

It is just in the same manner that corruption sabotages the country’s development aspirations in diverse sectors, including education, health, infrastructure, agriculture or electricity supply, among others.

It is disturbing that as director of finance and accounts in the ministry, the defendant was able to successfully divert such humongous amount to his criminal private purposes without alarm bells immediately ringing. There would have had to be collusion by a number of other officials down the hierarchy for such large scale infractions to have been committed.

Significantly, a member of the staff who worked under Nwabuoku in the Ministry of Defence, Felix Nweke, and was initially charged with him, later testified as a prosecution witness and this must have been a key factor in the successful prosecution of the case.

Many anti-corruption cases in Nigeria flounder and fail due to lack of diligent investigation and prosecution. We thus join the judge in commending the professionalism and efficiency deployed in the prosecution of this case.

This is most likely why, rather than appeal against the judgement, the defendant and his counsel pleaded for leniency, citing the facts that he was a first offender, advanced in age and had refunded some funds to the government.

In refusing any option of fine and imposing the maximum punishment to run concurrently, the judge demonstrated the seriousness with which cases of corruption should be viewed and penalised.

The relative speed with which this case was heard and finalised indicates that there is no credible reason why so many other corruption cases are characterised by incessant and protracted delays. This is particularly so in cases involving prominent former public office holders who are able to secure the services of senior lawyers adept at employing legal technicalities to stall trials.

The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) surely have a responsibility to check the conduct of their members in this regard.

In the final analysis, judges handling cases must take the blame if they permit the abuse of court processes that enable endless adjournments and frivolous appeals on trite issues to higher courts just to prolong cases and delay justice. The judge should be in full charge of his or her court.

We call on the Minister of Justice and Attorney -General of the Federation to spearhead the process of further strengthening the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) to ensure accelerated hearing of corruption cases since justice delayed is said to be justice denied.