EFCC AND THE PURSUIT OF JUSTICE THAT RESTORES

The number 1 objective of the EFCC should be to investigate and prosecute cases of financial crimes.  In achieving this objective,  it's negotiation strategy should be proactive and not reactive. 

They should be interested in taking suspects to court and ensuring that the courts find them guilty or discharge them when not guilty.

If they have done their due diligence  and investigated thoroughly, why do they always offer suspects the option of refunding money?  What idea of justice is that?

I once read a book by a former aide of President Nixon who was involved in Watergate Scandal.  The title of the Book is JUSTICE THAT RESTORES by Charles Colson.

Charles  Colson served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973. Once known as President Nixon's "hatchet man," Colson became popular for his involvement in the Watergate scandal, for which he  became popular  as one of the Watergate Seven, and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for attempting to defame Pentagon Papers defendant Daniel Ellsberg.

In 1974, he served seven months in the federal Maxwell Prison in Alabama as the first member of the Nixon administration to be incarcerated for Watergate-related charges.

One important thing about the experience is the justice administration in that country called the United States.  Even though the man served his time according to the law and spirit of justice,  he,  whilst serving his jail term saw people who were unjustly sentenced and he pretty much turned that into his life purpose and lived it through going all over the world with the message before he died in 2012 at the age of 80.

He founded the Prison Fellowship which later became Prison Fellowship International just three years after starting it in America. 

In his book mentioned above,  he talked about justice that restores the man and make him whole,  whilst reconciling him with victim and the society.

For every case,  he stated,  there is the Offender,  Offended and the society.  His ministry and purpose was to ensure that the offender,  where possible,  meets with the offended,  apologizes for his sins and is reintegrate into the society as a whole new being. 

It is a fantastic book which changed my perspective about the concept of justice. In the end,  justice is not to pluck the eye of everyone who has plucked an eye,  but to restore all back to their wholeness for the betterment of humanity. 

Unfortunately,  security agencies in  Nigeria, particularly  the EFCC,   appears to be in cahoots with criminals and suspects,  preferring to ameliorate the sufferings of the Offender,  increase the woes of the offended,  whilst given the society a pseudojudicial experience through what it calls Plea Bargain. 

The Idea of Plea Bargain,  even though I am not a lawyer,  appears to be intended differently than the way the courts and the security agencies are using it in Nigeria. 

Plea bargain is basically an agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a particular charge in return for some concession from the prosecutor.

On many occasions,  the federal Government and security agencies will claim to have ample evidence on a public servant of politicians crime but will still go ahead and agree to a plea bargain deal. The question I always ask my lawyer friends is why? 

I can't seem to understand why you will grant anybdeal that drastically reduces the penalty on a person who stole monies meant to be used for all the citizens.  Particularly  in a dangerously poor country like Nigeria,  punishment will go a long way to discourage citizens from taking to corruption as a means of survival or a way of life. 

The first thing the EFCC asked Ayo Fayose,  former Governor of Ekiti State who is presently in the care of the agency is to refund 1.2 Billion Naira. And that got me thinking about the approach of the agency  as well as its intention.

Our security agencies must be given a new mandate with a view to ensuring that people who are suspected to have stolen public finds are immediately taken to court,  provided the evidence is good enough,  whilst we ensure that our justice system aligns with the  principles of justice that restores. 

A. M. O

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