Solicitor-General calls for centralised criminal registry
Punch Pg.7
The Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Beatrice Jedy-Agba, has called for the establishment of a centralised criminal registry to enhance the efficiency of Nigeria’s justice sector.
Speaking at the opening session of a two-day strategic meeting on the Justice Information Management System in Abuja on Monday, Jedy-Agba emphasised the role of technology in addressing inefficiencies in case management.
“We are gathered here today because we recognise that the current state of our justice sector is no longer sustainable. At present, Nigeria lacks a centralised criminal registry. While the Nigeria Police Force is one of the few agencies with a database, its limited accessibility to key stakeholders—such as prosecutors and judges—has created significant barriers to effective justice delivery, particularly during sentencing,” she stated.
Jedy-Agba noted that the absence of a comprehensive National Criminal Registry hampers reliable statistical analyses, leaving many criminal convictions unrecorded.
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Crypto fraud: EFCC arrests 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, 604 others in Lagos
The Nation Pg.4, Daily Trust Pg.4, This Day Pg.26, Tribune Pg.26, the Punch Pg.4&5, Daily Trust Pg.4
One hundred and forty-eight Chinese, 40 Philipinos, two Kharzartans, one Pakistani and one Indonesian are among suspects arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Lagos.
The anti-graft operatives arrested 600 others in a raid on a seven-storey building believed to be a haven for the fraudsters. This house is on 7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island.
The suspects were arrested on December 10 over their alleged involvement in crypto fraud and other cybercrimes, commission’s spokesman Wilson Uwujaren told reporters in Lagos yesterday.
According to Uwujaren, 193 foreign cartel, including Chinese, Arabs, and Filipinos were nabbed when the operatives raided the hideout.
In September, our reporter attempted to access the property known as the ‘Big Leaf Building’ following a tip-off but security personnel at the gate into the estate denied access on the grounds that a resident must confirm any visitor seeking access.
Ex-presidential candidate fined N5m as S’Court dismisses suit against Tinubu
Punch Pg.7
The Supreme Court on Monday imposed a fine of N5m on a former presidential candidate, Ambrose Owuru, for filing what it described as a frivolous and vexatious suit against President Bola Tinubu.
Owuru had approached the apex court, seeking Tinubu’s removal from office under Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution.
In the suit, marked SC/CV/667/2023, Owuru alleged that the President was under the control of foreign authorities.
He contended that Tinubu should be disqualified from office for alleged non-qualification to hold the office of President and alleged usurpation of the Presidency in violation of the law.
He further alleged that Tinubu was an “active agent of the CIA,” which he claimed automatically disqualified him from leading Nigeria.
Court limits ICPC’s powers to freeze accounts
The Punch Pg.30
The Federal High Court in Abuja has reduced the duration for which the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission can freeze suspicious bank accounts to 72 hours.
The court described the provision in the ICPC Act, which allows account freezes for up to one year, as “totally unreasonable” and an overreach of judicial authority.
Delivering the judgment in a suit filed by the Lawyers Network against Corruption, Justice James Omotosho ruled that while citizens’ rights to movable property and bank account privacy are not absolute, granting the ICPC such extensive powers risks abuse.
He remarked, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Ozekhome, Olanipekun hit judiciary
Daily Sun Pg.1&6
A legal luminary, Mike Ozekhome, has carpeted the Nigerian judiciary for allegedly giving judgments in several election matters in the country that are bereft of justice.
Ozekhome stated this at Gregory University Uturu, Abia State, while delivering the ninth convocation lecture of the institution.
Speaking on the theme ‘’Judiciary as the final arbiter of electoral outcomes: Aberrations and judgements without justice,’’ the human rights lawyer regretted that some of the judgments passed on election matters in recent times were without justice.
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