Supreme Court's acquittal of Bode George, others questionable – Falana

Lawyer and human rights activist, Chief Femi Falana (SAN,) has faulted the  judgement of the Supreme Court which discharged and acquitted a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George.

According to a statement by Falana on Sunday, the verdict was questionable because it was based on wrong legal foundation.

He also blasted the Nigerian justice system for its penchant to dismiss corruption cases on the altar of technicalities.

In his view, public affairs commentators ought to dwell more on this ill that always focusing  on  the lack of commitment of the Goodluck Jonathan administration to the anti-corruption crusade.

He believes that commentators and analysts ought to pay enough attention  to what happened in the court.

The Supreme Court  had in the penultimate week  freed George and five other accused persons who were earlier  convicted by a high court and the Court of Appeal on the ground that the offence of contract splitting which they were accused of was unknown to law at the time the appellants were tried and convicted by the Lagos court.

George had done the prison term for the offence and has been out since three years.

Falana disagreed with the Supreme Court  judgement, saying that George and his co-accused persons were charged for abuse of power, as well as disobedience to lawful order and not contract splitting as held by the Supreme Court.

He said, 'It is submitted, without any fear of contradiction, that the appellants were not charged for contract splitting by the Economic and Financial Commission but for ‘abuse of powers’ and ‘disobedience to lawful order’ contrary to sections 104 and 203 of the Criminal Code of Lagos State respectively. Since both sections have been part of the Criminal Code as far back as 1914 it is unbelievable that the Supreme Court held that the appellants were charged under an unknown law.'

Falana said he was compelled to raise issues with judgement because of its significance to the fight against corruption in the country.

. 'However, while congratulating the appellants for removing the stigma of infamy from their names it cannot be denied that the outcome of the case has serious implications for the anti-corruption crusade,' he added.

He  said, 'As the verdict of the apex court was based on wrong legal foundation its validity remains questionable.

Although the appellants have been exculpated it is hoped that the Supreme Court will soon have another opportunity to reverse the highly erroneous judgment so as to restore sections 104 and 203 of the Lagos State Criminal Code which were struck down for no justifiable legal reasons.

'The case of Chief Bode George & co. should not be treated in isolation as the decision of the Supreme Court is an expression of class solidarity. Perhaps, majority of Nigerians are not aware of the fact that out of the over 400 convictions which the EFCC has secured in the 10 years of its existence only four members of the political class have been successfully prosecuted through dubious plea bargain deals.

'Therefore, instead of wasting the meagre resources allocated to the anti graft agencies on securing convictions which are going to be set aside in favour of members of the ruling class it is high time the Federal Government stopped harassing petty criminals who are usually railroaded to jail by Nigerian courts'.

Falana maintained that  'the crime of disobedience to lawful order by splitting contracts was not unknown before the enactment of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

In this case, contract splitting was a particular of the offence and not the offence alleged against the appellants.

'But for some inexplicable reasons, the apex court substituted the particular for the offence and arrived at a wrong conclusion.

The Court of Appeal had rightly held that the appellants violated sections 104 and 203 of the Criminal Code when they awarded contracts beyond their approval limits which were “borne out by evidence from all the witnesses on both sides”.

Observing that the country's justice system was responsible for government's frailty in tackling graft, Falana said, 'In criticising the lack of commitment of the Goodluck Jonathan Administration to the anti-corruption crusade commentators have often failed to pay sufficient attention  to the penchant of Nigerian courts to dismiss corruption cases on the alter of technicalities.

'It is on record that many corruption cases filed against members of the ruling class by the anti graft agencies have been dismissed in the last few weeks on flimsy grounds. On the contrary, the courts have had no difficulty in convicting petty criminals and sentencing to long terms of imprisonment for stealing telephone handsets, bush meat, tubers of yam etc on account of poverty.

In reviewing the anti corruption war therefore the class character of the nation’s neo-colonial legal system should always be taken into consideration'.

Listing corruption cases wrongfully decided by the courts to free corrupt public officers, Falana said, 'Last month, the case involving the missing hundreds of millions of naira from the Universal Basic Education Fund was struck out by the Federal High Court.

A fortnight ago, the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal struck out the criminal case filed against some bank chiefs by the EFCC on the ground that the Lagos State High Court lacks the jurisdiction to try them for allegedly stealing billions of Naira through the manipulation of the capital market.

'On December 13, 2013 the Federal Capital Territory High Court struck out the charge of stealing land filed by the EFCC against Mr. Nasir  El-Rufai when it upheld his no case submission while  the Supreme Court discharged and acquitted Chief Olabode George and other former members of the Nigeria Ports Authority on the ground that the offence of contract splitting was unknown to law at the material time'.