Nigerian Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has recommended that Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) adopt the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) model in corruption investigations.
Fagbemi suggested that these agencies should complete thorough investigations before making arrests.
According to Vanguard, at the Food and Energy Security in Africa Conference held in Lagos, Fagbemi stated that the FBI approach, where investigations are conducted discreetly before action is taken, is one that Nigeria’s anti-corruption bodies should emulate.
He explained, “My attitude has always been that when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, or the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, is investigating anybody, I prefer the FBI model of the institution.”
Fagbemi further elaborated that the FBI operates in secrecy during investigations, only revealing actions when they are ready to make a move.
“When they call at your doorstep, you have to open the door. Your rights are there,” he said.
“You call your, like they say in America, your attorney,” he added. “You call your attorney, but I bet you what you will ask your attorney to do is to reduce your sentence, to negotiate how your sentence will be reduced. When they are doing it, nobody hears anything.”`
The Attorney General emphasized that media trials before investigations are completed should be discouraged, calling for a more civilized approach to fighting corruption.
He noted, “If you don’t hear that anybody has been arrested, if you don’t hear that anybody has been invited, it is not because actions are negative and not going on. It’s just that I believe that that is a more civilized approach of waging war against corruption.”
Fagbemi also highlighted the impact of social media on corruption cases, saying, “This issue of social media, they would have bastardized and abused the suspects before the truth came out.”
He urged that corruption officials be held accountable but without compromising their legal rights.
The minister acknowledged the global nature of corruption, adding, “Corruption is everywhere in the world… it exists in Europe, in Asia,” but reassured that the Nigerian government is working hard to address it.
He cited key legislation, such as the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and the Corruption Act 2022, as steps toward curbing corruption.
Fagbemi pointed to the success of the anti-corruption agencies, noting that nearly 4,000 convictions were secured in 2022.
“Combating corruption is one of government’s priorities, and that’s why government has been doing it,” he said.
He also stressed that the EFCC and ICPC are focusing more on prevention without neglecting their work on addressing corruption.
On the issue of conflicting judicial decisions, Fagbemi reassured the public that technology is being implemented to address the problem, ensuring that the judicial process becomes more predictable.
He explained, “When cases are filed, numerous cases are filed almost simultaneously across all the divisions of the court.
“This one does not know what is going on there. So that accounts for that. But with technology that is being put in place, if any decision has been rendered along a particular area of the law, then it is easy to detect.”