8th September,
2020
PRESS RELEASE:
MURIC ADVOCATES SPECIAL COURTS
FOR CORRUPTION CASES:
Wants Rapists Castrated, Life Jail for
Kidnappers
The
Nigerian Muslim rights group, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has again backed
the call for the introduction of special courts to try corruption cases. This
was sequel to the call made by the Acting Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mr. Umar Abba Mohammed, for the
establishment of Special Courts to try corruption cases.
EFCC’s
Acting Chairman made the call in Abuja on Friday, 4th September,
2020 while receiving members of the Monitoring Committee of the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), who paid him a working visit. MURIC reiterated its
support for special courts for corruption cases on Tuesday, 8th September,
2020 in a release issued by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
“Although
the war on corruption has registered some convictions and scored victory in
some areas, it is very glaring that many cases are being delayed in court
courtesy of legal technicalities. Many certificated kleptomaniacs are still
hiding under the indulging umbrella of legal razzmatazz to delay and
consequently frustrate and escape justice.
“Special
courts will remove such obstacles and ensure that cases are speedily and
efficiently disposed of. We therefore reiterate our call for the establishment
of special courts for trying those who steal public funds. Life imprisonment
and death penalty may appear too radical but that is exactly what will scare
rogues and fraudsters away from the Nigerian political landscape leaving room
for honest and hardworking citizens who nurse a genuine wish to contribute
their own quota to national development.
“Those
who made it impossible for the jamahiir (masses) to enjoy the
dividends of democracy deserve no mercy. Those who rob the masaakiin (poor
citizens) of the opportunity to have access to life more abundant do not
deserve to roam freely on our streets. Those who frustrated all efforts to make
Nigerians enjoy 24-hour power supply but who themselves install four or five
silent and powerful generators in their homes should not be allowed to use
those generators. They should be thrown into dark dungeons and denied access to
both daylight and electricity for life.
“A
special prison should be constructed for those who steal pensioners money. The
inmates of this jail should be in chains 24-7. Rapists should be castrated
while kidnappers should be given long jail terms. This reclassification of
punishments will deter criminally-minded Nigerians.
“We
therefore charge the National Assembly to expedite action on the establishment
of special courts particularly to try corrupt public officials. The present
NASS is on course and it should not relent until it gives Nigeria special
courts. The machinery for enacting a bill on special courts for corruption into
law should be set in motion in the NASS without any delay.
“There is every reason to believe that the executive is ready and
willing. The legislature should play its own role because democracy is all
about separation of powers. It is only when the legislature has done its duty
that the judiciary can make a move. Only then can we add some bite to the war
against graft. Posterity will not forgive any arm of government that fails to
play its own role.
“The
infrastructural development which we see in various places have been made
possible by the fact that Nigeria now has an incorruptible leader. We would not
have been talking of any Abuja metro line, any Mambilla Hydropower project
of 3050 megawatts forty years after it was abandoned,
any Itakpe-Warri-Ajaokuta standard gauge rail line abandoned since 1987,
any Second Niger Bridge and many more.
“Our
assessment is devoid of political sentiment. We are motivated by patriotic zeal
for our beloved country. We will continue to support the war against corruption
because we know that the latter is the bane of development in this country. Our
support will continue even after the exit of President Muhammadu Buhari, the
Father of New Nigeria, and it will be for any leader (regardless of political
leaning) who shows the will to fight corruption the way the current leader is
doing it.”
Professor
Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim
Rights Concern (MURIC)
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