By Editor

*Says Adegboruwa’s claim is without substance *Says petitioning LPDC by NBA shall be in breach of his right to fair hearing

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has refuted the statement by a human rights lawyer, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), that the AGF’s office under Malami was fond of creating panels arbitrarily was false.

Adegboruwa has during the meeting of the National Executive Council of the Nigerian Bar Association regarding the raid of the home of the Supreme Court Justice, Mary Peter-Odili, noted that Malami’s office had constituted several panels drawn from security agencies, which act without the force of law.

He stated that the ugly trend would soon be brought to an end once investigations by the NBA were concluded.

“This unfortunate incident has thrown up a challenge to the NBA and lawyers to X-ray the activities of the AGF and we have agreed to set up an independent body to really investigate each occurrence of these ad hoc panels that seem to be exercising judicial powers without any law setting them up and without any laid down procedures that you can use to checkmate the arbitrariness of these so-called panels and recovery bodies under the AGF.

“So, I am sure that by the time our panel comes up with its report, we will inform Nigerians of the outcome of our exercise, but I can assure you that the days of these panels are numbered. I can assure you that somebody is going to be held accountable for the mess created by these amorphous panels that have no statutory backing or law setting them up.” he said

However, in reaction, AGF said the spokesman for the AGF, Dr Umar Gwandu, said Adegboruwa’s claim that the AGF’s office under Malami was fond of creating panels arbitrarily was without substance. In fact, according to the AGF, no such thing as assets recovery panel exists.

“The onus is now on he who asserts to prove. It is tantamount to conjectures and fabrications for someone, who is expected to be learned, to be uttering statements devoid of substance. It is a great disservice to the proposition positing if one could not substantiate claims with convincing proofs and clear examples. Was there any assets recovery panel set up by the AGF? Absolutely, there is none” he said

Reiterating his position that there is no assets recovery panel in the office of the AGF, Malami said “In what ways are panels, if any, set up by the attorney general of the federation and chief law officer, whose mandates and responsibility to serve the public interest are constitutionally guaranteed, becomes unlawful to the extent of carrying out extrajudicial operations. It is abundantly clear that there is nothing called the Assets Recovery Panel in the office of the AGF.

“Those who went to concoct a name using deceitful letterhead and apparently mischievous email and location address can go to any length, including forging a signature of government officials.”

He described as preemptive the resolution by NBA NEC to petition him to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC because according to him, relevant agencies are already investigating the matter. He said going ahead to petition him will also be in breach if his right to fair hearing and presumption of innocence.

“Members of the committee will not be dancing to the tune of mischief makers to satisfy the whimsical aspersions of certain individuals.

“By saying ‘to take action against the AGF’ makes it confusingly pre-emptive, antithetical to doctrines of fair hearing and presumption of innocence, prejudicial, conclusive and does not give any room for further investigation at a time when the matter is being investigated by relevant agencies.” Malami said.