The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), has said there will be no plea bargain for those charged with corruption cases. He also said the federal government had put in place a formidable team of public prosecutors to take on the  government’s anti­corruption war at various courts in the country Malami made the disclosure yesterday when the BringBackOurGirls campaign
movement visited him at his office in Abuja. The BringBackOurGirls group, which had championed the call on the federal goverment to secure the release of over 200 Chibok school girls who were abducted from their school in Borno State in April 2014, was at the minister’s office to engage him on securing the girls’ freedom from captivity. The AGF restated President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to bring all perpetrators of corrupt practices that led to the heightened insurgency to book. “We have put in place a national prosecution team that comprises all stakeholders for the purpose of prosecuting the charges presented before the courts. “The committee will be saddled with the responsibility of preferring the relevant
charges and ensuring that charges are preferred in line with the dictates of the law without compromise,” he said. The nation’s chief law officer noted that corruption cases under past administrations in the country were deliberately compromised during investigation in order to pave the way for criminal suspects to escape the long arm of the law. Malami however assured the group that steps had been taken to audit such cases with a view to bringing the culprits to justice. “It is not just about having a team that will be prosecuting but ensuring that the relevant audit is taken as it relates to previous prosecutions to ensure that those that are found wanting are brought to book, and then the future of prosecution in this country is further enhanced by having in place an effective legal team that will involve legal drafters for efficient drafting of charges. “In addition, there will be efficient investigators that will ensure that adequate proof of evidence that will establish the required ingredients of an offence are put in place, and competent prosecutors that will ensure that the required evidence is presented before the relevant courts for the purpose of establishing. On the issue of plea bargains as raised by the convener of the group, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, the AGF expressed his abhorrence for the policy and pledged the government’s commitment not to compromise the fight against terrorism and financial crimes.
“I cannot imagine someone being responsible for monumental deaths of our citizens and then going scot­free arising from a plea bargain as a policy.
“It has never been the policy of the government to compromise on terrorism and financial crimes. It will never be tolerated by the office of the AGF,” he said.
He described the abduction of the schoolgirls as “tormenting and psychologically traumatisisng” for the nation. “It is tragic for a nation to have a budget meant for arms procurement for the protection of lives and property of the citizens, and ends up not having the arms but compromising the process of making adequate provisions for the protection of lives of its citizens. “The government of President Muhammadu Buhari has demonstrated sufficient skills and commitment to the protection of lives and property within the shortest practicable time of coming into existence, it has recorded tremendous success including confronting terrorists in Sambisa forest head on with the hope of rescuing the Chibok girls,” he stated.
The minister reassured the group of the government’s commitment to secure the girls’ freedom from captivity. Earlier, the group’s convener and former Minister of Education told the AGF that the inefficient governance of the immediate past government was largely responsible for the tragedy of the Chibok girls. She recalled that since the advocacy for the Chibok girls began in April 2014, no concrete step was taken by the ex­President Goodluck Jonathan administration to secure the safe return of the girls. “In the movement, we over time realised that it was the failure of governance
that resulted in the abduction of the Chibok girls and that corruption was the key obstacle to the rescue of the girls. “To that effect, we believe that in recent times and the revelations that have followed, it is clear that there is a lot your office must do in order to establish a framework that assures Nigerians that every bad behaviour that took place and facilitated the abduction of the girls and every bad behaviour that impeded their rescue must be fully prosecuted. “The matter of disclosure of the Presidential Taskforce report on the factfinding mission into the veracity of the abduction is key and urgent. “This will put paid to the saying by some people that the Chibok girls’ abduction is a scam. How can the tragedy of the Chibok girls be a scam when the government under which it happened instituted an inquiry into it, and there are parents who are crying that their children are not yet back? “Their children are still with the terrorists and their fellow citizens dare to call their experience a scam? The government owes it a duty to the girls under captivity, their parents, to the community of Chibok, the movement and to all well­meaning Nigerians that the report be transparently disclosed in its entirety so we will know what exactly made it possible for our Chibok girls to have been abducted,” Ezekwesili said.
In a related development, the legislature has, in the light of recent scandals rocking arms purchase in the country, vowed to ensure that the money
appropriated to the defence and security sector is well utilised through strict oversight of the sector. This was stated yesterday by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, Senator Ahmad Lawan, during the commissioning of projects at the National Defence College’s (NDC) permanent site in Piwoyi, Abuja. Lawan said the legislature would partner with the executive arm of government to ensure that whatever is appropriated to the military is given to it. He commended the NDC and military authorities for the effective management of the resources allocated for the funding of the projects, which he said were worth every naira spent on them at the college. “What I have seen going round and the four projects the Minister of Defence has commissioned means that the president, the minister and NDC have thought out well. “I urge that the military be given a conducive environment to do their work and there is no better time than now. They need all the support and I also think that with the N1.2 billion expended on the projects, the government has received value for its money. “For us in the National Assembly, I think we need to be in partnership and
collaboration with the executive arm of government. We will ensure that whatever is appropriated to the armed forces is given to them.
“We cannot allow what happened in the past to take place because the strength, progress and unity of this country is largely dependent on her armed
forces. “This is one project, we will continue to ensure its continuity until it is completed,” he stated. In his remarks, Minister of Defence, Mr. Mansur Muhammad Dan­Ali, assured those present that the federal government would strive to provide the critical inputs for the armed forces to carry out their constitutional mandate. Dan­Ali said: “We shall provide critical infrastructure in the military as well as the much needed operational platform, hardware and equipment, technologies, arms and ammunition, kits and uniforms. “We shall also support viable, contingent and long­term human resource development including operational and professional military education to lift the operational confidence of our servicemen.
“We shall support the development of measures to emplace sustainable welfare, motivation and morale of our servicemen now and in the future.” Commenting on the increasing clashes between the military and the civilian populace, he also promised to “promote measures to enable effective civilmilitary relations, so that the military may constantly draw moral support from the government, the people and significant stakeholders such as the media”. Dan­Ali expressed satisfaction that the permanent site of the college, which he noted was on the verge of being abandoned, and its associated physical master plan, were part of the strategic national vision to position the NDC as a foremost and internationally recognised institution for teaching and research in defence, security and strategic studies. “In all these years, these projects suffered the real hazards associated with the
fluctuating government revenues, budgetary challenges and irregular funding  patterns and also faced the risk of abandonment. “It is therefore gratifying that after such a journey, the projects have been successfully completed and is being commissioned today,” he said

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Tags : Plea bargain, treasury looters