Justice Ayo Salami warns Nigerian govt against engaging private lawyers in corruption cases

A former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, has
warned against the practice of engaging private legal practitioners in
the prosecution of corruption-related cases by the federal government.

Salami said that whereas lawyers from the government chambers show
more commitment because of their career and other factors, private
lawyers are more concerned about the legal fees.

He spoke at a seminar organised by the Presidential Advisory Committee
Against Corruption (PACAC) in conjunction with Centre for Socio-Legal
Studies (CSLS).

The former Court of Appeal President, who noted that when it is
inevitable for government to engage private lawyers in such cases, the
government should ensure that the lawyer is not from the same state or
region as the defendant to avoid compromise.

"The practice of appointing private practitioners to handle
corruption-related cases should be discouraged as the standard of
proof in civil matters is on the 'balance of probability' while in
criminal cases, the standard is 'proof beyond reasonable doubt'.

"The Supreme Court recently held that at trial, where evidence is
readily available but not called, a prima facie case would not have
been made out against the accused.

"Consequently, the Attorney General of the Federation should be
meticulous in the selection of prosecuting lawyers and only
professionals who have garnered experience over the years with
specialty in criminal litigation should be assigned corruption related
cases," he said.

Speaking further, Salami recommended that the Attorney General of the
Federation (AGF) through its Department of Public Prosecution (DPP)
should be "exclusively saddled with the responsibility of handling
corruption related cases as they have their careers at stake as
against appointing private practitioners who have nothing to lose and
whose interest is simply the earning of their fees".

"However, where it becomes inevitable to appoint private practitioners
to prosecute serving and past public office holders, particularly
governors, the prosecutor retained to handle the case should not come
from the same state as the accused," he said.

Salami further advocated the removal of the office of the DPP from
under the AGF and guarantee the security of their tenure if the war on
corruption must produce result.