Second term for Goodluck Jonathan would have spelt doom for Nigeria - Itse Sagay

Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), has said that former President Goodluck Jonathan been re-elected last year, Nigeria could have either been facing the economic crisis similar to that of Zimbabwe or disintegrated. He also noted that a special court to try special offences, including corruption, would soon be established.

Sagay made the disclosure on May 5, 2016 while highlighting the roles of the PCAC and its mandate in the anti-corruption war of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s  administration. He noted that his  committee had completed a draft for the establishment of special court.

He spoke at the Abuja Anti-Corruption Summit organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice in conjunction with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa and ONE Africa.

The summit was organised to propose and harmonise various anti-corruption positions which the Nigerian delegation to be led by President Buhari should canvass at the forthcoming 2016 International Anti-Corruption Conference billed to hold in London on May 12.

The conference which is to be attended by some world leaders is to be hosted by the British Prime Minister, David Cameron.

Speaking at the pre-conference summit held in Abuja on Thursday, Sagay said the draft for the establishment of special court to try special offences such as corruption and kidnapping had been completed but still needed to pass through the required legal processes.

“Also we have completed a draft on special crimes court. It is very comprehensive. These courts, when finally the draft goes through all the legal processes, will have jurisdiction over economic and financial crimes, corruption cases, narcotic drug cases, money laundering cases and cybercrime cases. That is the proposal.

“There will be special courts and they will have advantage of speed in dealing with cases. So all together, as a committee, our aim, target and objective is to create institutions in which all corruption cases will see effective investigation, effective prosecution, speedy adjudication and effective sanctions and we hope that at the end of our work long after we have left the scene result of what we have done will be permanent and will be positive in the whole administration of criminal justice system.”

He said the call for return of corruption which he associated with the Jonathan administration smacked of a “perverse mentality,” he said.

He added that: “The unrestrained level of looting and brigandage” that occurred under the Jonathan administration and the “sharp drop in petroleum prices from $140 at one stage to $30 per barrel as it is now, it is no surprise that the Nigerian economy lies completely prostrate…”