Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at the weekend faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s approach to fighting corruption in Nigeria, saying that the war against corruption being prosecuted lacks proper strategy. He identified inadequate funding of prosecution as one of the impediments of proper prosecution of corruption cases.
National Dailylearned that Agbakoba in a media interaction emphasised that said the government needs about N5 billion to prosecute cases, noting that fighting corruption is not just about prosecuting cases in court.
Agbakoba had declared: “We must have a strategy on tackling corruption, and it is not just about court cases. Once that strategy is in place, then, you unbundle the strategy and unpack it and make sure that it fits into whatever relevant packet.
“From the judicial arm and prosecution, the government has to fund corruption cases.
“I expect the government to put down at least N5 billion. You just can’t pay lawyers N30,000 and expect that they fight corruption cases for you.
“You must fund prosecution, it is key; It is beyond the Ministry of Justice. They need outside assistance. So you must be prepared to put down the budget to fight those cases, you must strengthen the prosecutorial process.”