‘My lord, Olanipekun, Dawodu NOT strong to monitor corruption cases in nigeria — group petitions CJN

A civil society group has asked Walter Onnoghen, chief justice of the federation, to reconstitute the Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Trial Monitoring Committee (COTRIMCO).

COTRIMCO has already faced a crisis before take-off, with the designated chairman, Ayo Salami, rejecting the appointment.

He was replaced with Suleiman Galadima, a retired justice of the supreme court.
The Value and Integrity Group (VIG) particularly kicked against the inclusion of Wole Olanipekun, Joseph Daudu, Olisa Agbakoba, Okey Wali and Austin Alegeh, lawyers they accused of not being in a good position to oversee corruption cases.

The 15-member committee is to be inaugurated on Wednesday.

The committee is expected to regularly monitor and evaluate the proceedings of the courts designated to try corruption and other financial and economic crimes in the country.

“In order to avoid allegations of conflict of interest we urge Your Lordship to remove the former and current Presidents of the Nigerian Bar Association from the 15-member Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Trial Monitoring Committee,” the group in a statement sent to reporters.

“If our request is granted Your Lordship may wish to replace them with retired judges of proven integrity. However, if the Committee is not reconstituted Your Lordship should not be surprised if some accused persons decide to file applications objecting to the appearance of the monitors in cases of corruption and other economic and financial crimes to prevent them from intimidating and influencing the trial judges.”