USA Africa Dialogue Series - Before plea bargaining let us down again!

Before plea bargaining let us down again!

KAYODE KETEFE

With the inexorable stance of President Muhammadu Buhari against corruption and his vow not to spare any sacred cow, there are bound to be avalanche of court cases involving past and present public figures. As a matter of fact, the fledgling Dasukigate case which is already spawning direct and indirect accomplices is bound to culminate in the prosecution of some people when the drama fully unfolds.
Therefore, the searchlight of the people are poised to be beamed on the Judiciary for some time to come as the sacred organ issued pronouncements on cases brought before it. While the Nigerian Judiciary may be said to be relatively steadfast and the least organ or institution affected by the virus of corruption in Nigeria, there is no denying the fact that people's confidence in it is no longer what it used to be.
Apart from the apparent interference of the political class, as evinced in Justice Ayo Salami/ Iyorgher Katsina-Alu saga, the way the organ has handled the issue of plea-bargaining in the recent past has left much to be desired.
Let us briefly reflect on some examples.
In the case of the former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, preferred against him in 2005 by the EFCC, Balogun was said to have incorporated some companies to loot the police treasury through bribes and kickbacks on contracts.
He was further alleged to have withdrawn billions of naira fraudulently from these accounts and used same to buy shares, landed properties and foreign currencies.
After some successful session of plea bargaining, the numerous counts of offences against him were collapsed into a 'manageable' eight counts; and despite the fact that a relatively sizeable number of his properties and assets were ordered seized, many commentators nonetheless believe that there was a disconnect between the severity of the offences and the penal consequences.
They added that the judgment was nothing but a mere slap on the wrist. Other famous cases built on plea-bargaining procedure included those of Cecilia Ibru, former Governors Lucky Igbinedion and Diespreye Alamieyeseigha of Edo and Bayelsa states respectively. The case of Igbinedion specifically baffled many observers. He was charged with stealing about N4.4 billion.
But he plea-bargained his way out! In the ruling delivered by a Federal High Court in Enugu, Igbinedion was fined a paltry N3.5 million and ordered to forfeit only three landed properties to the Federal Government.
He paid the fine and walked out a free man. But by far the most egregious case that attracted the public outrage and questions the appropriateness of the notion of plea-bargaining in our criminal justice system was the fallout of the case of an Assistant Director with Police Pension Board, John Yakubu Yusuf. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment with an option of N750, 000 fine for the three-count charge of conspiracy and stealing of N32.8 billion from the pension funds.
The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Talba, also ruled that the convict must forfeit a total of 32 properties to the government. What then happened? Yusuf paid the fine on the spot and breezed out of the courtroom in style as a free man, with a flippant grin on his face!
This judgment deservedly drew vitriolic reactions from numerous commentators. Now, what exactly is plea-bargaining? It is a kind of arrangement where the prosecution enters into some form of compromise agreement with the accused, enabling the latter to plead guilty to some lesser offences than those originally leveled against him.
This is to enable the prosecution secure a faster conviction.
A number of criticisms could be raised against our use of this concept. To start with, it could be said that it indirectly aids corruption by giving 'soft landing' to the accused persons, who would escape the full wrath of the law.
It may also encourage a situation where the accused may steal recklessly, hoping to part with a percentage of the stolen assets in the ensuing plea bargaining while keeping some to be enjoyed after serving a light sentence of imprisonment that may be imposed on him! On the other hand, plea bargaining seems to have some advantages, too!
These include the much-touted expedient prosecution of the accused, which might otherwise take prolonged period. Secondly plea bargaining could lead to substantial recovery of the stolen asset as was the case in the Balogun and Ibru's cases where assets worth hundreds of billions of naira were recovered.
Lastly, plea bargaining tends to ensure certainty of punishment because whenever the accused pleads guilty, conviction will naturally follow. In the developed countries like the United States where plea-bargaining strategy is also used, it is often employed to aid justice rather than to hinder it.
But it is a double-edged sword, if it is not judiciously applied it may undermine administration of justice. Nigerian Judiciary needs to brace up in this kind of time when many alleged corruption cases are imminent to ensure that the doctrine of plea bargaining is not invoked to attenuate the integrity of justice administration. In doing this the letter and spirit of Section 270 of the new Criminal Justice Act must be adhered to.
Section 270 (1) provides inter alia "Under the provision, where the Prosecutor is of the view that the offer or acceptance of a plea bargain is in the interest of justice, the public interest, public policy and the need to prevent abuse of legal process, he may offer or accept the plea bargain."
Section 270(2) also provides "The prosecution may enter into plea bargaining with the defendant, with the consent of the victim or his representative during or after the presentation of the evidence of the prosecution, but before the presentation of the evidence of the defence." This is the first time a National legislation will explicitly make provisions on the concept of plea bargaining.

KETEFE may be followed on twitter @Ketesco

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.