As high profile corruption cases rock the nation, opinion is divided on the desirability or otherwise of plea bargain. Plea bargain is enshrined in Section 14(2) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act of 2004. The section provides inter alia: “The Commission may compound any offence punishable under this Act by accepting such sums of money as it thinks fit, not exceeding the amount of the maximum fine to which that person would have been liable if he had been convicted of that offence.”
According to legal experts, plea bargain may take the form of a charge bargain in which the accused pleads guilty to a lesser charge or a sentence bargain in which the accused agrees to plead guilty to the charge in exchange for a light sentence. Mr Okey Wali, the President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), said that the use of plea bargain, as a concept in the court of law in Nigeria, was legal. He said that in spite of the fears that plea bargain had contributed to increased rate of corruption in the country; it had a lot of benefits, if properly applied by judges. “Plea bargain is legal. It is its applicability or practice that is a problem in Nigeria. “There are some provisions of our law like the EFCC Act and our Common Law Practice that make provision for it,” he said.
Wali said that plea bargain had several advantages if properly applied, adding that it could help judges to verify facts about criminal charges. He also said that it could save the cost of prolonged investigations into criminal matters. “If practised in its real sense in Nigeria, as it is practised in other jurisdictions of the world, plea bargain will help in verifying facts on criminal acts, as well as save cost. “Judges can do a lot with the evidence of a man that pleads to the fact that he actually committed a crime. “Judges can equally use the evidence supplied to prosecute those that are part of a crime and are denying it. “It is not a bad thing itself, what is bad is its applicability in this county,” he added.
The NBA president underscored the need to strengthen all relevant institutions charged with responsibilities of applying plea bargain. “The NBA has always advocated strong judicial institutions that will ensure proper judicial procedures. “If we have institutions and people who are ready to go by the rules, the use of plea bargain will help in judicial processes. “However, reverse is the case, where institutions charged with these responsibilities are weak and cannot apply the provisions of the law appropriately,” Wali added.
However, Chief Akin Olujimi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said that plea bargain could mar the objectives of setting up the EFCC. Olujimi, who is a former Attorney-General of the Federation, argued that granting such leniency to accused persons in criminal matters could spur others into crime. “In the context of the efforts being made to tackle corruption in the country, we have to consider whether plea bargain will not be contrary to the objectives of setting up the EFCC. “Such concepts could encourage others to get into crime; it is not a good instrument in fighting corruption,” he said.
Mr Ahmed Yusuf, an Abuja-based lawyer, however, stressed that plea bargain was unconstitutional, adding that it was smuggled into the country’s judicial procedures. “Plea bargain is an unconstitutional practice in Nigeria; it is a practice in other jurisdictions which was smuggled into our own jurisdiction. “It does not have any constitutional backing, as far I am concerned. “Anything that will accelerate justice can be entertained in prosecution, but the fact that people enter into plea bargaining does not mean that it is constitutionally recognised. “I think while we are trying to speed up justice delivery, we are, on the other hand, encouraging corruption, so we should prosecute offenders based on the penalties that are stipulated in our statute books.
“We should abide strictly by the Criminal Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Act, the Penal Code and the Criminal Code,” he said.
The issue of plea bargain also re-echoed at a public hearing on the “Administration of Criminal Justice Bill, 2013.” The EFCC Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, pleaded that plea bargain should be included in the constitution. He said that the issue of plea bargain had generated unnecessary controversy because of the ignorance of the police and the general public on the issue. “The problem we (EFCC) are facing is that many (legal) practitioners and members of the public do not understand the concept of plea bargain. “Another problem is that people continue to argue that it is not in the constitution and it is, therefore, unconstitutional but we are using this medium to appeal to the National Assembly to include plea bargain in the constitution,” Lamorde said.
Mr Dele Adesina (SAN), a former General-Secretary of the NBA, said that there was no need to remove plea bargaining from the EFCC Act. He noted that most times, people felt the accused person did not get the type of custodial sentence they were expecting. “The essential element of plea bargain system is the opportunity to retrieve what has been acquired illegally,” he said. Stakeholders insist that any method that could be useful in the efforts to curb corruption in the country should be promoted, adopted and appropriately applied.
They, however, warn that the concept should not be manipulated via legal technicalities to promote the interests of the looters of public funds. “If plea bargain will give embezzlers soft landing, then it should be put off until we are mature for it,” some of the stakeholders say.
Written by Chijioke Okoronkwo
http://peoplesdailyng.com/the-plea-bargain-controversy/
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