“ Given the high propensity of some of our judicial officers to be compromised, those suggestions may achieve little or nothing, hence comment is free
Monday 18 June 2018
10 BUSINESS DAY
C002D5556
COMMENT
BASHORUN J. K RANDLE
Randle is Chairman / Chief ExecutiveJK Randle Professional Services Chartered Accountants
* Continued from last week
As for Professor Itse Sagay SAN, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption [ PACAC ], he insisted on personally delivering his evidencein-chief as the conscience of the nation even if it meant relying on the front page of“ ThisDay” newspaper of the previous day( March 28, 2018) which carried the teaser headline: SAGAY:“ JUDGMENTS IN CORRUPTION CASES AGAINST JUDGES SHOW THERE’ S ESPIRIT DE CORPS”
“ The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption( PACAC), Prof. Itself Sagay( SAN), has said the outcome of corruption trials against some judges clearly showed that there is espirit de corps among the judges.
He disclosed this yesterday at a symposium organised by the Nigerian Bar Association( NBA), Ikeja Branch Human Rights Committee in collaboration with The Jury Justice and Rectitude Advocacy Initiative.
The theme of the event was:‘ Salvaging Nigeria’ s Criminal Justice System: The Jury Option’
In his opening remarks as chairman of the event, Sagay said he came to this conclusion after coming out of the shock that enveloped him following judgments of the
The Dr. J. K. Randle colloquium
courts on corruption charges against some judges.
“ After my recovery from the shock, it dawned on me that legal knowledge could make judges prone to legal technicalities, creating a barrier between technical law and justice,” he noted.
The Professor of Law however suggested the re-introduction of the jury trial system as a better way to fight corruption in the country.
He noted that in recent years, a lot of evidence has established that some judges cannot be relied upon to uphold the integrity of the judicial system.
According to him, the usual excuses for huge deposits in judges’ account are marriage of judges’ daughters, death of judges’ relations like father, mother, auntie, uncle among others.
Sagay said he supported the abolition of the jury system in 1976 by the military because he believed that laymen could easily be influenced or subjected to other people’ s interest and instructions and that a judge, more likely would uphold the integrity of the judicial system among other reasons.
Citing the judgment in the case of a judicial officer charged with corruption, he said judgment in the matter showed that there is es spirit de corps among the judges.
The keynote speaker, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, gave a detailed explanation of the jury trial system and how it operates in some countries around the world, suggested that it should first be introduced in relation to capital offences in selected economically viable states.
Osipitan also suggested introduction of special bar and special bench for the system to work in the country.
According to him, the jury trial system can only be effective in a
Nigerians have become a conquered people, their dynamism and potential neutralized by politicians adept at obtaining power for its own sake but inept at governance and economic management
country with a mostly efficient and up to date data of its citizens.
“ Foremost, Nigeria must first update its database system. The National Identity Card database and INEC database might be very helpful if the decision is to introduce jury trial in criminal cases,” he stressed.
Ibrahim Magu, acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission who was represented by Seidu Atteh, said the commission would accept any trial system that would assist it in fighting corruption cases successfully.
Earlier in her welcome address, the chairman of human rights committee of NBA Ikeja, Mrs. Carol Ibharuneafe, said the theme of the symposium was necessitated by the fact that society has not been aware of the inadequacy of the criminal justice system.
Ibharuneafe pointed out that with high profile cases amongst public officers, the lapses in the law has been exposed and necessitated review to make it work for our society.
Although there have been suggestions from various stakeholders, she said the facts remain that whether special or more courts, they will still be presided by only one person, the judge.
“ Given the high propensity of some of our judicial officers to be compromised, those suggestions may achieve little or nothing, hence comment is free
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jury option,” she said.”
As for Professor Kingsley Moghalu, he was not done yet. He was back on his feet to elaborate on his election manifesto:“ 2019: Time to build, innovate and grow( Big).”
“ The choice that faces Nigeria in the 2019 presidential election is one between progress and retrogression, between scary poverty and the prospect of prosperity for millions of our citizens and not just the elite few, between our freedom and our continuing false imprisonment by the political elite that have brought us to our present sorry pass. I want to lead our country as its president because I have a BIG vision for the future of our children and youth.
On current trends of what passes for governance in Nigeria and despite our dynamism and resourcefulness as a people, that future is a bleak one.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has noted that poverty is increasing in our country and that our economic policy is“ muddled”.
We remain the world’ s greatest importer of Premium Motor Spirit( refined petroleum) while we export crude oil. How else shall we define madness?
Nigerians have become a conquered people, their dynamism and potential neutralized by politicians adept at obtaining power for its own sake but inept at governance and economic management.
We should now elect in Nigeria leaders with a vision, character, and the intellectual and technocratic competence required to confront our myriad problems of nation-building, poverty and insecurity. My vision stands on a tripod:
Women make up 51 per cent of our population of 186 million people, and there are 60 million youth aged between 18 and 35. Both groups will play a muscular role in my government. We will implement a 50:50 gender parity ratio in political appointments, well above the National Gender Policy recommendation of 30 per cent for women. Competent youth with relevant qualifications and experience will play important leadership roles in the government, ensuring the much-needed inter-generational change of baton in leadership without which any society will enter decline.”
The diplomatic corps were very well represented. They turned up in full force – Ambassadors / High Commissioners from the United States of America; China; Britain; Germany; France; Italy; Japan; South-Africa; Ethiopia etc. it was the Ambassador of Ethiopia who dropped a bombshell –
“ Ethiopia is building Africa’ s largest dam called the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. When completed, the dam will generate 6,450MW of electricity! The entire project will cost $ 4.8billion. Ethiopia started work on that dam in 2010. The project is already over 60 % completed as at today.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’ s biggest dam project( Mambilla) will generate 3,000MW and will cost $ 5.8billion! This is a project Nigeria conceived since 1982. Nigeria has still not achieved even 5 % completion!
Compare both projects and countries and see for yourself.
Ethiopia is a landlocked, nonoil, agricultural based economy, yet it has witnessed steady economic growth than Nigeria. Have you heard of Ethiopian Airways, where is Nigerian Airways?”
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THOMSON REUTERS
Thomson Reuters is the world’ s leading source of news and information for professional markets
On April 21, 2017, the Central Bank of Nigeria( CBN), announced what some refer to as a necessary dawn for the West African economic giant. The CBN announced a unique foreign exchange( FX) window for Investors and Exporters Trading( known as the I & E window), which after one year has had a successful turnover of $ 45 billion.
This move is seen as part of the CBN’ s continuing effort to deepen the country’ s FX market and reduce the demand for hard currency. Importantly, it is also seen as part of the country’ s efforts to prompt foreign investors to return to the country.
Thomson Reuters has been invested in Nigeria for over 100 years, and has experienced the development, highs and lows
The establishment of an Investors and Exporters Window in Nigeria
of the markets over the years. In 2012, foreign investors’ appetite for Nigerian bonds was thriving, execution was timely and the country’ s FX market held liquidity and eligible transactions. Since 2014, a combination of factors from Nigeria being removed from the JPMorgan Government Bond index, trading restrictions and economic slowdown, have resulted in a challenging environment for investors and traders, and lower liquidity and transparency in the market.
The establishment, and resultant success of the I & E window over this period has fuelled hopes of a readmission into the J. P. Morgan Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets( GBI-EM).
Key to making a mechanism like the I & E window successful, and reigniting global investor demand for Nigeria, are partnerships across multiple market participants, from the regulator to market associations, exchanges and commercial banks to data and technology platform providers that can showcase the Nigerian opportunity to the world.
Thomson Reuters, as a key partner in this effort, believes in the power of connecting global markets, and in the importance of local relevance. As a leading global distributor of financial market data from both proprietary and third party sources, Thomson Reuters has worked closely with CBN, FMDQ, several banks and others, to develop many applications to support the development of the market over the years.
Most recently, Thomson Reuters has launched the FMDQ OTC app as part of its award winning Eikon financial data platform, an app that could serve as a central hub for all strategic FMDQ OTC reference data in the Nigerian financial market.
Specific pages have also been created within the Thomson Reuters Eikon platform, including a composite page( NGNIE =), for the Nigerian Market to accommodate real-time market data and pricing on the NGN I & Ewindow from local market participants.
Thomson Reuters and other providers continue to partner with the Central Bank of Nigeria( CBN) to support the APEX banks mandate to promote transparency and best practice in Nigeria’ sFX financial markets. As a result of this collaboration and contribution, the Nigerian FX market has seen increased efficiency and activity.
In addition to partnerships, inclusivity of the market as a whole should also be encouraged as a catalyst to increasing the country’ s global recognition, reputation and position. New entrants bring dynamism and diversity to the market that will increase its attractiveness and competitiveness globally.
Nigeria currently ranks in 6th place on Africa Financial Market’ s Index with a potential to move up the ranks and even overtake South Africa’ s 1st place ranking if the current focus on increasing market depth, improving access to foreign exchange, market transparency and regulations continues. The capacity of local investors, macroeconomic opportunity and enforceability of international financial agreements are equally paramount.
As Nigeria seeks to drive economic growth, and strives to play a much larger role in the global economy, a sustainable, automated platform catering for all market players is no longer a luxury but a necessity, and it is exciting to see that regulators, market participants and investors and technology platform providers are working together to make this happen.
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