The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has called on State Attorneys General (AGs) to reject nepotism, political witch-hunting, rivalry, and bigotry in their anti-corruption efforts, particularly to avoid appeasing their governors. This guidance was shared during a roundtable meeting held on Monday in Abuja, organized by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for state AGs. Furthermore, Fagbemi emphasized that individuals convicted of corruption should not be granted a State pardon.
A statement from Kamarudeen Ogundele, Special Assistant to the President on Communication and Publicity in the minister’s office, highlighted the need for collaboration among all relevant parties, especially the AGs, in the corruption battle. “I will suggest in our next constitution review exercise that we expunge those found guilty of corruption from benefiting from powers of ‘Prerogative of Mercy’ to serve as a deterrent to others,” he said. “Your legal opinions on cases must be based on facts as practised in advanced countries. “We should not give in to public sentiments as in Nigeria, we are polarised along political lines,’’ he said.
The AGF reaffirmed that there should be no justification for tolerating corruption or criminal activities in Nigeria. He advised anti-corruption organizations to perform comprehensive investigations before making arrests to prevent media trials. The minister urged these agencies to ensure they have all the facts in place before calling anyone in for questioning.
