Lawmaker wants special courts for corruption cases

A Lagos State lawmaker, Mr Segun Olulade, on Wednesday urged urgent establishment of special courts for speedy trial of corruption cases.

Olulade, the Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Health Services, made the call in a statement he issued in Lagos.

The legislator, who represents Epe Constituency II, said that cases of corruption were experiencing delay in the regular courts.

According to him, the delay has hampered spending of recovered loots by the Federal Government.

He was reacting to the recent recovery of a huge amount of money by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos.

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“The delay being experienced in the trial of corruption cases has been hindering the Federal Government from accessing and utilising money seized from persons standing trial for corruption.

“The fight against corruption may not yield any good result until special courts are established.

“Some court cases on corruption have been pending for years. Some have lasted for 10 years, some for eight years.

“These court cases can drag on for a long time which means that money recovered by this government cannot be utilised.

“Once special courts are established, they should have time limit for trashing out cases,’’ he said.

According to him, the special courts should complete corruption cases within a period of three months to one year.

He suggested that recovered funds should go back into Nigeria’s treasury as soon as the cases would be concluded.