Olukoyede to lawyers: Raise your game in courtroom battles

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC , Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has called on legal officers of the Commission to demonstrate greater diligence, accuracy, and professionalism in the preparation of charges and court apEplications, as part of efforts to strengthen the fight against financial crimes in Nigeria.

Olukoyede gave the charge recently in Abuja at the opening of a three-day intensive training programme for EFCC legal officers, held at the EFCC Academy. Represented by the Director of Legal and Prosecution Department, Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, the EFCC Chairman emphasized that meticulous case preparation remained a critical pillar in driving successful prosecutions and sustaining public confidence in the Commission’s work.

According to him, “the training is a strategic initiative of the Legal and Prosecution Department designed to align with the Commission’s operational goals for the year”. He noted that building the capacity of legal officers across EFCC Commands nationwide was essential to ensuring that cases are handled with the highest level of competence and professionalism.

The training, titled “Training Programme for Legal Officers on Preparation, Dealing with Appeals in Financial Crimes and Allied Matters, Evidence Gathering and Trial Preparation,” aimed at sharpening the expertise of participants in critical aspects of prosecution. It focused on enhancing their skills in charge drafting, handling appeals, gathering admissible evidence, and preparing thoroughly for trials.

Speaking to the participants, the EFCC’ boss stressed that, “you are supposed to participate actively because it is a participatory event. Don’t allow the presenters to just present their papers and go, engage them. These are live issues that we do in court, it’s not about storytelling, it’s not about academics, it is not abstract, we will be dealing with real issues that we do on a daily basis in our daily job”.

Participants were drawn from various EFCC Commands and they leveraged the knowledge gained from the programme to improve the quality of prosecutions, reduce procedural errors, and ultimately contribute to more effective justice delivery in financial crimes cases.

The initiative underscores the EFCC’s commitment to continuous professional development in order to strengthen institutional capacity in tackling economic and financial crimes across the country.