Federal Government Trains and Hires 80 Lawyers to Try High Profile Criminal Cases

The President Muhammadu Buhari administration has enlarged its legal team to combat top corruption cases in Nigeria. 

Punch reports that the Federal Government has a large team of legal representatives to executive the anti-corruption campaign of the current administration.

It has set up 20 teams of prosecutors, comprising 80 lawyers, who will handle a number of high profile criminal cases investigated by law enforcement agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Further reports have it that each of the teams had four lawyers with a Senior Advocate of Nigeria as the leader. The identities of the lawyers, who were said to have been specially trained for the tasks ahead, have not been made known.

It was learnt that the Prof. Itse Sagay-led Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption was involved in the training of the special prosecutors.

A correspondent gathered that the training, which ended in June, lasted for over one month. Sources in the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja confirmed to a correspondent on Thursday that one of the teams of prosecutors had been assigned the forgery case recently instituted against Senate President Bukola Saraki; his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, and two others.

The new prosecuting team will fully take over the forgery case from the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Diri, when the trial resumes on Monday, a source confirmed to a correspondent.

The anti-corruption fight has been fairly successfully since the beginning of this current administration despite being marred with criticisms of being focused on the opposition party.