Why Nigeria’s criminal justice system is weak - Agbakoba Written by Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare and Matthew Asabor -Lagos Tuesday, 12 February 2013 00:00 FORMER president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olisa Agbakoba, on Monday, attributed the inadequacy of existing laws as the cause of the seeming helplessness of Nigeria’s criminal justice system. According to him, the system appeared to be overwhelmed by the level of corruption in the country, because existing laws were old and weak. Agbakoba, while speaking with journalists during the second Federal High Court Judges Forum, organised in Lagos by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), added that this was why some court pronouncements appear controversial. He further argued that the sentence handed down to John Yusufu, who was convicted of the police pension fund scam, was because the nation’s criminal laws were old. Agbakoba recommended a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s laws, to enable the country to cope with today’s reality, while lauding the initiative behind the forum, which was meant for the judges to closely examine the newly introduced AMCON Practice Direction 2013. He explained that the forum was part of efforts to further educate the judges on ways of better dealing with AMCON cases and ensuring that they were speedily dealt with. While unveiling the practice direction at the opening session of the forum, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, urged judges to treat AMCON and other related cases with dispatch. TRIBUNE