Abuja (Nigeria) – Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has described the Chief Justice of Nigeria’s recent directive on the need to strictly administer the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (CJA) as ‘a turning point’ in the country’s fight against corruption.
The Minister said this while receiving a delegation from Deutsche Welle, the German International Radio, on Wednesday in the capital city of Nigeria, Abuja, where he pronounced that, “there is no hiding place for corrupt persons in Nigeria.”
Statement by the Special Adviser to the Minister, Segun Adeyemi quoted the minister to have said, “We are happy to report that yesterday the fight against corruption received a very robust support from the Judiciary when the Chief Justice of Nigeria announced to the world that henceforth, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act will become operational and with this, it means that the long delays and adjournments that have been associated with corruption trials will be a thing of the past.”
Mohammed described the development in the Judiciary as the biggest institutional support for the fight against corruption in Nigeria, saying henceforth frivolous motions and unnecessary adjournments will no longer be impediments to the fight against corruption.
Reiterating an earlier statement made by President Buhari, the minister said, “the Administration would fight corruption relentlessly and mercilessly,” saying it is the only remedy for the maladministration, under-development and poverty that have plagued the country.
On the economy, he said: “The challenges are painful but the outlook is very bright. We know that with our discipline, we are going to manage cost, maximize our revenue, block leakages and we are very confident that we will manage the economy in a manner that over 30% of it will be devoted to capital projects”.
He however urged the Deutsche Welle to always project correctly the focus of the Administration, which is the fight against terrorism, corruption and the revamping of the country’s economy.
Leader of the delegation and Head of the Hausa Service of Deutsche Welle, Thomas Mosch, in his remarks commended the Administration of President Buhari for being media-friendly, adding that, Deutsche Welle is collaborating with several Nigerian broadcast outfits in its media exchange programmes in the areas of economy, education and promotion of African culture.
