Benin High Chief Charles Uwensuyi Edosomwan is a bencher and the first University of Benin (UNIBEN) alumnus to be conferred with the revered title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). In this engaging chat with STEPHEN UBIMAGO, the senior lawyer bared his mind on subjects like administration of criminal justice, lawyer-client privilege, and the EFCC as tool for political witch-hunt, among others. Excerpts…

Some lawyers have argued that one of the ways of ensuring free and fair elections in Nigeria is for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be empowered to prosecute electoral offenders or for another specialized agency to be established to prosecute electoral offences. Are there merits in these suggestions?

If INEC tells you that our existing laws do not cover crimes committed during elections, then they are being economical with the facts. If a set of persons have committed electoral malpractice and assaults during an election, you have adequate laws to deal with them. Even ballot stuffing could be brought within the definition of fraud. Besides, before the government promulgated laws against financial crimes such as the ICPC and EFCC Acts, we’ve always had laws in our statute books that addressed all forms of criminal matters. So, it is not a question of new laws, it is a question of the will to prosecute offenders. It would constitute mere duplication to talk about setting up an agency charged with prosecuting electoral offences of a criminal nature. For instance, how far has the EFCC gone in leaving up to their statutory mandate? We saw how Obasanjo played the EFCC during his time in office. It goes without saying that from what we are seeing everywhere the EFCC has become a political weapon for bringing enemies of the incumbent office holder to their knees.

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