By George Ozalla
President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed his support for an independent judiciary, saying the courts have a major role to play in the fight against corruption and other financial crimes in Nigeria.
The President spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at the 8th annual capacity-building workshop for judges and justices, organised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute (NJI). He was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Tinubu urged judges to look critically at the ways financial crime cases are handled in court, particularly where legal procedures are used to delay trials or frustrate the prosecution of suspects. He said the fight against corruption would be difficult to win if those accused of financial crimes could exploit loopholes in the legal system to avoid trial.
He stressed that corruption was not a problem for the Executive alone, noting that every arm of government had a responsibility to support the fight against the menace while respecting the independence of the judiciary.
“We must no longer permit legal pyrotechnics and procedural pedantry to shelter criminality,” the President said, urging judicial officers to ensure that the law was not used to shield wrongdoing.
He called on judges to keep pace with changes in the nature of financial crimes, especially those involving digital currencies, blockchain technology and artificial intelligence. According to him, investigators, prosecutors and judicial officers must improve their knowledge and skills to deal with the growing sophistication of criminal activities.
The President commended the EFCC for its work under its chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosing that the commission had filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions within the first 34 months of his administration.
He also cited the recovery of ₦1.233 trillion in monetary assets as part of the commission’s efforts to recover proceeds of crime. Tinubu further disclosed that the EFCC had secured 1,370 convictions from 1,889 cases filed in the first half of 2026.
He acknowledged the reform efforts of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, and said the Federal Government would continue to support efforts to strengthen the judiciary’s capacity to handle complex financial crime cases.
Tinubu, however, stressed the need to balance the speedy conclusion of cases with the protection of defendants’ rights and the observance of due process.
The Chief Justice also called for improved judicial capacity to address financial crimes in the digital age. She emphasised that cooperation among government institutions must not undermine the independence of the courts or compromise fair hearing.
The workshop, themed “Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Financial Crimes in a Digital Age,” brought together judicial officers and other stakeholders to examine the challenges of investigating and prosecuting financial crimes as technology changes the way such offences are committed.
