By Ese Oghenegueke
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, has appaluded lawyers for their role in the prosecution of corrupt persons, describing them as critical stakeholders in the anti-corruption fight.
He stated this in his remarks on Monday at a one-day training and interactive session, organised by Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA aimed at enhancing the collaboration between lawyers and investigators in the fight against economic and financial crimes and examining the challenges they encounter.
Olukoyede, who spoke through Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE1 Bawa Kaltungo Acting Director, Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the EFCC on the theme: “Enhancing Collaboration between the EFCC and the Bar; Strengthening Human Rights Professional Standards and the Use of Technology in Investigation and Prosecution, stated that ” the EFCC and the NBA have come a long way in complimenting each other and must not relent in ensuring that justice is served in all matters relating to the anti-corruption fight.
He described the theme as “apt, captivating, realistic and portraying to a very large extent the positive interest expressed by legal practitioners in the fight against corruption.”
Bala Mohammed Aliyu, Chairman, NBA, Kaduna State branch in his remarks also noted that lawyers are the critical stakeholders in the fight against corruption and as such must ensure that they uphold justice at all times. He, however, advised that though corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation, Nigerians should look inwards and come up with ways to stop the scourge.
Speaking on “The Future of Financial Crime Enforcement: Integrating Human Rights and Artificial Intelligence,” one of the resource persons, Barrister Idris laid emphasis on the need to align financial crime enforcement with emerging trends on social media space. He highlighted how the use of AI tools can make investigation of complex financial crimes cases easy and fast for both investigators and prosecutors. “No doubt AI enhances justice and efficiency. It ensures accuracy as well as easy verification of data and analysis,” he said, but advised for thorough verification upon conclusion of any task carried out using AI.
The Head of Legal and Prosecution, Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the EFCC, Nasiru Salele expressed appreciation to NBA, Kaduna Branch for collaborating with the Commission, noting that there’s need for the Commission and lawyers to continuously strengthen their ties.
