A justice system that allows a man to be sentenced to death for stealing N57,000, while those who looted public treasuries are allowed to walk free, needs a swift overhaul, Lillian Okenwa writes
On January 28, 2013, an Abuja High Court exposed the hypocrisy of the Nigerian justice system when it sentenced one John Yakubu Yusufu, standing trial on charges of stealing N32.8 billion in the Police Pension scam to two years imprisonment on each of three charges, and then offered him an option of N250,000 fine on each count. The former Assistant Director in the Police Pension Office simply paid the N750,000 fine and walked away. But the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) went on appeal.
Delivering judgment, Justice Emmanuel Agim of the Appeal Court, as he then was, made some observations: “The sentence does not show that it was influenced by considerations of the impact of the crime on the society or consideration of the nature of the crime… The offence…
Source: Thisday Newspaper
