President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerian judges to close procedural loopholes that politically exposed persons and organised crime suspects exploit to delay or frustrate criminal trials.
He said the fight against corruption would make little progress without an independent judiciary willing to adapt to emerging forms of financial crime.
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Mr Tinubu spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the eighth annual capacity-building workshop for judges and justices organised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Judicial Institute (NJI). He was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
“Probe prosecution strategies, dismantle outdated precedents, and seal procedural gaps that politically exposed persons and organised crime actors exploit to delay or frustrate trial,” the president said.
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In a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday by Stanley Nkwocha, the media aide to the vice president, Mr Tinubu explained that corruption was not the responsibility of the executive alone, as it affected all arms of government and the wider society.
“We must no longer permit legal pyrotechnics and procedural pedantry to shelter criminality,” he said.
He urged judges to ensure that legal procedures did not become a shield for wrongdoing, adding that the courts must uphold the public interest.
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Digital crimes pose new challenges
Mr Tinubu said advances in blockchain technology and artificial intelligence had made financial crimes more sophisticated, requiring investigators, prosecutors and judges to strengthen their capacity to respond.
At the workshop, themed “Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Financial Crimes in a Digital Age”, he cited the EFCC’s recovery of cryptocurrency and other digital assets as evidence of progress in tackling technology-related financial crimes.
According to the president, the commission secured the forfeiture of $22,417.91 worth of Bitcoin, 1,001,301.87 USDT in digital assets and $5.6 million linked to the CBEX scheme in 2025.
He also stated that 192 foreign nationals arrested for cyberterrorism and cryptocurrency fraud had been prosecuted and deported.
Mr Tinubu urged the judiciary to improve its capacity to handle cases involving digital evidence and virtual assets, warning that the justice system risked falling behind technological developments.
He commended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Kudirat Kekere-Ekun for her efforts to reform the judiciary and pledged the federal government’s support for improving justice delivery in the digital age.
CJN calls for better case management
In her remarks at the event, Ms Kekere-Ekun stated that technological developments had changed how digital evidence was obtained and recorded, making effective case management increasingly important.
She said continued training for judicial officers was helping to improve case management and the administration of justice.
The Senate Committee Chairman on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, Emmanuel Udende, noted that the workshop was timely given the growing sophistication of financial crimes, particularly cases involving politically exposed persons.
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He said the National Assembly would continue to support the fight against corruption through legislation.
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, represented by the Director of Public Prosecution, Rotimi Oyedepo, called for greater cooperation among government institutions and other stakeholders.
Mr Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) urged judges and lawyers to use the workshop to improve their capacity to support thorough investigations and diligent prosecutions.
The Administrator of the NJI, Babatunde Adejumo, said the institute’s partnership with the EFCC had become an important part of efforts to strengthen the judiciary’s response to financial crimes.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede stated that the workshop was an important part of both institutions’ annual programmes.
He said the commission had recorded significant convictions and financial recoveries over the past three years and stressed the need for recovered funds and assets to be managed transparently.
Mr Olukoyede also expressed concern that technological developments were advancing faster than the legal tools available to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.
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