Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has responded to speculations about the administration of justice under the current political dispensation in the country.
Fagbemi said contrary to insinuations, he is not under any form of pressure from President Bola Tinubu to drop charges against friends of the administration.
Prince Fagbemi said the Judiciary under the current administration respects the rule of law and has never allowed political considerations or sentiments to influence judicial actions and decisions.
He spoke on the sidelines of the 2025 Ministry of Justice top management retreat at the Four Point by Sheraton hotel, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom state.
Citing some of the cases against high-profile Nigerians on which critics based their accusations, the AGF said those particular cases had no concrete substance against the people involved.
He referred to the cases involving the Chairman of the Honeywell Group, Dr. Oba Otudeko and a former Managing Director of the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), Ahmed Yusuf.
The AGF said, “What has the president got to do with these? It’s a criminal case. And we are doing what we feel and believe should be the appropriate step.
“Let me use this opportunity to remind us all that the question of prosecution, when you talk of the rule of law, does not admit of weaponising prosecution.
“You do or treat each case on its own merit. And you do not get the courts involved in, or turn the courts into what I would call theatres of spectacle.
“You take each case on its own merit. If a case is not made out, it is just not made out. There is no two ways about it. You don’t have to dissipate government energy or resources and waste the time of the court.”
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had filed a 13-count charge against Otudeko and three others in suit No. FHC/L/20C/2025.
Otudeko, former First Bank Managing Director Olabisi Onasanya, former Honeywell board member Soji Akintayo, and Anchorage Leisure Limited were accused of conspiring to fraudulently obtain ₦12.3bn from First Bank of Nigeria under the guise of credit facilities for V-TECH Dynamic Links Ltd. and Stallion Nigeria Ltd.
“Coming to the issue of Oba Otudeko, which has to do with the management of First Bank, what happened was that the complainants came and said, ‘We are withdrawing our complaints.’
“The complainants said, ‘We have gotten all that we thought was lost or was taken away.’ Both parties agreed. So why do you want to waste government resources again?”
The AGF said decisions around criminal law are based on merit and not influenced by sentiments, emotions or political considerations, adding that in criminal law, there are no gaps.
In the case of Ahmed Kuru, he said, “What happened was that he was not connected; there was nothing to try him for. What was involved was an investment in the name of AMCON, in the sum of about, I think, ₦20 million.
“So, both the principal and the interest were recovered by the EFCC. It was not in any individual’s name. So what offence has been committed?
“But don’t forget, there are two other cases. There was one involving, I think, about ₦5 billion, involving another person, whose name I cannot remember now. For that one, because we believe that there is, what I would call, a prima facie case, we said it should continue.
“There is another one against Kuru, in relation to his activities as either manager or so in Arik Airline. That one, I also found that there were some questions to be answered.
“In other words, we have a prima facie case against him there, and I ordered that that one should continue. So they are on it in respect of that one.”
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
