THE Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Mike Aondoaka (SAN), has written President Umaru Yar�Adua, asking him to stop the ongoing money laundering trial of former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori, in a London court.
The minister told the president that the trial was designed to hurt Nigeria�s image and its judicial system. If Ibori is culpable over the alleged crime, the AGF believed that Nigeria was the proper place to try him, with the glory of justice that would be done in the matter coming to the country.
He also told the president that after due consideration of a request made by one David M. Williams, Crown Prosecutor of the Fraud Prosecution Service in London, he found out that he was not the competent authority to make such a request that Ibori should be tried outside Nigeria.
He said based on the Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement between the two countries, the appropriate person to make the request was the Secretary of State for Home Department while the Attorney General and Minister of Justice could make the same on behalf of Nigerian.
He noted that his conviction that the procedure adopted by the U.K was wrong had made him to refuse signing the request. Signing it, according to the minister, would create a situation whereby British courts would have to take a lot evidence from Nigeria before a proper case of corruption could be established.
This, accroding to him,would entail many witnesses travelling from Nigeria to the UK to give evidence. He added that media reporting of the trial abroad would demonstrate globally that Nigeria was incapable of tackling corruption within its own jurisdiction and had to rely upon courts in other jurisdictions to prosecute such offences.
In a letter with reference NO HAGF/JOI/J21/VOL.11 to the Home Secretary, the AGF said he understood that EFCC officials had been cooperating with London officials in relation to the UK investigation on Ibori.
He explained that certain materials made available to the London prosecutors by the EFCC,but which were not placed before him, might prove useful in the planned prosecution of Ibori in Nigeria.
�A perusal of your earlier response declining our request for a mutual legal assistance in respect of Joshua Dariye established that a request shall be denied where no proceedings have been instituted against the subject persons in Nigeria. Any evidence available to you may be forwarded to me for evaluation or use in reaching a decision to prosecute in Nigeria.�