Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice Minister, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), has directed agencies with prosecutorial powers to compile pending cases they are currently handling in various courts.
This, he said, was with a view to determine which of them falls within the category of high profile cases to be taken over by the National Prosecution Coordination Committee (NPCC).
A statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Salisu Isah, said Malami gave the directive when he met with the various agencies in his office on Monday.
Malami briefed them on the exigency and existence of the committee, adding that the meeting was to fashion out a synergy between the committee and the agencies.
Isah, who is the NPCC Head of Communication and Public Affairs, said Malami’s message was read by Mr Sylvester Imhanobe, the Special Assistant to the President on Research and Special Project.
Imhanobe, who is also the Secretary of the committee, used the occasion to inform the agencies of the objectives for setting up the prosecution committee.
The AGF explained that for a case to be tagged high profile, it must have overriding public interest elements, but that ultimately, he determined what case was tagged a high profile case.
He added that sometimes, the quantum of value of a case and its sensitivity also influenced whether a case was a high profile case or not.
According to him, members of the committee are mainly his aides as well as eight external members selected on the basis of experience and expertise.
He stressed that Heads of agencies were not part of the NPCC due to their busy schedules.
Malami also hinted that the intention was not to distract the heads of these agencies, but rather to engender smooth synergy between the committee and the agencies.
The Special Assistant to the President on Coordination and International Affairs under the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Pius Oteh, chaired the meeting.
Oteh emphasized that the AGF in his wisdom saw the need for coordination and cooperation between the NPCC and these agencies with prosecutorial and investigative powers.
He said that it was important for cooperation and synergy between the committee and the agencies to be consistent with the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari in the anti-graft war.
The agencies present at the meeting were Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Services, and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices & other related offences Commission and the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
