Apparently miffed by the delay in the dispensation of justice and the corruption that it breeds, President Muhammadu Buhari recently made a case for far-reaching reforms in the country’s judicial system. Such reforms must include the reviews of laws, institutions, processes and procedures that hamper the speedy delivery of justice, he had stated.
Speaking during the opening session of the All Nigeria Judges’ Conference in Abuja, the president lamented that Nigeria was fast losing trust and esteem in the eyes of the citizens due to unnecessary delay tactics employed by lawyers, in collusion with some judges, to stall trials, especially high profile corruption cases.
“These tactics are often not directed at reaching any conclusion or affirming innocence or guilt, but at stalling trials indefinitely, thus denying the state and the accused person the opportunity of a judicial verdict,” the president, represented by his vice, Yemi Osinbajo, had stated at the event.
In addition, the president frowned at the unwholesome practice of appealing interlocutory decisions, a practice he said encourages unending litigations and miscarriage of justice. “We must also re-orientate and improve the attitude of legal practitioners and the legal profession in general. Judges must not be weak or appear to be weak in sanctioning lawyers and litigants who deliberately stall and frustrate the judicial process,” the president said.
Without making the appropriate reforms, it would be difficult for the government to effectively tackle corruption and attract the desired level of investments the country needs for socio-economic development, President Buhari stated. “On the point of negative perception, there is both local and international dissatisfaction with the long delays in the trial process. The reasons for the delays or outright inaction in such matters are sometimes beyond the courts, and in several cases, are the consequences of shoddy investigation, outmoded rules of procedure, poor prosecution or unprofessional practices of counsel,” he said.
The president’s admonition readily brings to mind the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), an agency under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. The body, which has recently come under heavy scrutiny for unsavoury reasons, is currently challenging, via an interlocutory appeal, the orders of the Federal High Court in Lagos which barred it from interfering in the business or operations of Stanbic IBTC Bank pending the outcome of the suit filed at the Federal High Court by the bank. It is strongly believed that FRCN’s action would potentially prolong the process, keeping stakeholders on edge for as long as the litigation lasts.
FRCN had on October 26 announced the outcome of its investigation of Stanbic IBTC for alleged infractions claimed by minority shareholders of the company, fronting as the Trusted Shareholders Association of Nigeria (TSAN) and reportedly bankrolled by the Mahtani brothers of the Churchgate Group.
According to FRCN, there were discrepancies in Stanbic IBTC’s financial statements and general financial reporting for 2013 and 2014. Among sanctions announced by FRCN was a fine of N1 billion on Stanbic IBTC and restatement of the financial reports for 2013 and 2014. As it turned out, FRCN acted without fair hearing from Stanbic IBTC or even consulted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) even when the rules and regulations stipulated that FRCN can only sue Stanbic IBTC if the latter disagrees with its interpretations. FRCN clearly lacks the legal powers to impose a penalty on Stanbic IBTC.
Nonetheless, Stanbic IBTC denounced what it described as inaccurate and unseemly allegations against it and the manner FRCN chose to make them was procedurally defective. “The matters that FRCN alleges to be wrong are not wrong in any material respect and many are in any event not matters of financial reporting at all, but matters of business decision and judgment for Stanbic IBTC and its board of directors.”
Subsequently, Stanbic IBTC challenged FRCN’s action in court, resulting in Justice Ibrahim Buba of a Federal High Court in Lagos asking FRCN to stay action pending the final determination of a suit against the agency by Stanbic IBTC Holdings. Also, the CBN, in a report personally signed by its governor, Godwin Emefiele, punctured practically every argument advanced by FRCN. In rejecting a request by FRCN to sanction Stanbic IBTC, CBN said it does not see enough grounds to advise or compel Stanbic IBTC to reissue the statements or comply with the sanctions meted by FRCN. The apex bank said FRCN failed to consult it throughout the process of its investigation, noting that the pronouncements by the FRCN on Stanbic IBTC were not only capable of eroding investor confidence, but also were very inimical to financial system stability.
Not satisfied, FRCN fired a response to CBN in which its executive secretary, Jim Obazee, revealed unnecessary details of meetings with the chief of staff to the president, further reinforcing a widely held impression of incompetence, impunity and immaturity of one government agency obviously dithering in the face of no supervision by a board or minister (until two weeks ago). The primary objectives of the FRCN, just in case its executive secretary has chosen to ignore them, are well spelt-out. These include protecting the investor and stakeholder interest, giving guidance on issues relating to financial reporting and corporate governance, ensuring good corporate governance practices, ensuring accuracy and reliability of financial reports and harmonizing activities of relevant professional and regulatory bodies. In essence, the FRCN outlines standards for use in preparation of financial reports by public interest corporates as well as provides regulatory oversight for financial reporting and corporate governance.
Imposing fines and arbitrary sanctions is outside the remit of FRCN; only the law courts are empowered to do so. What makes its current moves very disgusting is the FRCN’s seeming disregard of the president’s counsel by choosing to pursue interlocutory appeals rather than wait for the speedy determination of the real issues that are the subject matter of the suit, as promised by Justice Buba. And whose interest does Jim Obazee and FRCN seek to serve by attempting to destroy an institution that employs thousands of Nigerians and is often cited as a symbol of corporate governance?
As the current administration continues in its efforts to steer the country to safer ground, the least it expects are distractions, more so from an agency of government, after well-intentioned interventions to calm frayed nerves, restore an ideal environment for businesses to thrive and attract the much-needed inflow of FDI into the country. The overzealousness of a misguided regulator should not be allowed to continue to sustain a negative perception of Nigeria in the eyes of the world.
Akeem Ogunlade
