From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
A retired President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, has been appointed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, to head the newly established Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Trial Monitoring Committee (COTRIMCO).
The 15-member Committee was set up by the National Judicial Council (NJC) under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria to monitor the trial of corruption and financial crime cases pending in the various divisions of the courts.
The decision was taken yesterday at the end of the 82nd meeting of the council. Other members of the committee are Justice Kashim Zannah (Chief Judge, Borno State); Justice P. O. Nnadi, (Chief Judge, Imo State); Justice Marsahal Umukoro, (Chief Judge Delta State); Justice M. L. Abimbola (Chief Judge, Oyo State) and the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. A. B Mahmoud.
The rest are Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN (former NBA President); Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN); Mr. J.B Daudu SAN (former president of NBA); Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN (former NBA president); Dr. Garba Tetengi (SAN); a member, NJC, Mrs. R.I Inga; Representative, Non-Governmental Organisations;
Representative, Ministry of Justice; Representative, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Secretary NJC, Gambo Saleh. A statement by Soji Oye, Director (Information), NJC said the Committee’s primary functions include: regular monitoring and evaluation of proceedings at designated courts for financial and economic crimes nationwide; advising the Chief Justice of Nigeria on how to eliminate delay in the trial of alleged corruption cases; giving feedback to the council on progress of cases in the designated courts, conduct background checks on judges selected for the designated courts; and evaluating the performance of the designated courts.