Nigerian lawyers have knocked the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) for allegedly sponsoring some Federal High Court judges for training in the United Kingdom.
The lawyers assert that the judicial officers were reportedly flown abroad by the government agency for the training.
OsunDailyNG understands that AMCON Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Modibbo Tukur, were actively involved in the annual training for the judges in London.
According to SaharaReporters, sources accused AMCON of flying the judges to London for the training at colossal expense, even when almost all the resource persons are from Nigeria.
A source told the platform that “Hon. Justice John T. Tsoho, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice A.O. Faji of the Federal High Court, and other Federal High Court Judges from Nigeria are currently in London for the training, which was declared open on Monday, July 31 by the High Commissioner for Nigeria in the UK, Sarafa Tunji Isola.”
Another source lamented that despite costing Nigerians the loss of thousands of jobs through lack of expertise in its debt recovery operation and liquidation of several companies, AMCON sponsored judges to the UK for training amid economic challenges in Nigeria.
“Despite causing job losses and destroying several businesses in Nigeria, AMCON sponsored judges to the UK for training and put them in a hotel.
“This comes at a time Nigeria is having challenges saving forex. This whole training during the judges’ vacation is an organised racket by AMCON to bribe the Lordships and get them to compromise cases. We heard that foreign currencies were doled out to them.
“What if other agencies also take judges to various countries for training?” one of the sources said.
Another source noted that “Kuru and the head of NFIU are in London with some federal high court judges, claiming to be training them on financial-related cases.
“It turns out AMCON used third parties to arrange the façade or so-called training when only the National Judicial Institute (NJI) has the statutory power to train judges.”
Meanwhile, some lawyers have taken to the Nigerian Bar Association WhatsApp group to condemn the move.
They argued why the AMCON, which has several cases before the court, would train “a class of judicial officers how to handle their cases.”
“Lawyers’ Whatsapp groups are buzzing over the scandal. The FHC Chief judge is in hot soup,” a lawyer told SaharaReporters on Sunday.
One of the posts in the group seen by the platform read, “It’s not the work of NBA to train judges. There is National Judicial Institute, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Law Faculties, etc. The closest that AMCON, EFCC, etc., should do is to sponsor or collaborate with these institutions to train judicial officers.
“For a party to a class of cases to be training a class of judicial officers to handle their cases is rather scandalous and a terrible insult on separation of powers and independence of the judiciary. This our culture of never saying ‘no, thank you’ had destroyed every ethical fabric of our nation.”
Another WhatsApp post read, “The FHC should have drawn a list of the parties involved in AMCON cases and invited them and their lawyers as participants in the conference, na! Very funny excuse.”
