Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Judicial Institute (NJI) have called for legal and procedural reforms to curb delays and abuse of court processes in the trial of corruption and other economic and financial crimes cases.
The call is contained in a communique issued by participants at the end of the 8th Capacity Building Workshop for Justices and Judges, held in Abuja between October 13 and15, 2026.
The workshop was organised by the EFCC in collaboration with the NJI under the theme “Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Financial Crimes in a Digital Age.”
It brought together Justices and Judges from across the country, as well as investigators and prosecutors of the EFCC.
At the end of the three days of lectures, exhaustive discussions and a workshop survey, participants arrived at several resolutions that formed the basis of the communique.
In the communique, participants resolved that delays in the resolution of corruption cases “will be greatly reduced by designating specialised judges and court staff to handle such cases as well as equipping such judges and courts with necessary skills through training to ensure efficient, certain and consistent application of existing laws in the administration of justice.”
They also called for balance in the criminal justice system, stating that it “must strike the proper balance between fairness, efficiency and legal certainty in the protection of individual rights on one hand and the speedy administration of justice, on the other hand.” To achieve this, they recommended that relevant provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) be reviewed where necessary.
Participants urged that investigation standards, including digital management protocols, “should be enhanced across investigative and prosecutorial agencies to ensure that prosecution of cases are based on credible, reliable and admissible evidence.”