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Cites $5.6m CBEX recovery, crypto fraud cases, urges courts to close loopholes exploited by politically exposed persons
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President Bola Tinubu has challenged the judiciary to dismantle procedural loopholes exploited by politically exposed persons and organised crime suspects to delay or frustrate corruption trials, warning that the fight against graft cannot succeed without an independent and reform-minded bench.
Tinubu also called for a comprehensive review of prosecution strategies and outdated legal precedents to ensure that Nigeria’s justice system keeps pace with increasingly sophisticated financial crimes driven by artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and other digital innovations.
The President, represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the eighth annual capacity-building workshop for judges and justices organised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Judicial Institute (NJI).
“Probe prosecution strategies, dismantle outdated precedents, and seal procedural gaps that politically exposed persons and organised crime actors exploit to delay or frustrate trial,” he said.
Tinubu warned that corruption threatened the country’s survival and should not be treated as the exclusive responsibility of the executive, noting that its consequences affected all arms of government and ordinary Nigerians.
“We must no longer permit legal pyrotechnics and procedural pedantry to shelter criminality. The Bench is not merely a mechanical arbiter of rules, but an active guardian of moral order and social equity,” he said.
The President argued that the law should serve the broader public interest rather than allow individuals to hide behind technical manoeuvres to escape accountability.
“Our courts must embody the spirit, and not just the arid letter, of the law,” he added.
He maintained that meaningful progress in the fight against corruption would remain elusive without an independent, progressive and reform-minded judiciary.
The President’s appeal comes amid growing challenges posed by digital financial crimes, which he said had expanded the reach and sophistication of criminal networks, requiring law enforcement agencies and judicial officers to continually update their knowledge and methods.
Speaking on the theme, “Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Financial Crimes in a Digital Age,” Tinubu urged the judiciary to strengthen its capacity to handle cases involving cryptocurrency fraud, digital assets and other emerging forms of financial crime.
He cited EFCC recoveries linked to cryptocurrency-related fraud as evidence of progress, disclosing that the commission secured the forfeiture of $22,417.91 worth of Bitcoin, 1,001,301.87 USDT in digital assets and $5.6 million linked to the CBEX scheme in 2025.
He also said 192 foreign nationals arrested for cyberterrorism and cryptocurrency fraud had been prosecuted and deported.
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According to him, the developments demonstrated the need for the judiciary to complement the commission’s enforcement efforts with the capacity to adjudicate effectively on complex digital evidence and emerging financial crimes.
Tinubu said the executive would support efforts to equip the judiciary to meet the demands of justice delivery in the digital age, while acknowledging the reform initiatives of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
Earlier, Kekere-Ekun said technological developments had changed the way digital evidence was obtained, preserved and presented, making disciplined case management increasingly important to the effective administration of criminal justice.
She said sustained judicial education and capacity development were contributing to improvements in case management and the dispensation of justice, adding that the EFCC-NJI partnership was designed to address the evolving challenges confronting the justice system.
The Chief Justice stressed the need for judicial officers to develop the skills required to handle technology-driven cases and emerging forms of evidence.
Also speaking, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, Emmanuel Udende, said the workshop was timely given the increasing sophistication of financial crimes, particularly cases involving politically exposed persons.
He said such cases presented challenges for timely case management and the administration of justice, assuring that the National Assembly would support the anti-corruption campaign through proactive legislation.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, represented by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, called for stronger collaboration among institutions involved in investigating and prosecuting corruption cases.
He urged judges and lawyers to use the workshop to improve their capacity to ensure more thorough investigations and diligent prosecutions, noting that no single arm of government could effectively tackle corruption alone.
In his welcome address, the Administrator of the NJI, Babatunde Adejumo, described the EFCC-NJI collaboration as an integral part of efforts to strengthen the judiciary’s response to financial crimes in the digital era.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede said the workshop had become an important component of the two institutions’ annual programmes, describing it as a national imperative in the face of increasingly complex financial crimes.
He said the commission had recorded significant convictions and financial recoveries over the past three years and pledged transparent and judicious management of recovered assets.
Olukoyede, however, warned that technological innovation was advancing faster than existing legal instruments and provisions for prosecution, underscoring the need for continuous reforms and closer cooperation among investigators, prosecutors and judicial officers.
