THE POWER OF THE STATE TO PROSECUTE CRIMINAL MATTERS IN NIGERIA (2)

Good morning, friends.

In my last post, I gave an indication that I would be treating, in the next post, the hypothetical case of the members of the public sharing the sentiment of the two brothers' parents to the effect that the AG should discontinue the criminal proceedings instituted against their son accused of killing his own brother in a fight in light of whether or not the constitutional provision on overriding public interest can actually limit the power of the AG to institute criminal proceedings against the accused person in the circumstances. I left my readers to ponder on this yesterday. However, I have decided to address this not today but later.

Today, permit me to address the converse of the scenario in yesterday's post. In yesterday's post, the AG insists to prosecute an accused person despite the pressure not to do so by those concerned. Assuming this same AG now refuses, the other way round, to prosecute a notorious criminal in his state despite the fact that there is overwhelming evidence against the criminal suspect and the entire public is clamouring for his prosecution. Can the AG be compelled to exercise his power to prosecute in the circumstances?

THE LEGAL POSITION
The powers conferred on the AG of the Federation and those of the states of the federation  are absolute to the extent that there is no where in the constitution where there is provision to compel  an AG, be it that of the federation or that of a state of the federation, to exercise his power to prosecute.In fact, the clause that seeks to limit these powers  still leaves the determination of public interest, the interest of justice and a need to prevent abuse of legal process within the discretion of the AG which is objective.

Therefore,  if the AG in our scenario chooses not to prosecute that notorious criminal in his state, there is nothing anybody can do to compel him to perform his duty.Nevertheless, outside the constitution, concerned members of the public can condemn the attitude of the AG in strong terms in the circumstances such that the governor of the state, if swayed by the public opprobrium and criticism against his commissioner, can remove him from office.

Thank you for your attention.

See you tomorrow.