Renowned Nigerian lawyer Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) has denied a report he threatened judges, saying his views were misrepresented. Sagay, who is the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), was reported to have threatened judges who ignore provisions of Administration of Criminal Justice Act.“I want to deny emphatically that I issued any threat to judges. What I said was that some judges still adjourn corruption cases for more than the maximum of 14 days stipulated by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA),” he said in a statement.
"I also said there have been cases in which judges have adjourned to give rulings in interlocutory applications instead of waiting for the Day of Judgment on the substantive matter to read both ruling on the interlocutory application and judgment on the substantive issue of corruption.“I then added that in my view, such lapses constituted gross misconduct deserving of sanctions by the National Judicial Council (NJC).
"Thus, the use of the term Sagay threatens judges is inflammatory sensationalism. I appreciate that newspapers have to make sales in order to survive. But that should not give rise to undue sensationalism and offensive terms at the expense of accuracy and the true message of the person interviewed.“I am very open to interviews because I believe that the press is a critical institution in the fight against corruption. This cooperation and openness will be destroyed by the publication of inaccurate, self-serving and misleading statements in the guise of interview reports.”
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