Interpretation of Sections 6(a) and 27 of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission Act as

regards the duty of the Commission to receive and investigate any report on conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit or commission of any crime under the Act and whether the maker of such report must be called to testify "Sections 6 (a) and 27 of the ICPC Act, respectively, provide as follows:

"6(a) "It shall be the duty of the Commission:

(a) Where reasonable grounds exist for suspecting that any person has conspired

to commit or has attempted to commit or has committed an offence under this Act

or any other law prohibiting corruption; to receive and investigate any report of

the conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or the commission of such offence

and in appropriate cases to prosecute the offenders."

27(1) Every report relating to the commission of an offence under this Act may be

made orally or in writing to an officer of the Commission, and if made orally shall

be reduced in to writing and read over to the person making the report, and every

such report shall be signed or thumb printed by the person making it, and where

the person making the report is an illiterate the Officer obtaining the report shall

endorse that fact on the report together with a statement to the effect that it was

read over and interpreted to the maker.

(2) Every report whether in writing or reduced in to writing, shall be entered in a

book kept at the office of the Commission and there shall be appended to such

entry the date and hour such report was made.

(3) Where an officer of the Commission has reason to suspect the commission of

an offence under Act following a report made under Subsection (1) or information

otherwise received by him, he shall cause investigation to be made and for such

purpose may exercise all the powers of investigation provided for under this Act or

any other law.

(4) A report made under Sub-section (1) of this Section shall not be disclosed by

any person to any person other than officers of the Commission or the Attorney-

General until the accused person has been arrested or charged to Court for an

offence under this Act or any other written law arising from such report.

(5) Any document certified by any Officer of the Commission under sub-section (2)

in respect of a report under Sub-section (1) shall be admissible as evidence of the

contents in the original and of the time, place and manner to which the report was

recorded."

The words in Sections 6(a) and 27 of the ICPC Act are plain, clear and

unambiguous and upon their literal interpretation, as required by law, they

provide that the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission ("the Commission")

has a duty to receive and investigate any report on conspiracy to commit, attempt

to commit or commission of any crime under the ICPC Act or any other Law and to

prosecute offenders, in appropriate cases. The provisions also provide that any

such report may be written or oral which shall be reduced into writing, and that

the report shall be duly authenticated by the person who has made the report.

There is, however, nothing in the said provisions of the ICPC Act which requires

that the person who has made any report to the Commission must be called to

testify as a witness, if the alleged offender is eventually prosecuted in Court.

 

"Per ADUMEIN, J.C.A IN SECTIONS 6(A) AND 27 OF THEINDEPENDENT CORRUPT PRACTICES COMMISSION ACT: