Ribadu, who said the issue of immunity was at the heart of many corruption cases involving politicians, suggested that serious crimes such as abuse of power or gross mismanagement in office should not be protected by immunity.

He said, ”While there were some reasonable grounds for granting some degree of immunity to political office holders, immunity should only protect the office that the politician holds - not the politician.

”Immunity cannot be a shield against justice, and one will hope that there would soon be constitutional provisions through which immunity can be lifted for serious crimes such as abuse of power or gross mismanagement in office.”

Ribadu was speaking on Tuesday at the 5th Justice J. M. Adesiyun Biennial Memorial Public Lecture, organised by the Nigeria Bar Association in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The anti-graft boss said, ”In spite of the current weaknesses of our democracy, we have a rare opportunity to oil its tracks and retread its paths by using the opportunities of the judicial corridor to correct the distortions we perceive in the just concluded elections.

”In this regard, the major weight will be on the judiciary that ought to show courage and independence in ensuring that those who purchase their electoral victory at discounted or counterfeit prices are denied the proceeds of that crime.”