Treasury looters don’t deserve bail, says Falana

A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), says politically-exposed persons facing corruption charges do not deserve bail.

“Since victims of grand corruption including armed robbery and kidnap suspects are not usually admitted to bail, those who are charged with looting the treasury should no longer be granted bail,” Falana said.

While expressing worry that many of the ongoing high profile corruption cases may not be concluded before 2019 when President Muhammadu Buhari would have finished his term, Falana also made a case for the creation of special courts.

The activist lawyer expressed these views in a paper he delivered on Thursday at the roundtable on anti-corruption war convened by the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, University of Lagos, where he was the keynote speaker.

The roundtable, which was chaired by the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), had a former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Dr. Femi Aribisala and Dr. Ayo Obe as discussants.

In his paper titled, “Rule of Law and Treatment of Politically-exposed corruption cases,” delivered on his behalf by Mr. Wahab Shittu, Falana said if the Buhari government did not undertake an urgent reform of the criminal justice system, including creating special courts, its anti-corruption war efforts would amount to nothing.

He also took a swipe at the Nigerian Bar Association and the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who had called on Buhari to respect the rule of law, saying they were not sincere.

He said, “The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria has urged the government to fight corruption under the rule of law. On its own part the NBA has censored the Federal Government for violating the human rights of certain suspects. But neither the BOSAN nor the NBA has deemed it fit to caution the members of the legal profession who are determined to frustrate the prosecution of corruption cases.

“As far as both bodies are concerned, human rights are the exclusive reserve of the bourgeois. Hence, the tenets of the rule of law are only invoked when the trial of VIPs is involved, while human rights are violated in Nigeria when the looters of the treasury are arrested and detained for a few days without trial.”

Falana wondered why BOSAN and NBA did not talk of human rights when “70 soldiers were recently tried in camera, convicted and sentenced to death for demanding weapons to fight the well-armed terrorists,” and why the two bodies were not bothered about the plight of “40,000 out of the 52,000 prison inmates who  are awaiting trial under dehumanising conditions.”

In his opening remarks, Sagay lamented that highly-placed Nigerians who were once celebrated are now the same set of people being exposed as “looters, bandits and locusts.”

“I fear that Nigerians may become so sated with this daily diet of financial brigandry that they may no longer feel shocked, disturbed, angered and determined to see justice served on the guilty and their stolen property recovered,” Sagay said.

He linked the daily woes of the country in form of poverty, poor roads, poor power supply, poor health care and so on to corruption.

Ezekwesili, Aribisala and Obe advised the Federal Government to put in place measures that could deter corruption.

Also speaking on Thursday at the special congress and public lecture organised by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, chapter, Falana said judges who granted frivolous perpetual injunctions in cases of corruption and lawyers who filed for such injunctions were scuttling the anti-corruption war in the country.

Falana, who was the guest lecturer at the event, also attended by the President of ASUU, Isa Fagge, noted that the neo-colonialist nature of capitalism being practised in the country had produced a set of wealthy Nigerians who “are bigger than the nation’s laws.”

He said, “The criminal justice system has been hijacked by the corrupt and looters of the public treasury and their lawyers. It is only in Nigeria that an accused will ask his trial to be suspended.

“Many of the governors who faced corruption charges, their lawyers had asked for their trial to be suspended, and judges granted this. How would a lawyer also plead with a  judge that a criminal should not be arrested?

“Someone who stole millions of naira getting perpetual injunction not to be arrested and prosecuted, lawyers must allow cases to go on.”

Falana, who spoke on the topic: ‘The limits of anti-corruption law’ said there was nothing close to equality before the law in the country, as the wealthy and influential Nigerians get lighter punishment while the commoners get stiffer penalties in the criminal system.

He said, “In Edo State, someone was sentenced to three years imprisonment for stealing bush meat, another one who stole handset in Osun State was also sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

“But corrupt public officials prefer to be remanded in Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s custody or being remanded in Kuje Prisons.

“Let me tell you, EFCC cells have beddings and mosquito nets, and I have been detained in Kuje Prisons twice, it is one of the best prisons in the country. Why didn’t they take them to Kirikiri or Ikoyi or Ijebu Ode Prisons?

“And whoever have been detained in police cells would know that they sleep on bare floor, and a bucket put at a corner to serve as container for their faeces.”

He noted that with the way the cases of corruption were being handled by the EFCC currently, and given the incessant injunctions being granted, the government might not get more than five convictions.

To tame the lawyers involved in this practice, he called for publication of the names of those being tried for corrupt practices and those of their lawyers.

He specifically asked ASUU to also join in the fight against graft.

Fagge, on his own part, said the universities had deviated from their original role of carrying out research and making it available to the society.

He also noted that corruption had continued to thrive because no one had been brought to book.

Treasury looters don’t deserve bail, says Falana

Presidential Committee Indicts 300 ONSA Contractors, Recovers N7bn

A committee set up to probe contracts awarded by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) from 2011 to 2015 has recovered N7bn as well as indicted more than 300 companies and prominent citizens, including serving and retired officers of the armed forces.

Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu
Credit: Punchnews

A statement issued on Thursday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, said over N7 Billion has been recovered so far from the indicted companies and individuals.

The committee, which is different from the committee that is investigating the Defence Arms and Equipment Procurement, discovered that there was a total disregard of salient provisions of the Public Procurement Act in the award of contracts by ONSA.

The statement said another N41 Billion would be refunded by the indicted companies, while further investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been ordered to determine whether another N75 Billion should be recovered from some of the companies for unexecuted or partially executed contracts.

The statement said the committee had succeeded in recovering some of the funds from these individuals and organisations amounting to N3,537,549,223.04, $8,000,000 and houses worth N512,000,000 from 32 companies.

The committee also established that some individuals and companies received monies without evidence of contractual agreements or jobs done. The amount received by these individuals was N7,104,925,000

The statement said: “In a similar vein, the committee revealed that some companies that failed to execute contracts or did so partially were to make refunds. The total amount to be refunded is N19,896,539,125.20, $43,771,433.73 and two houses in Abuja worth N260,000,000.00.”

The statement said the committee further established that one of the indicted companies, Societe D’Equipment International was overpaid to the tune of 7.9million Euros and $7.09 Million respectively.

It said: “Several contractors were apparently over paid, while others were given full upfront payments contrary to their contract terms and agreements in force.

“There was also evidence of payments to individuals and companies by ONSA without any contractual agreement or evidence of jobs executed.

“The committee further discovered that some companies failed to meet up their tax obligations for contracts executed.”

The statement said the committee also revealed that 15 companies were awarded contracts that require further investigation to ascertain the status of their contracts. The total value of the contracts awarded in this category was N11,726,571,161, $202,136,890 and €4,114,752.96.

It listed the companies investigated by the committee as: Abrahams Telecommunication Limited and Value Trust Investment Limited RC 1050628 and RC133792, Bilal Turnkey Contractors Limited RC 616389, Circular Automobile Limited RC 953549, Continental Project Associates Limited RC 1201210, Da’voice Network Solutions Limited RC 658879, Foretech Investment Limited RC 759046., Forts and Sheild Limited RC 1148793, GDP Associated Limited RC 830715, Hakimco Automobiles – RC 904389, Hamada Properties and Investment Limited RC 635720, International Resources Management Company R 22865, Investment Options Limited – RC 133484, Jakadiya Picture Company Limited RC 270972, JBE Multimedia Investment Limited RC 48875, Kamala Motors Limited RC 845545, Key Information Services Limited RC 297516, Leeman Communications Limited RC 499781, MCAF Associates RC 734745, Moortown Global Investment RC 968416, Syntec Nigeria Limited RC 220165, Trafiga Limited RC 1098961, Trim Communications Limited RC 261180, Securicor Emergency and Safety RC 431246, Sologic Integrated Services Limited RC 744982, Wada Autos Limited RC 1082513, Zukhruf Nigeria Limited RC 306244, 2020 Nigeria Limited RC 1090292, A and B Associates Limited RC 279980.

The statement said the following individuals received payments: Honourable Bello Matawalle, General AS Mormoni-Bashir (the former Principal General Staff Officer at the ONSA and still a serving military officer), Alhaji Umar Sani, Dr Yakubu Sanky, Baba Bala, Ambassador Clement Layiwola Lasseinde (a Director in the ONSA), An architect from Baitil Atiq Travels and Tours, Alhaji Shuaibu Salisu (The former Director of Finance and Administration at the ONSA), Colonel Bello Fadile (rtd) (Special Adviser to Lt Col Sambo Dasuki; former NSA), Mr Otunla Jonah Niyi, Otunba Adelakun, Alhaji Bashir Yaguda, Dr Tunji Olagunju, Miss Oluwatoyin Oluwagbayi, Lt Col MS Dasuki (rtd) The former NSA, Honourable Maipata Mohammed Abubakar, Mohammed Suleiman. From Musaco investment and properties, Ibrahim Abdullahi also from Musaco investment and properties, Alhaji Aliyu Usman,18 other officers that served in the ONSA.

It said the following companies outrightly failed to execute contracts or executed them partially, and have therefore been asked to refund various sums with are as follows:A and Hatman Limited, Abuja Consulting Limited, Afro-Arab Investment, Agbede A Adeshina and Co., Aleppo Systems Nigeria Limited – RC 947255., Amp Africa Holdings and Solar Services, Apple Drops Nigeria Limited – RC 1102219,. Apt Security Limited – RC 165189, Autoforms Integrated Enterprises Limited – RC 1234829, Axis Consulting Services Limited – RC 1151145, Belsha Nigeria Limited, Community Defence Law Foundation – RC/IT No 56854, Complus International Service Limited, Cosse Limited – RC 316214, Daar Investment and Holdings Limited, Dalhatu Investment Limited – RC 404535, Destra Investment Limited, Development Strategies International Limited – RC 361191, DFX/White Zebu BDC – RC787658/RC1049919, Duchy Concepts Limited RC392281, Fara Security Limited RC 694607, Fimex Gilt Nigeria Limited RC 143150, First Aralac Global Limited RC939512, Fix-HYL Global Investment RC1129654, Good year Properties Limited RC116882, Image Merchant Promotions Limited RC 416703, Interglobal Limited RC 189188, Jos Peace Dialogue Forum CAC/IT/No75434, Kakatar Limited RC 443321, Leaderette Nigeria/Norden Global RC 422129/RC1119925, London Advertising Limited UK BASED, Mithra Oil Limited RC 620979, NigerLink BOG (Under Musaco Investment) RC 834592, Iban Global (Under Musaco Investment), Musaco Investment (Bank Charges), Mystrose Limited RC 475579, NAF Holding Company Limited, Peach Tree Communications Limited RC 410115, Perception BDC RC 740741, Pioneer Ventures RC 69776, Proptex Nigerian Limited – RC 116801, Prosedec Interglobal Limited RC 619845, Real Property Investment Limited RC 294761, Sinash Communications Limited RC 333134, Skytick International Limited RC 798693, Soject Nigeria Limited RC 74991, StellaVera Development Company Limited RC 713258, Teracon AG SWISS BASED, Wehsec Farms Limited RC 713258, African Cable Television Limited RC 1113903, BCN Nigeria Limited RC 509693, Brains and Hammers RC 655673, Concept Options Ultimate Limited RC 604167, Elizade Nigeria Limited RC 11544, Emerging Platforms Limited RC 922205, EMI System Nigeria Limited RC 248986, Hadassa Investment and Security RC 709085, Kala Consulting Solutions Limited RC 98562, Pioneer Ventures, Nan Bizcom Nigeria Limited RC 680708, Nerres Limited RC 1138835, Plectrum Consulting Limited RC 93793, Protech Consultant RC 301426, Summit Publications Limited RC 304671, Telios Development Limited RC 468351, Urban Abode Nigeria Limited RC 651613, RCN Networks Limited RC 439720, Sail International Limited RC 97863, Suburban Broadway Limited – RC 469689, Geronimo Middle East and Africa, Julius Berger RC 6852, Romgat Morgan Nigeria Limited RC 902020, Stallion Motors Limited RC 178627.

The statement said contracts awarded to the following companies should be further investigated: 2020 Nigeria Limited RC 1090292, Acacia Holdings Limited RC 940978, Africair Incorporated US Company, Augusta Westland Limited, Almond Project Limited, Bam Project and Properties, Bob Oshodin Organisation Limited RC 790662, Coral Builders Limited RC 397748, Dan Clington Nigeria Limited RC 940978, Law Partners and Associates BN/UY/004566, Magnificient 5 ventures Limited BN/2299463, MPS Global Services Limited, One plus Holdings Nigeria Limited RC 695999, Quadsix Nigeria Limited RC 1177968, Reliance Reference Hospitals

Presidential Committee Indicts 300 ONSA Contractors, Recovers N7bn

I’ll be merciless in pursuing looters, says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday vowed that his administration would not show mercy to any person in its ongoing anti-corruption war.

President Buhari

He said his administration would pursue the anti-graft war relentlessly until Nigerians began to see how the nation’s elite conspired to run the country down.

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President spoke during an interactive session he had in Malabo with Nigerians resident in Equatorial Guinea.

Buhari assured the Nigerians that he would not entertain any fear in his quest to rid the nation of corruption by bringing those who compromised their positions to book.

“We will be merciless and relentless in pursuing all those who abused public trust. Nigerians will see how some of the elite conspired to run the nation down,” the President said.

He also condemned recent political violence in Rivers State, saying the killing of people over political differences was primitive, barbaric and unacceptable.

He promised to deal decisively with those responsible for the development.

“We will deal decisively with all sponsors of violence. I have given the security services clear directives in this regard.

“We will show that violence in any form will no longer be tolerated before, during or after elections,” he stated.

Buhari promised that the Independent National Electoral Commission would be encouraged to explore the possibility of Nigerians abroad participating in the 2019 general elections by casting their votes wherever they might reside.

He noted that some African countries had started allowing their citizens, resident abroad, to vote in national elections and Nigeria could not afford not to join them.

He identified with the desire of Nigerians in the Diaspora to vote in national elections, pledging that he would do all within his powers to fulfil that desire.

“I want all Nigerians to know that I respect them and their right to choose their leaders,” he said.

The President disclosed that establishing a new national airline was not currently on the Federal Government’s list of priorities.

He said his administration’s main area of focus was reducing the level of poverty.

Buhari said developing the infrastructure needed to boost production in all sectors of the economy and creating more jobs for young Nigerians, as well as other actions that would directly enhance the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians would continue to be prioritised by his administration.

He was responding to complaints by members of the Nigerian community about the absence of direct flights between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.

I’ll be merciless in pursuing looters, says Buhari

Vendetta claim about 55 looters of N1.34trn is nonsense - Lai Mohammed

Last week, the Minister of  Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, went to town with the news that N1.34 trillion had been stolen from the treasury by 55 public officials in  eight years, that is, between 2006 and 2013.

Lai Mohammed

In a follow up interview with Sunday Vanguard, the Minister said Nigerians determined to get the identity of the alleged looters could get them in courts. He also spoke on some other national issues.

Anti—corruption crusade is apparently the issue of the moment. What is the update?

Talking about  corruption, it is time we brought into perspective what corruption has done to our nation, our people and our international image, how corruption stifles economic growth, hinders the fight against poverty, leads to decay in infrastructure and reduces educational standards, lowers life expectancy, stunts the fight against maternal and infant mortality and impacts negatively on the general livelihood of the citizens.

The situation is dire and the time to act is now. For example, between  2006 and 2013, just 55 people allegedly stole a total of 1.34 trillion Naira in Nigeria. That’s more than a quarter of last year’s national budget! Out of the stolen funds, 15 former Governors allegedly stole 146.84 billion naira; four  former Ministers allegedly stole 7 billion naira; 12 former public servants, both at federal and state levels, allegedly stole over 14 billion Naira; eight  people in the banking industry allegedly stole 524 billion Naira; while 11 businessmen allegedly stole 653 billion naira.

 

Now, what does these figures translate to in the actual sense? In other words, what is the cost of these stolen funds for Nigerians?

Using World Bank rates and  costs, the stolen amount would have built 1,905 kilometres of roads, 108 ultra modern hospitals, built 549 schools, educated 11,922 children from primary to tertiary level at 25.24 million naira per child, and built 60,186 units of 2-bedroom houses. This is the money that a few people, just 55, allegedly stole  in  eight years. And instead of a national outrage, all we hear are these nonsensical statements that the government is fighting only the opposition, or that the government is engaging in vendetta.

Irrespective of your political, religious or tribal leanings, and not minding whether you belong to the APC, PDP, SDP or Labour Party, if you have stolen public funds, you must not go scot-free. You must return the funds to the treasury and face prosecution. Nigerians must know that they cannot get the best even from the very best government if the scourge of corruption is not tackled decisively. Everyone and every arm of government must rise up to be counted in this epic war, and defeat is not an option if our country is to survive. As President Muhammadu Buhari likes to say, if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. There is no better way to say it.

Everyone and every arm of government must be involved in the fight against corruption, which is one of the cardinal programmes of the Buhari  administration. Irrespective of what anyone may say, President Buhari is leading this fight by example and right from the front. His unparalleled integrity, his uncommon love of country and his undiluted dedication to service all put him in good stead to wage this war, and we must all support him and own the war in order to ensure its success. This is not Buhari’s war. This is not APC’s war. This is Nigeria’s war.

Questionable court orders

Equally critical to the success of the war is the judiciary. Unless this very important arm of government fully joins in waging this war and does not consider it business as usual, the pending cases of corruption will just drag on until they outlast this administration. I am not saying this lightly at all. A situation in which a single court issued five orders all in favour of those being prosecuted for corruption in 2015 alone calls for concern.

In one case, the court granted an ex-parte order staying all actions in connection with any allegation of corruption or other wrong doing which has been the subject of investigation by the EFCC and the House of Representatives. The same court declared unconstitutional the arrest of two applicants, despite exhibit of the criminal charge pending against the applicants, and ordered the  de-freezing of the applicants’ account, even after the court had been informed of the existence of a subsisting freezing order by the High Court in Lagos on the account. The same court ordered the EFCC to de-freeze the accounts of people implicated in the laundering of 4.5 billion Naira and perpetually restrained  the EFCC from investigating them, after they were invited for an interview by the commission.

The same court stopped the investigation and arrest of an accused, and ordered the release of 2.2 million dollars seized from him. And, finally, the court ordered that the accused implicated in the laundering of over 1 billion dollars should not be harassed or intimidated and his seized international passport be released. You can judge for yourselves whether these orders help or hinder the fight against corruption.

In the days ahead, we intend to carry this sensitization programme to all the corners of the country, leveraging on the wide reach of the National Orientation Agency (NOA). We also intend to partner with other agencies of government, especially the anti-corruption agencies and the police, as well as the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption.  We have no doubt that if Nigerians know the true costs of corruption to their lives and well-being, they will be less susceptible to swallowing the frivolous, self-serving and orchestrated distractions from the corrupt people and their benefactors and beneficiaries. We must kill corruption before it kills us.

But  Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, who is  a leader of the opposition PDP, has challenged you to mention the names of the 55 Nigerians  who alleged stole these funds.

My answer to him (Fayose) is that those people who stole the money know themselves.

But  shouldn’t government disclose the looters’ names or publish them?

If you go our courts, you will find their names, we are not just compiling new names

 

Mixed reactions are trailing President Muhammadu Buhari’s media chat

I think Mr President was forthright and candid in his response to issues; so how can anybody say he was not  forthcoming?  He was very forthcoming on every issue. On his asset declaration, he said he  had  done his  duty, it  was for you to go to the Code of Conduct Bureau to find out. He went further to say that if they don’t allow you, you can go to court. All he said is that  he had declared his assets and he made it public. Anyone who is interested in knowing the details  can go to the Code of a Conduct Bureau and if they stop you there, you should know what to do. On the Dasuki issue, he was forthright. The conclusion I draw from what the President said during the chat is  that he was asking all of us how  the cause of justice will  be better served? Is it by giving Dasuki bail or he  absconds or he is  allowed to have his day in court?

 

On the President’s position on the NASS and the electricity tariff and removal of fuel subsidy

What I understand from  Mr President’s statement is that, given the cost of crude, there is no subsidy element if PMS is sold for N85. The President said it is not a matter of removing subsidy or not, the reality today is that with the present cost of crude, under $40, government is not subsidizing anybody by selling refined petrol  at N85. So why should we go to the National Assembly  with  a bill?  He went further to say that what government needs to do now is  to  ensure that our refineries are working. When they are working, we will be importing less fuel and,, that way, even if the price of crude goes up, if we can refine the 445,000 barrel of crude per day, that will be more than 60 per cent of our needs.

 

Electricity tariff

This tariff was actually approved and was supposed to  have been  implemented just before  the 2015 elections. But for political reasons, the then President said  it  should not be implemented. The  new minister must have met with the major stakeholders and listened to them. We cannot on the one hand need power and not pay for what I call price reflective tariff.

What I know the minister also did was that he abolished the basic tariff and that increase really should not be seen in terms of percentage, but in terms of naira and kobo. The real increase  might look huge in terms of percentage but in terms of  naira and kobo, it goes between 12kobo  and  N1. What I don’t know is whether, the first time the tariff was increased and implemented before it was reversed, had the assent of the National Assembly.

 

His critics on Boko Haram

It is either my critics are  misinformed, ignorant or mischievous or they have their own agenda because they all sit down in their small rooms  and comment on what they know little or nothing about. What I said, which has  attracted so much criticism, is that the military had largely met the deadline of defeating Boko Haram by December 31, 2015 and I backed it with facts and figures. For instance, I said that about  a year ago,  Boko Haram was in firm control of at least 30 local governments in Nigeria. They were controlling a territory the size of an entire geo-political zone but that, today, they have been  decimated and  pushed out of those local governments. They might be operating from one or two but they are definitely not in control.

I also said that Boko Haram had been so dealt with that they lacked the capacity to unleash the kind  of mayhem they used to unleash before, like coming to attack police headquarters, United Nations complex or our barracks or  garrisons. Today, they have been reduced to cowardly attacks  on  soft targets.

I also said in my statement that this defeat does not mean the end of suicide bombings, it does not mean the end of attacks on soft targets, but that this is a time that we civilians must take over the civilian components of the fight, that will start with national security awareness.

How do you identify suicide bombers? How do you make sure that your parks and cinema houses are better secured. I had also appealed to the media that they should look at the war from a more patriotic viewpoint and that in time of war, nobody can afford to be neutral and that they should please refrain from glamourising  Boko Haram and giving  them oxygen.

So, I do not see how anybody can fault these facts. I would have been  worried, for instance, if they have  retaken any territory we had taken from them, that is when I would see relevance and I had also said that we expect these spikes in their attacks before they would want to prove that the army has not met the deadline. It would be part of their propaganda. I have been to the liberated  areas but they critics have not  been there;  so whatever information they are receiving is second hand or third hand. I have been there and I have seen the gallantry of our soldiers. I stand by what I have said and I am happy that my position was re-echoed by Mr President.

Vendetta claim about 55 looters of N1.34trn is nonsense - Lai Mohammed

Publish looters list - Pat Utomi tells FG

NAN

A Political Economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, on Monday urged the Federal Government to expedite action in publishing the list of those who returned stolen public funds to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Similarly, the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum urged the Federal Government to ensure that the list was holistic.

Pat Utomi

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said the CBN would soon publish the names of officials of the last administration that returned stolen funds.

Utomi told NAN on telephone that it would be proper for the president to mention the looters as long as there were concrete evidences backing it up.

Alhaji Yerima Shettima, the National President of the AYCF said that it would be unfair to mention some names and protect others.

Yerima said that there was nothing wrong in mentioning the names of the looters but hoped that those names would be all encompassing.

“The CBN must be seen to be fair and must not shield anyone for any reason whatsoever,” he said.

According to Shettima, Nigeria will only have problems if the list is not holistic and does not include all found wanting.

The Founder of the Peoples Redemption Party, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, told NAN that government would win the confidence of the citizens by publishing the looters.

“It will be a good thing if the president will do so; he will win our confidence,” he said.

Musa, a former governor of old Kaduna State, urged the president to also investigate, discover and recover the looted funds from Abacha.

“We want to know the truth about it and know who collected the loot and where the funds have been transferred to.

“This is because we suspect that all those talks about Abacha’s loot may be false.”

Publish looters list - Pat Utomi tells FG

Looter names to be published soon - Buhari

President   Moham-   madu Buhari said yesterday that his government will soon publish names of those who have returned portions of their loot from public coffers. This was as one of his spokesmen, Garba Shehu,  said in Kaduna that the Presidency would step on toes in their anti-corruption fight. Shehu said that the Presidency would do so for the interest of Nigeria.

President Buhari

President Buhari, according to The Cable News, said that the Central Bank of Nigeria will soon publicly name those who looted Nigeria and who have returned part of they wrongly appropriated.

He said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was holding on from publishing the list in order to avoid jeopardising investigations and further recoveries.

He was speaking  at the 15th session of the Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation lecture at the International Conference Centre, in Abuja yesterday. In his lecture, Buhari said during electioneering, the issue that gained “higher currency” in the psyche of the people was that Nigerians needed leadership that could be relied upon to tackle the orgy of corruption in the country.

“We have taken steps towards recovering a reasonable amount of the money that was looted or misappropriated from public coffers. Investigations are ongoing on public officers who served, or are still serving, and those whose conduct are questionable will be compelled to accept the path of honour and surrender their loot,” he said. “As I stated recently, a good number of people who abused their positions are voluntarily returning the illicit funds.

I have heard it said that we should disclose the names of the people, and the amount returned. Yes, in due course, the Central Bank of Nigeria will make information available to the public on the surrendered funds, but I must remark that it is yet early days, and any disclosure now may jeopardize the possibility of bigger recoveries. “But we owe Nigerians adequate information, and it shall come in due course.

It is part of the collective effort to change our land from the bastion of corruption it currently is, to a place of probity and transparency. “Quite frankly, the anti-corruption war is not strictly about me as a person, it is about building a country where our children, and the forthcoming generations, can live in peace and prosperity. When you see dilapidated infrastructure round the country, it is often the consequence of corruption.

“Poor heal-thcare, collapsed educa-tion, lack of public utilities, decayed social services, are all products of corruption, as those entrusted with public resources put them in their private pockets. That must stop, if we want a new Nigeria. And that was why I said at another forum that people need not fear me, but they must fear the consequences of their actions.

“Corrupt acts will always be punished, and there will be no friend, no foe. We will strive to do what is fair and just at all times, but people who refuse to embrace probity should have every cause to fear.”

In Kaduna, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, reiterated the Presidency’s commitment to anti-corruption war, speaking in a manner that indicated that the government may still go after top Nigerians who have breached public trust. “The President may step on big toes,” he said of groups and individuals who have swindled the country in the recent years.

This was as the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai stated that the success of president Buhari’s administration depended on the media input. Shehu made the disclosure in his welcome remarks at a three day retreat of the State House Correspondents  in Kaduna on Saturday.

Shehu who was the Chief Convener of the event themed “Journalism and Change Mantra: State House in Focus”, stated that the government needed the media support to succeed in the fight against corruption. He recalled that the present  government was a product of media’s determination to entrench a corruption-free society, stating that president Buhari would not fail Nigerians.

According to him, the president would not halt the ongoing investigations and would not come to the rescue of anyone who is found culpable in the anti-corruption war. He said: “President Buhari has embarked on an anti-corruption campaign that is bound to offend many. Big toes will be stepped on, personal interests will be cast aside. As the popular saying goes, when you fight corruption, corruption fights back.

“Yes, anti-corruption is a war. And the press can help President Mohammadu Buhari to win that war. You are of the government most lethal weapons in this battle against the forces that aim to pull down Nigeria. “The power of the media  lies in their ability to expose wrong-doings. This power of exposure is a far more effective deterrent in many countries including our own, than the court systems that deliver judgement and not necessarily justice.

“If they know that they will be exposed, many crimes will not happen and herein lies the challenge of the media under Buhari administration. Use your power to expose wrong-doings, the days of impunity are gone. This is the best way to help the change that the government is advocating  especially now that we have a government with the will and capacity to right all wrongs.”

Expressing appreciation to the media, Shehu also appealed to the media to key into the change agenda of the present government.

“As always, the government of President Mohammadu Buhari is grateful to the Nigerian media for the role you played in igniting the change agenda which has swept into Nigeria in March 2015. The press contributed immensely to the success of APC to the historic election of President Buhari. That was only the beginning of the change agenda. The change is still ongoing.

“This government still requires the assistance of the media to continue that process of change. President Buhari has embarked on the building of a new Nigeria and we need you, the Press, to keep the public informed of its many activities and policies that are geared towards improving the lives of Nigerian people according to the change agenda.

“The government needs the press to remain impartial and eschew spurious incentives when reporting and carrying our your responsibilities, the government needs you to avoid partnerships with enemies of progress who are bent on bringing down the government not minding if the entire country collapses while they are at it”, he said.

Also making his remarks, Governor el-Rufai who was the chief host of the retreat squarely put the success of the government on the media. “The responsibility that has been thrust in the hands of the new government is immense. The APC inherited a country at the tip of failure. As is becoming clearer by the day, some of the things that went on under the previous government are stranger than fiction.

“The consequences of the incompetence, the thievery and the divisive ethos that reigned are only becoming clear. Nigerians are only beginning to realise that the Jonathan government, despite years of $100 oil, was borrowing to pay salaries. The PDP simply ran this economy aground. Our party and our president will do their level best to pick up the pieces, restore economic vitality and make life better for Nigerians.

Looter names to be published soon - Buhari

Buhari in search of fearless judges to try Nigerian looters

PUNCH NEWSPAPER – President Muhammadu Buhari has commenced the process of identifying a few fearless and courageous judges who will be saddled with the responsibility of prosecuting persons who have been found to have stolen national resources, THE PUNCH has learnt.

General Buhari

Buhari had while granting audience to members of the National Peace Committee led by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar in the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday disclosed that the prosecution of the indicted persons would commence in a matter of weeks.

“Those who have stolen the national wealth will be in court in a matter of weeks and Nigerians will know those who have short-changed them,” the President had told his guests.

Our correspondent however learnt on Sunday that the prosecution would not be open to “just any judge.”

It was learnt that the President was committed to ensuring that only judges who would expedite action on the cases and would be fearless in discharging their duties would be enlisted for the prosecution.

A source confided in our correspondent that that was one of the assignments Buhari gave to the Prof. Itse Sagay-led Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption which he set up on Monday.

The source said it would not be necessary to set up special courts to try corruption cases since efforts were already underway to identify judges that would key into the President’s dream of ensuring that no looter was left unpunished.

He said, “We do not need to entertain any fear that the prosecution of corruption-related cases will not be fast enough because many of our courts are already weighed down by many cases.

“The truth of the matter is that not all judges will be considered to take up the cases of those who have stolen our commonwealth.

“As a matter of fact, one of the assignments the President gave the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption led by Prof. Sagay is to identify fearless and courageous judges that will handle the cases.

“The idea is to ensure that the judges who will handle the cases will not be just any judges. They must be those who will expedite actions on the cases and discharge their duties with courage.

“You can see that with this development, the issue of special courts for corruption cases may not come. It is about special judges.”

Our correspondent also gathered that Buhari was already considering withdrawing national honours from any individual found to have looted the nation’s treasury.

It was learnt that the President’s position was that the nation should not be seen to be honouring any fruadulent person.

“The President will not hesitate to strip any corrupt person of national honour. Can you honour a person for milking the nation dry? It is irrelevant how long such persons have been bestowed with the national honours, they will be stripped of them,” the source said.

When contacted, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said it was reasonable that anybody found to be corrupt should be stripped of national honours.

Adesina however said such withdrawal of national honours would not be done until affected persons had been convicted by competent courts.

“Although it has not been considered, it is reasonable that those found guilty of corruption should be stripped of national honours bestowed on them. However, this will not be done before conviction,” the presidential spokesman said.

While announcing the establishment of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption on Monday, Adesina had said its brief was to advise the present administration on the prosecution of the war against corruption and the implementation of required reforms in Nigeria’s criminal justice system.

He said the committee was also saddled with the responsibility of developing comprehensive interventions for achieving the recommended reforms.

Buhari in search of fearless judges to try Nigerian looters

No hiding place for NNPC looters

FOR public officials and their cronies stealing the country blind through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the day of reckoning beckons. The thumping victory of Muhammadu Buhari in the March 28 presidential election was followed last week by the World Bank’s backing for his resolve to closely scrutinise the corporation. With persistence, the reign of impunity and unbridled looting will, hopefully, soon be over at the state-owned oil company. The incoming government must ensure that everyone involved in corrupt practice in the corporation is detected, investigated, prosecuted and punished.

Having coasted to victory on the promise to halt the pervasive corruption that defines the current administration and on his own reputation for accountability, Buhari has no choice but to, first, undertake a detailed probe and audit of the NNPC operations and account and, thereafter, break the corrupt monolith into a lean holding company. The executives, petroleum ministry and Presidency officials that have for so long gorged on the treasury through the NNPC should not get away with their loot. The World Bank’s backing should also put paid to some misguided calls that the in-coming administration should not “waste” time on probes. We disagree.

The magnitude of NNPC’s malfeasance demands one. Corruption is encouraged by both the incentives and opportunities to be corrupt. And so, the World Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa, Francisco Ferreira, said, “One norm that has to change is the norm of impunity.” A series of audits and reports has uncovered horrendous graft, unauthorised spending, alleged secret accounts and brazen theft. Described by The Economist of London as one of the world’s “most opaque” national oil companies, the NNPC unilaterally determines how much subsidy and other items it is entitled to and simply deducts. Global audit firm, KPMG, reported that between 2007 and 2009, for instance, it over-billed the government by N28.5 billion in subsidy deductions. In 2013, Switzerland-based non-governmental organisation, Erklarung von Bern, alleged that $6.8 billion was siphoned in crude revenues. The FINANCE Ministry complained in September 2007 that the corporation failed to remit $5.2 billion to the government.

For a company responsible for the country’s interest in the oil and gas sector that provides over 70 per cent of government revenues and 90 per cent of export earnings, this corporation must be made accountable. The NNPC has become a law unto itself and, as noted by Democracy Network, an NGO, “it is accountable to no one.” The veracity of this was confirmed by Petroleum Resources Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who pointedly told a parliamentary committee that the NNPC had the right under law to spend part of its revenue without recourse to the parliament despite the constitutional provision that all revenues accruing to ministries, departments and agencies of the government must be remitted to the Federation Account.

An organisation rated by the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2007 to be “a source of corruption and national shame” and in March this year, to be “among the most secretive oil groups in the world,” can only continue to be so only with presidential and ministerial complicity. Successive Nigerian presidents have, according to an analyst, turned the NNPC into their “personal ATM.” A former presidential media adviser, in his memoirs, detailed how the then President would simply demand money from the NNPC group managing director for activities that should normally be funded by MDAs. There are allegations that the NNPC partly funds the re-election campaigns of sitting presidents.

The scale of the impunity perpetrated by public officials is simply awesome. What Nigeria needs is a holding company to manage her interests in the oil and gas industry, not a corporate behemoth that oils the machinery of graft. The reform should begin with a total withdrawal from the downstream oil sector – pipelines, refineries, depots and retail outlets should be privatised within six months of the new administration taking office. Its production arm, the NPDC, should also be privatised. Let the private sector run things, while the government strengthens regulation and sees to the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill.

As the late Singaporean leader,Lee Kuan Yew, put it,“Singapore is what it is today because of its system of transparency and integrity.” The new government should break quickly with the inertia, impunity and complicity of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration and exhume the panel and audit reports on the NNPC. Arising from the 2011 petrol subsidy scam where N2.53 trillion was paid in unbudgeted payments, four reports and committee reports to review them have not been acted upon. The latest report by the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative on the period 2009-11, said N4.42 billion, N3.71 billion, and $1.7 billion in over-recoveries from marketers and use of expired memorandum of understanding with joint venture partners were still outstanding. This is a firm that, according to EvB, sells all of its crude through third parties, which creates room for kickbacks and shady contracts.

Nigerians want to know how much is really missing from the NNPC: is it $20 billion as alleged by the former CBN governor, Lamido Sanusi, or $10.8 billion as the NNPC itself once admitted only to later say it paid itself for kerosene subsidy? We need details of the refund of $1.48 billion recommended by PWC. What kind of accounting does NNPC operate that the CBN, the government’s banker, cannot unravel and one where the FINANCE Ministry, the Accountant-General and the apex bank have conflicting figures?

But if ever the argument that a fine toothcomb needs to be run through the NNPC is in doubt, Buhari needs only remember that despite producing 2.3 million barrels of crude per day, Nigeria imports refined petroleum products, the victim of NNPC’s incompetent, corruption-ridden monopoly in local refining.

The overall strategic approach to fighting corruption should apply across the board, with no distinction made on whether it is petty corruption or high level corruption. No exception is made for anyone and there are no “black areas” or “sacred cows” the law cannot deal with.

No hiding place for NNPC looters