The Peoples Democratic Party recently urged the Federal Government to pay urgent attention to the management of the nation’s economy. The party expressed worry that the economy has remained on rapid fall in the four months of President Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency apparently due to the absence of clear-cut fiscal policy direction and an economic team to deal with the domestic and global challenges associated with a developing economy.
President Buhari has continued to reiterate his commitment to the fight against corruption in order to stabilize the economy. As a matter of fact, one of the benchmark of the current administration is anti-corruption, if the intensive campaign by the President and allies is anything to go by. Even before he was sworn in on May 29, the desire to end corruption was painted all over the media, as Muhammadu Buhari, promised to kill corruption before it kills Nigeria.
Four months into this administration however, there are growing concerns about the fight against corruption as the government had not began to charge accused persons to court save for onw or two politically exposed persons in what many see as mere witch hunt. Although the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have been up and doing with regards to arrests and investigations into activities of former government officials accused of corrupt practices, it hasn’t really gone beyond that. Reports of recovery of looted funds from past officials of ministries like Petroleum, Health, Environment, Power and some others have remained mere rumour as no responsible official issued formal statements on such talks.
It is true that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC), was recently announced that it recovered about N900 million from corrupt officials from the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Federal Pay Office but this would appear a peanut compared to the colossal sums being peddled as looted especially by officials during the last administration. Although investigations and trial of the accused are still ongoing, ICPC Chairman, Ekpo Nta, said the agency sought court orders to recover and return the stolen funds to the affected offices in view of the “time-specific nature of the assignments these monies were meant for.”
Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Power, Dr. Godknows Igali was alleged to have diverted N3.5 billion meant for the National Power Sector Apprenticeship Scheme. The revelation was made as Senate began probe of the management of funds appropriated to the power sector from 1999 to date.
Senate President Bukola Saraki in September announced a 13-man ad-hoc Committee to carry out a holistic investigation into the management of funds appropriated to the power sector from May 29, 1999 to date. The committee is headed by Senator Abubakar Kyari (APC Borno North).
The N1.9billion Ebola fund scam is also fresh in mind. Some officials of the Ministry of Health were reported to be pencilled down for arrest in connection with the Ebola fund included top officials of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). There was also an alleged discovery of over N9billion looted funds in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources but despite all these, nothing concrete has been achieved with regards to trial and prosecution of the accused persons involved.
There was much talk about EFCC has commencing a full investigation into the activities of the immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NPC). It was learnt that the commission constituted a four-member committee of crack detectives to probe all the NNPC accounts which were supervised by the former minister.
Probes and enquiries are fast becoming normal everyday occurrences in Nigeria’s public life but with little or nothing achieved for the monies spent on them. This has then raised concerns of the ability of the government and its anti-graft agencies to successfully prosecute the war against corruption. A look into the history of corruption trials by EFCC and even Nigeria Police will show that they have been far less successful than rabble rousing.
Take the case of former Delta State Governor, James Ibori. He was in 2009 The discharged and acquitted by a Federal High Court in Asaba of all of the 170-count charges of corruption, involving the laundering of millions of dollars, filed against him by the EFCC. However, following an extradition from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Britain in 2012, Ibori pleaded guilty to the same offences amounting to stealing and laundering about $250million in the London Southwark Crown Court 9. He was promptly sentenced to 13 years in addition to forfeiting money and property.
It should also be recalled that former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode was discharged and acquitted of corruption charges. In her judgment, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia said the prosecution’s case was “feeble” and failed to provide “copious evidence” linking Mr. Fani-Kayode to money laundering.
Fani-Kayode, whose trial began in 2008 before Justice Ramat Mohammed, was arraigned by the EFCC,for allegedly laundering about N100 million while he was Minister of Culture and Tourism and subsequently, Aviation minister. The alleged laundered sum was, however, reduced to N2.1million on November 17, 2014 after the court dismissed 38 of the 40-count charges levelled againsthim want of proof.
The instances of successful prosecution recorded by EFCC only ended in the accused getting a slap on the wrist. Thus it seems to be so difficult for the anti-graft agencies to prosecute corruption cases to their own satisfaction not to talk of satisfaction of Nigerians.
The judiciary system has also been accused of contributing to delays or even hindering corruption prosecution. For instance, the Federal High Court in Abuja recently stopped the probe of the alleged diversion of the Presidential Amnesty Fund set up by the Federal Government for the rehabilitation and re-integration of former Niger-Delta militants. Justice Valentine Ashi barred the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Department of the State Security (DSS), Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), and National Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) from arresting or detaining the principal actor in the management of the fund, Mr. Kingsley Kuku.
“Does President Muhammadu Buhari have the wit and gusto to intensively eradicate corruption or reduce it to the barest minimum?” That seems to be the question on the minds of concerned Nigerians. The war against corruption is apparently more difficult than the President may have envisaged. “When you fight corruption, corruption fights you back” is a popular parlance here.This may be due the level it has gnawed into the Nigerian system and most likely the individuals and groups involved. In fact, the NNPC has bowed to the pressure mounted by the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) by lifting a ban on 113 foreign vessels, mostly very large crude carriers (VLCCs) into Nigeria’s territorial waters less than two months after the ban was imposed. The vessels were initially banned due to their refusal to tender their loading and offloading documents. Have the vessels owners obliged presented the documents demanded from them before the ban was lifted?
