Dismantling the cogs in the anti-corruption wheel

As the anti-graft war gathers momentum, some Nigerians still nurse the fears that corruption appears to be fighting back, wondering whether the much-craved corruption-free society won’t be a dream after all.
KEHINDE OSASONA writes\
Overview We shall strongly battle ‘Corruption’ another form of evil that is even worse than terrorism.
It will not be tolerated by this administration; and it shall no longer be allowed to stand as if it is a respected monument in this nation, says President Muhammadu Buhari.
Buhari made this statement while reeling out his acceptance speech, in 2015, after he was sworn-in as President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
And during the campaign, Candidate Buhari said: “But I must emphasise that any war waged on corruption should not be misconstrued as settling old scores or a witch-hunt.
I’m running for President to lead Nigeria to prosperity and not adversity.
“In reforming the economy, we will use savings that arise from blocking these leakages and the proceeds recovered from corruption to fund our party’s social investments programmes in education, health, and safety nets such as free school meals for children, emergency public works for unemployed youth and pensions for the elderly.” EFCC’s posture Lessening fears being envisaged by Nigerians over lacklustre approach to combating corruption, the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, had at a recent working tour of the commission’s southeast zonal office in Enugu and Anambra states, spoke about the 2017 low rating of Nigeria by the Transparency International, TI, in the global corruption perception index, describing it as the case of corruption fighting back.
Rather, Magu believed that more than any other, the Buhari administration had perfumed better in the fight against corruption.
According to him, Nigeria met all the eight requirements as contained in the nine-point protocol, but only scored low in one point.
Magu said: “We have met almost every demand.
So it’s corruption fighting back.
You will see them carrying a lot of false information, buying all the media organisations.
“I don’t believe in that TI rating, I don’t believe it’s real because from what we have done, we have worked very hard and we have recorded a lot of successes that had never been recorded before in this country; it has never been done so well.
I’m not giving the credit for myself.
“We have never done so well like this before.
When you go through this list, you will see how they even arrived at the perception, if you go from these variables, all other variables minus one, the rating of Nigeria compared to 2016 has increased, the only last variable which they gave us low mark is not issue of corruption.” Corroborating his initial stance at another forum, Magu, during a retreat in Abuja, organized by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) for the CEOs of government agencies, pointed out that the fight against corruption is not selective, reiterating further that nothing can stop his commission from fighting corruption in the country to a standstill.
“We are unrelenting in our fight against corruption and nothing can stop us from defeating it.
I repeat, nothing can stop us from fighting it to standstill,” he said.
Confirming Nigerians fears however, Magu said: “Though corruption is presently fighting back vigorously, the EFCC is surely having the upper hand and will soon defeat corruption and those aiding it.
“I am assuring you, we will win because we are not fighting corruption as an individual or an agency, many Nigerians are behind us and we call on other honest Nigerians to join us to fight corruption together.” Stakeholders’ standpoint But as high-profile corruption cases in Nigeria become more and more difficult to crack, Professor Itse Sagay, Chairman , Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), wants senior lawyers backing the ‘crooks’ tamed.
Sagay stated this in 2017 at a media round-table in Lagos which was organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
In the opinion of the fiery critic and anti-corruption campaigner, lawyers, especially SANs, have “turned obstruction and frustration of proceedings on high-profile corruption cases into an art.” Consequently, Sagay, advised that the Silks in question, should be barred from the court hearing of such cases.
According to him, “in cases requiring appeal, the authorities must apply for leave to appeal out of time, and prepare evidence and legal arguments thoroughly, including inviting consultants to advice.
“Prosecuting authorities must insist on full application of sections 306 and 396 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, namely: No stay of proceedings under any circumstances – S.
306.
“Any preliminary objection must be taken together with the substantive issue – S.
396(2), and hearings shall be on a daily basis, but in exceptional cases, adjournments not to be in excess of 14 working days, may be granted.
Such adjournments not to exceed five in any proceedings – S.
396 (3) and (4).” Sharing similar view, Nobel laureate, Professor Soyinka, another anti- corruption crusader in the country, has continually warned the federal government to take decisive action on the war against corruption, cautioning that else it will not succeed.
At the opening of a four-day conference of heads of anticorruption agencies from across Africa held in Abuja, Soyinka further charged the EFCC to hold corrupt leaders accountable.
“I took the trouble yesterday to visit the headquarters of EFCC.
I wanted to see what would be the mode of hospitality for some of our leaders who will surely, sooner or later, pass through the doors of that beautiful (EFCC) building not far from here.
“I am not a vengeful person, but I think that until we make sure that some of our leaders pass through those doors, this struggle against corruption in this country will not be won,” said the literary icon For an author of Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa and legal advisor to AI’s secretariat, Kolawole Olaniyan, Buhari has backed his commitment by putting in place some important measures such as the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Whistle-Blowing Policy and the establishment of the PACAC to combat the systemic theft of public resources and by extension, its pernicious effects on human rights and development.
“However, real progress is yet to be made with respect to the prosecution of cases of grand corruption.
High-ranking corrupt officials rarely end up in jail, as suspects continue to exploit the flaws in the justice system and the anti-corruption programme’s legal and institutional mechanisms, to the point where individuals are profiting from their crimes,” he said.
Taming the monster In overcoming the challenges, stakeholders proffer that the upgrading of domestic criminal money laundering laws should be carried out so that the penalties for culprits can increase up to 25 years imprisonment.
Not only that, they are also of the view that asset recovery options like having a very wide framework that captures every conceivable act of money laundering and international asset recovery arrangements that would expand the chances of prosecuting those involved and illegal assets recovered, should be put in place.
Like the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo aptly put it; issue of corruption has been an existential issue for Nigeria, and it is threatening the very fundamentals of her existence.
Therefore, the onus is on the federal government to commit itself both in words and action, so as to rescue the country from the hydra-headed monster called corruption.