Group x-rays Nigeria’s high-profile corruption cases

By Raymond Mordi

 

At an event to mark this year’s World Anti-Corruption Day, a lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Dr. Dayo Ayoade, decried the pervasive impact of corruption in Nigeria and how very little is being done to tackle it. The occasion was the public presentation of “A Compendium of 100 High Profile Corruption Cases in Nigeria”, a publication by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA).

Ayoade, who chaired the event, represented the Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Prof. Ayo Atsenuwa. He said the colossal damage corruption is doing to the Nigerian economy can be gleaned from the current high cost of living, social tension, disorder and insecurity in the land.

The university don said trillions of dollars that ought to be used in building railways, universities, hospitals for the country are embezzled by the very officials that were elected to serve the interest of the people. Corruption is a great deterrent to investment. The price of crude oil has been sliding internationally and, for a country that depends solely on crude oil export for revenue and foreign exchange, the matter is made worse by the fact that the little that accrues to the public purse are embezzled by selfish and heartless politicians.

The irony, Ayoade added, is that very little is being done to tackle the corruption. He said: “I can tell you, as a lawyer that the intellectual resources of corruption in Nigeria are not as deep as one would expect. That is why we must appreciate the effort of HEDA Resources Centre is making in this regard by bringing to the light those that have accused of corruption.

“HEDA Resources Centre has sought to aid our effort in tackling corruption by giving us a compendium of 100 high-profile anti-corruption cases. The reason for this is to publicize the inadequacies of our justice system, practices and approach to tackle corruption. A lot of high-ranking officials have been accused of embezzling billions of naira of the tax-payers’ money, but very few of them have been jailed.”

He said there is an ongoing debate about corruption in the country, but a lot more investment in the intellectual side is required.

The Executive Secretary, HEDA Resources Centre, Sulaimon Arigbabu, on spoke on why the publication of the compendium became necessary, said the biggest challenge facing the country is how to keep track of the “numerous cases of mind-boggling corruption being perpetrated in the country”. He said after a year or two Nigerians tend to forget about it, as new cases emerge.

He said all that is being done now (in the Federal Government’s fight against corruption) is like scratching the surface and that what HEDA Resources Centre is doing is to keep the cases in the front burner of public discourse.

Arigbabu said the difficulty in keeping track of corruption cases in Nigeria is compounded by the slow pace of the country’s judicial system where cases last for more than 10 years. He said many of the accused persons are the high and mighty in society such as governors who enjoy immunity from prosecution. “After their tenure, many of them eventually find their way into the National Assembly,” he added.

Adeola Soetan, who reviewed the compendium, rendered one of the late Fela Anikulapo’s songs, “Authority Stealing” as an introduction to his review. “Authority Stealing pass armed robbery; we Africans must do something about this nonsense.”

Soetan said the figures involved in most of the cases – billions of dollars – are mind-boggling. He said: “What we are doing here calls for sombre reflection, “particularly since today is World Anti-Corruption Day”.

He said the 2020 edition of the compendium is the fourth in the series and introduces 45 new cases, in addition to 55 cases from the previous edition. He added that 52 of the 100 cases in the current edition are elected and appointed public officials like Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State who was facing corruption charges before he was elected.

He said what HEDA Resources Centre is doing is commendable because it affords Nigerians the opportunity to see how corruption is being fought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). He said what the two organisations and non-governmental organization like HEDA Resources Centre are doing is like a drop in the ocean because Nigeria is still ranked as one of the most corrupt nations in the world.

Soetan said when it comes to manipulating the system for monetary gains, the perpetrators cut across geo-political zones, religious divides and ethnic affiliation. He said going by the way corrupt persons are treated as Very Important Persons (VIPS) in Nigeria, “the lesson for the young ones is that it is better to steal in billions so that there would be enough to settle the case without going to jail”.

Chairman of HEDA Resources Centre, Olanrewaju Suraju urged Nigerians to continuously challenge the system and question their representatives in different capacities.  He said his organisation embarked on the publication of the high profile anti-corruption cases on an annual basis to serve as a reminder for the populace.

He said the Nigerian situation has elevated itself from corruption to impunity because they can afford to buy the entire gamut that administers criminal justice.