How graft hurts development, by Gambia's CJ, Soyinka, others

How graft hurts development, by Gambia's CJ, Soyinka, others
From Lemmy Ughegbe (Abuja), Yemi Olakitan and Helen Amajo (Lagos)

TWO principal officers of The Gambian judiciary joined the unending debate on whether or not to expunge Section 308 of Nigeria's 1999 Constitution, which provides immunity from prosecution for the President, Vice President, governors and their deputies.

Speaking with reporters in Abuja on the fight against corruption, the Chief Justice of The Gambia, Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, and the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Esther Awo Ota, said corruption and embezzlement accounted for the slow pace of development in Nigeria.

The duo, who are Nigerians, blamed Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution for corruption and looting of public treasury as they identified the shield thereof as a big incentive for its beneficiaries to fearlessly embezzle public funds.

In Lagos, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka and others spoke in a similar vein, warning of the dangers ahead if the problem was not sincerely tackled urgently. Soyinka's remarks were made at a ceremony in honour of former EFCC Chairman, Malam Nuhu Ribadu.

Agim said whereas immunity clause was not altogether bad, it should only be in place against civil action and not on issues of crime and corruption.

He said although it would serve national interest best to expunge the criminal immunity, "it is impossible."

He remarked: "Who are those to remove the immunity? The beneficiaries of the immunity themselves. They will never let go of their immunity. So, that they will be vulnerable to arrest and prosecution."

Also, Ota said: "The main problem facing Nigeria in the battle against corruption is the immunity clause provided under Section 308 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. By that section, the leaders know they are already protected before they go into office and so what is stopping them from stealing public funds?

"The immunity is unnecessary because it places corrupt leaders above the law. It is my view that once the immunity clause is removed from the Constitution, our leaders who hitherto looted public treasury brazenly will be careful about stealing public funds they are meant to hold in trust and administer for the common good of the people. I see no reason why there should be immunity for any public office holder if we are to show that nobody is above the law; the immunity clause clearly show that some sets of Nigerians are above the law and that is not even good for the national psyche."

Justice Ota advised the adoption of The Gambian style of immunity, which she said, had helped the country to combat corruption and reduced it to its barest minimum.

Her words: " Immunity in The Gambia is qualified in that there is immunity from civil actions, but as far as it relates to issues of crime or corrupt practices, there is no immunity as you are made to answer for it immediately."

The Nobel laureate, speaking at the award of the Anti-Corruption Defender Award to Ribadu organised by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism and supported by the Dutch Embassy in Nigeria, said there was a massive wave of cheating and corruption in the country.

Soyinka said all hands must be on deck to check the waves of corruption. He referred to reports that over-aged football players were allowed to play for the national team during the Under-17 World Cup hosted by Nigeria. He said this was another clear signal that corruption was still alive and well.

The professor demanded an investigation into the matter. He said those who are responsible for such display of dishonesty must be punished and made to pay the price for their irresponsibility. He asked: "What message are we passing across to the younger ones and the next generation?

Soyinka also disclosed that the journalist who reported the matter has been receiving calls from Nigerians who accused him of being unpatriotic.

But Soyinka said: ''The question is should we be patriotic in dishonesty?"

The Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, Aire C.A. van der Wiel, also spoke extensively on corruption in Nigeria and urged the to people to eradicate the malice which has eaten deep into the national life. He, however, noted that corruption was not an only a Nigerian problem but a problem of humanity.

In a joint statement, the Centre; Socio-Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP); Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC); Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), and Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), which made up the award jury, named Ribadu as "our own equivalent of Amnesty International's Prisoner of Conscience and individual at risk."

It went on: "This is an exceptional gathering for an even more exceptional man. Today, the world celebrates the International Anti-Corruption Day, and we consider it a special day to celebrate the courage and commitment of a man who despite obvious personal risks, decided to say 'enough is enough', and to give his all to the fight against corruption in Nigeria."

The groups also called "on the Nigerian authorities to immediately withdraw all politically-motivated charges against Mr. Ribadu, and stop using constitutional authority and the machinery of the state to harass, intimidate and victimise him. The Nigerian authorities must publicly guarantee Ribadu's safety and security; and grant him full citizenship rights."

According to the groups: "Mr. Ribadu was chosen for the Civil Society Anti-Corruption Defender Award for leading a courageous anti-corruption drive in Nigeria as a former Head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and because of the persecution, harassment and intimidation he has endured and suffered and continues to suffer in the hands of the Nigerian authorities solely on the ground of his anti-corruption work. It is fair to say that today, no other individual has been so persecuted, harassed and intimidated.

"Mr. Ribadu provided outstanding leadership in fighting corruption at all levels of Nigerian life. He tracked down high and low-level officials. Mr. Ribadu recorded over 300 criminal convictions in four years, which included governors; ministers; members of parliament; bankers, and former Inspector-General of Police. He has recovered over $5 billion stolen public funds.

"Mr. Ribadu has endured many sacrifices since he was forced out of the EFCC, including two assassination attempts on his life, and his unlawful sack from the police. Persecuted at home, separated from his family; and lonely abroad, Mr. Ribadu is now paying the price for his commitment and his work as anti-corruption defender. But he remains a source of tremendous inspiration for all anti-corruption and human rights defenders in our country. Mr. Ribadu is indeed our own equivalent of Amnesty International's Prisoner of Conscience and individual at risk. As such, he deserves recognition and better protection."

"Every government has the duty to bring to justice those responsible for crimes. But when people are subjected to unjust punishment and unfair trials, justice cannot be served. The unjust punishment Mr. Ribadu has received over the years demonstrates the Yar'Adua government's lack of respect for the rule of law and shows that the government is not genuinely committed to the fight against corruption. It is no surprise that Nigeria has performed very poorly in the Transparency International 2009 Corruption Perception Index, ranking 130th of the 180 countries surveyed."

Born November 11,1960, Ribadu graduated from the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Bar in 1984 before joining the Nigeria Police, where he rose to become head of the Legal and Prosecution Department, Police Headquarters, Abuja. His 18-year service in the Nigeria Police culminated in his appointment as the pioneer Chairman of EFCC by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo government in 2003.

Ribadu has been recipient of several awards, as a police officer, prosecutor and EFCC chairman. He received triple Inspector-General of Police Awards in 1997, 1998 and 2000 and the Special Commendation of the Accountant-General of the Federation for successfully prosecuting some corrupt public servants in 1999. Notable Nigerian newspapers, including ThisDay, The Sun, Leadership, Nigerian Tribune and NewAge, declared him Man of the Year in 2004 and 2005. On April 15, 2008, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) selected Ribadu for the Jit Memorial Award for Outstanding Public Service.

Meanwhile, human right crusaders assembled at the United Nations Information Centre, in Lagos yesterday to renew their campaign against human rights abuse worldwide.

The parley tagged, "Embracing Diversity and Ending Discrimination," was in commemoration of the International Human Rights Day.

In his speech, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, whose message was delivered by UNIC's Officer-in-Charge, Nosa Osazuwa, said it was saddened to realize that no country was exonerated yet from human rights abuse.

Moon said discrimination is seen everywhere, in many forms, old and new, covert and blatant and in the public and private sectors. He added that discrimination may appear as institutionalised racism, ethnic strife, episodes of intolerance and rejection, or as an official national version of history that denies the identity of some others.

According to him, discriminatory attacks are usually launched at individuals and groups that are disabled, women and girls, the poor, migrants, minorities, and all those who are perceived as different.

Moo said these vulnerable people are frequently excluded from participating in the economic, political, cultural and social lives of their communities.