By Joy Baba -Yesufu
Some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have raised concern over corruption level in Nigeria and the recent malicious attacks and deliberate efforts to blackmail anti-corruption agencies through sponsorship influencers, incentivised opinion publications in some national dailies, online and electronic platforms, all targeted at discouraging anti-corruption efforts and shielding the kleptocrats from thorough investigation.
They also said transparency and accountability are crucial elements that enable democracies to flourish but in Nigeria however, our so-called “democracy” has persistently functioned under a veil of secrecy and lawlessness noting that the management of the country’s resources has consistently disregarded the fundamental principles of democracy.
The Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) Auwal Musa Rafsanjani who spoke on behalf of fifty CSOs stated this while addressing journalist on the state of the nation’s fight against corruption said judicial corruption constitutes a major challenge to anti-corruption fight in Nigeria as looters have repeatedly used their influence to manipulate the judicial process and system, to block and delay the arrest or prosecution of suspects.
He further said that there have been several allegations of judicial officers receiving bribes from politicians and politically exposed persons in-order to circumvent the law adding that this has watered down the respect, trust and confidence of citizens in the judiciary and negatively impacted the fight against corruption. “Nigerians have witnessed too many situations where courts have granted injunctions which deterred anti-corruption agencies from inviting and prosecuting corrupt government officials and politically exposed persons” he noted.
According to him “Nigerians have witnessed with alarm numerous cases featuring a high number of foreign enablers from Switzerland, Monaco, Panama, British Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom (UK) facilitating corruption. Enablers from the UK are particularly strongly linked to Nigerian cases. Nigeria also has a number of domestic enablers involved in cases. Out of 87 enablers captured, 5 enablers are from Nigeria: 3 lawyers/law firms and 2 real estate agents. This is due to cases involving, Nigerian lawyers managing trusts on behalf of their clients that are then used to move funds abroad.
“There are desperate efforts by corrupt elements to disinform, mislead, misinform and confuse Nigerians on the efforts of various anti-corruption institutions in Nigeria. We are worried over the poor understanding of the work and mandates of the anti-corruption agencies by many Nigerians including the youth, who recently played an active role in preventing the arrests of some prominent looters of the public treasury, not minding the negative impact of the loots on rising unemployment and economic downturn being experienced.”
