By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed through second reading, a bill for an act to amend the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 to provide for compulsory counselling and training for convicts of corruption related offences.
The proposed piece of legislation which was read the second time in the House at plenary on Wednesday is sponsored by Hon. Akiolu Moshood Kayode (APC, Lagos).
This bill seeks to amend section 67 of the Principal Act by expanding it with additional three provisions which stipulate that magistrates and judges shall not only sentence convicts of corruption-related offences to imprisonment and/or fines; they shall also impose on them a mandatory period of counselling and training.
Leading debate on the general principles of the bill, Hon. Kayode said the counselling and training will be designed and delivered by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN) and, to achieve their desired impact, shall run for a minimum of four weeks.
He said, the compulsory anti-corruption counselling and training of persons convicted of corruption-related offences are in recognition of the strong connection that exists between mental disposition and the primitive accumulation of wealth.
“It is similar to what psychologists and psychiatrists call kleptomania, which means an impulse control disorder that results in an irresistible urge to steal. The anti-corruption counseling and training will be designed to wean convicts off corrupt tendencies and even turn them into anti-corruption campaigners. This dovetails with the reformative mandate of our criminal justice system, which is not focused on punishment alone.”
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