Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has “welcomed
publication of the list of recovered funds by the Federal Government as a
positive development towards entrenching a culture of transparency and
accountability in government.”
The organization however asked
the government to “publish the names of high-ranking public officials
from whom the public funds were recovered, and spend recovered funds in a
transparent and accountable manner so as to remove opportunities for
re-looting recovered loot.”
In a statement on Sunday by SERAP
Executive Director Adetokunbo Mumuni the organization said:
“The
recovered funds must be spent to directly benefit Nigeria’s most
vulnerable populations particularly to improve their access to quality
education, healthcare including for children, women and the elderly, and
regular and uninterrupted electricity supply. It will be a double
jeopardy for victims of corruption if recovered funds are re-looted, as
it was the case with Sani Abacha recovered loot.”
Reacting to the
non publication of names of those alleged to have looted the treasury,
SERAP stated: “This is a case of grand corruption, which has devastated
many lives and fundamentally contrasts with the ideal of government as a
public trust. Therefore, high-ranking government officials suspected of
turning the public treasury into a private cashbox should be prepared
to accept a higher degree of openness about their official conduct than
private individuals.”
“Publishing the names of high-ranking
government officials that have already returned stolen public funds will
not infringe their right to presumption of innocence in particular and
fair trial in general if the government can provide a caveat to make it
clear that such disclosure does not suggest an assessment of the guilt
of those named, and that they remain suspects until proven guilty by a
competent judicial authority.”
“The authorities responsible for
combating corruption cannot be expected to refrain from all statements,
such as the fact that a suspicion of corruption exists. What is excluded
is however a formal declaration that somebody is guilty without trial
before a court of law.”
“The fact that suspected corrupt officials
have returned some public funds makes the argument in favour of
publishing their names even stronger. Open justice promotes the rule of
law and publicity is a powerful deterrent to abuse of power and official
misconduct.”
“Nigerians have the right to know how high-ranking
government officials carry out their entrusted public functions and
manage the public treasury, and whether or not they act in accordance
with the code of conduct which Nigerians expect from their leaders.”
“The
government must now move swiftly to complete all pending investigations
of corruption and to pursue diligently those cases in court, and to
consistently utilise the crime of illicit enrichment (also called:
“unexplained wealth,” or “inexplicable wealth,” or “disproportionate
wealth”) to achieve effective prosecution of corruption cases. The
government should compile a list of corruption cases in court and cases
already completed with names and the amounts involved, and widely
publish this including on a dedicated website to promote the idea of
open justice.”
“A naming and shaming policy already exists in the
international arena, for example, the FATF usually adopt a sanctions
regime of ‘naming and shaming,’ against Non-Cooperative Countries or
Territories (NCCTs) in its battle against money laundering.”
“In
addition, SERAP urges President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a mechanism
with a view to ensuring that the funds so far recovered are applied in a
transparent and accountable manner, and with civil society involvement
and oversight.”
Details of the recoveries, published by the
Federal Ministry of Information, showed that the Nigerian government
successfully retrieved total cash amount N78,325,354,631.82,
$185,119,584.61, £3,508,355.46 and €11, 250 between May 29, 2015 and May
25, 2016.
-PM News
