Several groups and individuals across
Nigeria have called on President
Muhammadu Buhari to fulfil his promise of
naming those who stole from the country’s
treasury.
Those who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH in
reaction to the list of recovered funds and
assets published by the Federal
Government on Saturday insisted that the
names of those who returned their loot
must be published to make the loot
recovery process more transparent.
President Buhari had on May 13, 2016, in
an interview he granted some journalists
before he departed from London where he
attended an Anti-Corruption Summit
organised by the British Prime Minister,
David Cameron, promised to disclose to
Nigerians the amount his government had
so far recovered from those who looted
the nation’s treasury and their names on
May 29.
The date, being Democracy Day, was when
his administration clocked one.
Buhari said, “So far, what has come out;
what has been recovered in whatever
currency from each ministry, department
and individual; I intend on the 29th to
speak on these. This is because of all
what Nigerians are getting from the mass
media; because of the number of people
arrested either by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission or
Department of State Services. But we
want to make a comprehensive report on
the 29th.”
When asked whether he would also publish
the names of the looters, Buhari replied,
“Yes, eventually, it has to be done because
we want to successfully prosecute them.
But you know you cannot go to the courts
unless you have documents for
prosecution. People signed for these
monies into their personal accounts.”
When the Federal Government released
the list on Saturday, it had only the details
of funds and assets recovered and those
pending locally and internationally. No
name of any of those from whom the
funds and assets were recovered was
mentioned.
The failure to name the looters had
generated widespread reactions from
members of the public on Saturday.
The Nigerian Bar Association urged the
President to keep his promise by releasing
the names of looters.
According to the President of the NBA, Mr.
Augustine Alegeh (SAN), the revelation is
important for citizens to gain closure.
He said, “For us, it is always important
that the promises our leaders make to the
people are kept. I believe that if there is
any legal impediment that prevents the
President, who is a forthright person, from
keeping a promise he has made to the
Nigerian people, he should let Nigerians
know.
“It is also important that we know the
quantum of recoveries made from various
persons so that it will be something that is
known to every Nigerian and there would
be no challenge. How did you arrive at the
figures that are out there if you don’t put
not just names but reasons (to the
recovered loots)?
“Tomorrow, you could hear that (after) all
the amounts that Mr. ‘A’ or Mr. ‘B’ looted,
nothing was done. You could also start to
hear that the loot recovery was only
targeted at those who weren’t supporting
the president.”
Alegeh noted that the only instance where
the President could withhold the names
was if there was a legal obstacle.
According to him, there are certain
transactions with confidentiality clauses,
which make it impossible for government
to release the names. He said, should the
government find itself in such an instance,
it should say so clearly.
The Yoruba socio-political organisation,
Afenifere, on Saturday also told SUNDAY
PUNCH that there was nothing revealing in
the information the government published.
The Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr.
Yinka Odumakin, told one of our
correspondents that the amount released
as recovered loot was less than the total
amount of figures bandied about by the
Federal Government and its agencies since
the anti-corruption campaign began.
He said, “As far as we are concerned,
there is nothing new on the list shown to
Nigerians. Anybody can just put figures
together. Where are the particulars of the
recovery? From who were they (the loot)
recovered?
“In the last one year, different rumours
have been flying about with regard to
those who refunded billions of naira and
dollars. The figure they have released now
is too opaque; it is not transparent and
does not lend credence to their claims.
Anybody can just write anything and throw
it out (to the public).
“We need the particulars; from who were
the monies recovered? If they don’t do
that, then, they are just wasting our time;
they are just making a mockery of the
whole process. They talked about naming
and shaming, let them release the names.
As it is now, there is no revelation yet
before Nigerians.”
Also, the Ijaw National Congress on
Saturday said the inability of Buhari to
mention the names of the country’s
treasury looters was an indication that the
President had succumbed to pressure from
the looters.
The spokesman for the INC, Mr. Victor
Burubo, who described the development as
an anti-climax, stated that it was not the
first time the President would be doing so
to Nigerians.
He said, “This is not the first time they are
doing this to Nigerians. In the appointment
of ministers, the President said he wanted
to appoint spectacular people and this took
him six months. But he ended up
appointing run-of-the-mill ministers.
“On the amount recovered as loot, many
figures were mentioned but we have
virtually nothing. If the President promised
to name the looters and at the end, he
could not do so, it means he has
succumbed to the pressure from the
looters.”
Similarly, the Ohanaeze Youth Council, the
youth wing of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo,
faulted the government’s failure to
disclose the identity of those that the
sums were recovered from.
The President of the OYC, Mr. Okechukwu
Isiguzoro, demanded full disclosure of the
names of looters.
He said, “Nigerians have been anticipating
the release of the looters’ list for a while
now; it is disappointing that the
government only came out with figures.
Inasmuch as the people need to know the
amount that was recovered, they should
also know the identity of persons that
stole the money.
“In fact, if the Federal Government is
sincerely fighting corruption, it should
disclose the identity of those that stole
and returned money. It appears that there
is a deliberate attempt to shield looters
and that is totally unacceptable. Nigerian
youths are not impressed.”
In the same vein, a member of the Federal
Parliament in the Second Republic and
Convener of the Coalition of Northern
Politicians, Academics, Professionals and
Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed,
stated that he had a “conflicted attitude
towards the funds.”
He said, “I don’t believe what is being said
to have been recovered was what was
actually recovered. What was stolen was
more than what was recovered. If the
government is sincere about recovering the
remaining money, they have to redouble
their efforts in recovering, as much as
possible, all that was stolen and is
returned to the national treasury.
“I am not a lawyer, so I wouldn’t want to
venture into a legal opinion of the status of
those who have stolen the money. But if
the law makes it difficult to disclose the
names of those who stole the money, their
identities and their names will be
endangering the case itself. But, please,
let the names be disclosed.”
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana,
dismissed the amount the government said
it had recovered as far less than the true
amount.
He said, “Let me tell you this: That list is
not correct. I know that the EFCC has
recovered about $3.1bn. I think this is just
the report from a department; it is not a
comprehensive one.
“The figure announced has not taken
cognizance of the totality of the fund that
has been recovered by all the anti-graft
agencies. From the information at my
disposal, the figure announced by the
information minister is a fraction of what
the EFCC has recovered and deposited in
the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria noted that
in order not to discourage more looters
from returning stolen funds, the Federal
Government might not want to name the
looters yet.
“In fact, some of the looters who have
stolen the bulk of the missing money, who
are on the run, are being pursued in
different jurisdictions in the world,” Falana
added.
In his submission, the Executive Chairman,
Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, Mr.
Debo Adeniran, told SUNDAY PUNCH that
those who had returned stolen money or
from whom assets were recovered should
be named, shamed and prosecuted.
Adeniran asked, “Is there any attempt to
cover up their atrocities? If we fight these
looters and do not name them, we are
allowing them to go away with the dignity
they falsely acquired. They can still carry
on with their lives as if nothing has ever
happened to indicate that they are corrupt.
People will still accord them respect. That
is not fair; it does not augur well for
honest, hard-working Nigerians.
“Anybody trying to cover up on this matter
should be brought to book. Confessing to a
crime is a first step in anti-corruption
crusade; those involved should be named,
shamed and prosecuted. Failure to do this
will mean the government is conspiring
against the society.”
Similarly, the National Association of
Nigerian Students described the non-
disclosure of looters’ names as a failure on
the President’s part.
The President of NANS, Mr. Tijani Usman,
said, “He (Buhari) has failed in his promise
because he must be a man of his word
and we are looking up to him as a leader
that Nigerian students should emulate. If
he has given us his word that on May 29,
Democracy Day, he would bring out the list
of looters and he has failed to do that,
then where is his integrity?
“We have heard about his promise and
Nigerian students are not happy with that.
We are urging him to live up to his word
and release the names of those looters
who had stolen our country’s money.”
The presidential candidate of the KOWA
Party in the 2015 election, Prof. Remi
Sonaiya, also asked why the Federal
Government should protect the identities of
those who returned stolen funds and
assets.
According to her, if the identities of
suspected beneficiaries of slush funds
from the Office of the National Security
Adviser under Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.)
were not shielded, those whose loot has
been recovered should not be shielded.
She said, “Just releasing a list is not
sufficient, considering the suffering the
entire nation has gone through. We
demand more from the government.
Making a list of recovered loot and stolen
assets is not sufficient as a deterrent for
criminals.”
A former Vice-President of the Nigeria
Labour Congress, Mr. Issa Aremu,
described the release of the list by the
Federal Government as significant and
commendable.
But he said, “It is desirable to know who
the looters that have returned stolen
money and assets are. It will also be
interesting to know those foreign
government officials who aided looters to
stash stolen money abroad so that
Nigerians can march in protest at their
embassies.”
On the list published by the Federal
Government on Saturday, the
administration said it had recovered a total
of N115.7bn cash, while assets worth over
N1.9tn had been frozen in one year.
In a statement by the Minister of
Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Lai
Mohammed, the government said the
recoveries were made between May 29,
2015 and May 25, 2016.
The government gave the breakdown of
the loot as N78,325,354,631.82;
$185,119,584.61; £3,508,355.46 and €11,
250.
A conversion of the funds using the official
exchange rate of the Central Bank of
Nigeria, showed that the amount adds up
to N115,792,760,499.
The statement read in part, “The Federal
Government made cash recoveries totalling
N78,325,354,631.82; $185,119,584.61;
£3,508,355.46 and €11,250 from May 29,
2015 to May 25, 2016.”
The monies were said to have been
recovered by the EFCC, the Office of the
Attorney-General of the Federation, the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission and the
DSS.
The Muhammadu Buhari-led government
added that a separate amount of cash and
assets worth over N1.9tn had also been
seized. However, the properties and cash
are under legal contention.
The assets and cash seized under interim
forfeiture totalled $9bn; N126bn; £2.4m
and €303,399.
A conversion of the worth of assets and
cash seized based on the official CBN
exchange rate totalled:
N1,918,113,864,063.
It added, “Recoveries under Interim
Forfeiture (cash and assets) during the
period totalled N126,563,481,095.43;
$9,090,243,920.15; £2,484,447.55 and
€303,399.17.”
The government added that funds awaiting
return from foreign jurisdictions totalled
$321,316,726.1; £6,900,000 and
€11,826.11.
The statement added that 239 non-cash
recoveries such as farmlands, plots of
land, uncompleted buildings, completed
buildings, vehicles and maritime vessels
were also seized during the period.
Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic Right
Accountability Project on Saturday said the
Buhari-led administration should expedite
legal action against all looters in a bid to
make their identities known.
The Executive Director of SERAP, Mr.
Adetokunbo Mumuni, noted that the
government should prosecute those who
had been investigated and found to have
looted the nation’s treasury, in order to
avoid political witch-hunting.
He said, “Investigations should have been
concluded now. You cannot say you
recovered money and since then, you have
not done any investigation, such that their
(looters’) arraignment in court will then be
delayed. I don’t think that would be justice.
“What the President should do is direct the
Attorney General to hasten the process for
the looters to be prosecuted. It is when we
start seeing convictions from the court
that we know that they’ve actually
committed the offence; that is what the
Nigerian constitution demands.”
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