Politicians use associates and relatives in judicial offices to fight back corruption – CSOs
Comfort Chukwukelue
A group of Civil Society Organizations has alleged that the Political Office Holders in Nigeria are crippling the fight against corruption by appointing their cronies into judicial offices.
This observation was made during a press briefing held at CISLAC in Abuja, Nigeria capital city by the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafisanjani and the Senior Fellow, Center of Democracy and Development, Professor Jibrin Ibrahim.
According to Professor Ibrahim, corruption in Nigeria has been a long time problem, although it’s not a new phenomenon, it is still alarming.
He said”Our alarm is based on the new dimension that corruption has reached in our country when it’s making it virtually impossible for government to do its work. The work of government is to provide for the welfare of Nigerians and increasingly government is not able to that. I think it was Nuhu Ribadu when he was the anti-corruption chair in EFCC who made the point that you must fight and defeat corruption or corruption will fight back and defeat you.”
“The alarm we have is that, corruption is defeating the Nigerians State at this point in time. The first element of that defeat is that the Judiciary should buy into the response to checkmate corruption. What corrupt enablers have done is two things to the Judiciary. Introduced their friends and relations into positions in the Judiciary.”
“And secondly, increased considerably the level of corruption through the bribing of Judges. So, increasingly Judiciary is no longer able to be a space that provides justice.
“The second element in terms of this defeat of the Nigerian State has to do with anti corruption agencies themselves. There has been a converted war by corrupt people in public office in Nigeria to make sure anti-corruption agencies are unable or prevented from prosecuting corrupt individuals. This means they are turning all those institutions into institutions that are incapable of carrying out their mandates.
“The third issue and in a sense the most important is, they are making it impossible for government institutions to do their work. We just mentioned the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs where the last two Ministers, everybody knows were pocketing 80 percent of the budget if this Agency amd made it impossible for thr last 5, 6 years for this Ministry to do any of its work.
“And when you set up a government, it has become a competition among Ministers to see who will steal more or who will steal faster, so that’s the game and that’s the tragedy in government circle! “
“We feel that if we allow re-destruction of Nigerian State and institutions to continue, we will have no country, we will have no state and the risk is that the present tragedy of anarchy amd self-help which means more and more Nigerian who have guns are using those guns against their neighbours, against the road users, against farmers, against everybody on the street, is the path to anarchy and destruction. We must stop this level of corruption from continuing to grow, if we are to survive as a country,” Professor Ibrahim stressed. “
On his part, Comrade Rafsanjani expressed his concern by emphasizing on the need for Nigerians to be united in the fight against corruption, and “not to allow our country to be hijacked by those corrupt individuals who did not constitute any significant number but keeping Nigerians in vast majority, in perpetual poverty, insecurity and inequality.”
While noting that Nigeria “must move from a state of distress to one of action”, he lamented that the country has witnessed “lack of significant and sustainable progress in our nascent democracy over the past twenty-four years.”
While speaking on the ‘State of corruption and the struggle against it’, Comrade Rafisanjani noted that democracy has “persistently functioned under a veil of secrecy and lawlessness. “
“The management of the country’s resources has consistently disregarded the fundamental principles of democracy. Over the past few weeks, we have observed with great concern, the 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.
“The pattern is clear, there is an unfolding plot of surreptitious moves to backpedal on the progress made by anti-corruption progress that we outline below: Judicial corruption constitutes a major challenge to anti-corruption work in Nigeria. The looters have repeatedly used their influence to manipulate the judicial process and system, to block and/or delay the arrest or prosecution of suspects.”
“This blatant disregard for the rule of law has eroded public trust and reinforced the perception that Nigeria’s democracy is nothing more than a facade. Clearly, the judiciary is not living up to its responsibility of ensuring that the rule of law and provisions of the constitution are upheld.
“There have been several allegations of judicial officers receiving bribes from politicians and politically exposed persons in-order to circumvent the law. 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.”
“Procurement of political appointments by some suspected or investigated looters who are serving under the current administration as ministers, legislators, or occupying leadership positions of the ruling party, has exposed anti-corruption work to serious setback and deliberate sabotage that cripple the efficiency of the anti-corruption agencies. It is distressing to see people facing corruption allegations being appointed by the President to handle various positions of authority.”
“Today, many serving law makers and ministers have corruption allegations against them. This is producing a culture of impunity, where politicians engage in corrupt practices without fear of consequences. This has eroded public trust in the government and undermined the legitimacy of the democratic process.”
In the bid to holistically address the concerns, the CSOs Leaders tasked Opinion leaders, including Journalists, Academics, and social media influencers to use the power to shape public discourse and raise awareness about the negative impacts of corruption. By using their platforms to expose corrupt practices, hold public officials accountable, and advocate for anti-corruption measures, they can help mobilize public opinion and pressure governments to take action against corruption.
“We urge IGP Egbetokun to promptly reinstate the police personnel withdrawn from the Kano State Anti-Corruption Commission, to facilitate the effective execution of Commission’s duties. Nigeria Police must avoid actions that may portray it as being submissive to politicians.
“Civil society organizations, such as non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups, and watchdog organizations also play a crucial role in the fight against corruption. They can conduct research, monitor government activities, and raise awareness about corruption issues. By working with other stakeholders, including religious leaders, community leaders, and opinion leaders, they can help build coalitions and mobilize collective action to combat corruption at all levels of government and society. Let us stand to be counted in the struggle for a corruption-free Nigeria!”
