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Anti-Graft War: Stakeholders Urge Judiciary To Expedite Trial Of
Accused Persons…Seek Special Court, Assets Forfeiture Law
Newsdiaryonline Thur Sep 8,2011
Stakeholders at the just-concluded National
Seminar on Economic Crime have called on the nation’s judiciary
to fast track the trial of persons accused of corrupt practices.
In a Communiqué signed by the Executive Committee of the Seminar
and issued at the end of the three-day event, participants
expressed worries over “prolonged delay in the trial of
corruption cases”, saying it is “creating doubt in the mind of
the public as to the sincere commitment of the relevant
stakeholders in the anti-corruption crusade”
The seminar with the theme “National
Development: The Challenges of Global Economic Crime”, hosted by
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and which drew
participants from all over the world, also observed that “the
harmful effects of corruption and other economic and financial
crimes on national development engenders poverty; unemployment;
waste, inequitable distribution of income and the near collapse
of our revered national ethics and cultural values”
The Communique, which is also called “The
2011 declaration” , noted that “corruption and money laundering
distort the economy and result in capital flight which in turn
fosters massive economic deprivation and insecurity currently
being experienced in the country”.
Participants also reasoned that “critical
infrastructure must be developed and protected as a national
asset to ensure that it does not fall prey to the vagaries of
cyber crime syndicates across transnational borders”.
According to the communiqué, “Nigeria is
yet to imbibe the current global trend in legislation as it
relates to extra-territoriality of anti-corruption regimes which
favors a more aggressive approach that targets the individuals
within corporate entities, their accomplices wherever they are
in the world as enunciated in the USA Foreign Corruption
Practices Act (FCPA) and the UK Anti-Bribery Act.” It also
observed that “law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies in
the country are not making adequate use of the Nigerian
Financial Intelligence Unit’s intelligence in investigating and
prosecuting their cases.”
Other resolutions contained in the
Communique are:
That the attorney
General of the Federation should as a matter of urgency
re-present the Bill for a Non-conviction Based Asset Forfeiture
law as an important complimentary instrument in the
Anti-corruption fight and also initiate process for the
establishment of special courts for the expeditious disposal of
corruption cases,
That the National
Assembly should urgently consider reviewing the Money Laundering
(Prohibition) Act,2011 by reducing the reporting threshold for
financial transactions to facilitate effective monitoring
of funds movement; and increase the penalties for money
laundering offences to make them commensurate with
the crimes in order to serve as deterrence to potential
offenders,
That Nigeria
should as a matter of urgency domesticate the models implemented
by the UK and USA regarding anti-bribery and foreign corrupt
practices, respectively,
That the private
sector must begin to see their responsibility under the
Corporate Social Responsibility principle as a compulsory and
necessary duty and as charity. The government must
correspondingly play its constitutional duty of utilizing public
funds in a prudent and efficient manner to provide goods and
services in order to make life more meaningful to the citizenry,
That the office
of the Attorney General of the Federation should as a matter of
urgency finalize work on the National Strategy on
Anti-Corruption which will drive the Anti-Corruption which will
drive the Anti-Corruption Campaign.
A functional and
law enforcement driven Nigerian Computer Incidence Response Team
be established to protect consumers from attacks, respond to
security incidents and collaborate with relevant stakeholders,
A comprehensive
cyber crime and critical infrastructure law in Nigeria should be
enacted to provide for effective monitoring and investigation of
cyber crime,
That Law
Enforcement Agencies (LEA’s) in Nigeria should leverage the vast
financial intelligence domiciled within the Nigerian Financial
Intelligence unit (NFIU) in the fight against economic and
financial crimes and terrorism financing,
That there is
need for consolidation in strategies amongst LEA’s as it relates
to anti-corruption, anti-terrorism and economic crimes with each
agency having clear scope of implementation and measurable
performance indicators,
That all critical
stakeholders in the Nigeria project, as a matter of urgency,
should publicize and collaborate to ensure the utilization of
the freedom of Information Act as a potent instrument for the
advancement of the cause of the war against corruption and
economic crime.
The Seminar was facilitated by sixteen
stakeholders comprising the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission; Central Bank of Nigeria; Nigeria Immigration
Service; Federal Ministry of Finance; Federal Inland Revenue
Service, Corporate Affairs Commission, Independent Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Commission among others.
President Goodluck Jonathan who was represented by Vice
President Namadi Sambo declared it open while Mrs. Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf, President, Republic of Liberia, gave a keynote
address at the event.
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