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.”

source: www.punchng.com/nigerians-tell-buhari-name-shame-looters-mere-figures-not-enough/

Yes oh.

Even copy and paste , you can't do correctly



Anyways , naming the looters was my first choice , but then i remembered watching a video of a senator being pelted with stones in his jeep/convoy , it was hilarious , but scary for whoever that politician was

Anyways , naming will lead to breakdown of law and order, jungle justice , assassinations , riots e.t.c


And the same set of people clamoring for the release of names will be the one blaming Buhari for causing a war in the country

Fantastically corrupt. Who are they kidding with this multiplication table?

The moment I heard that Lai Mohadmed was coming into the show I knew it going to be Propaganda at it's best, let say, I am not disappointed. Sorry folks, it a pity 2019 is still Far.