Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an
open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari “welcoming the inauguration of
the Audit Committee on the Recovery and Management of Stolen Assets as a
partial fulfilment of the judgment by Justice Idris,” and requesting
him to use his “leadership position to strengthen and extend the mandate
of the committee to cover the periods starting from the return of
democracy in in 1999, as ordered by the court.”
The audit
committee established last month by Buhari is to undertake an audit of
all recovery accounts established by government agencies. The committee
has four weeks to submit its report.
But
in a letter dated 9 December 2017 and signed by SERAP executive
director Adetokunbo Mumuni the organization urged Buhari to “strengthen
the capacity of the committee, and to extend the four weeks deadline
within which it is expected to submit its report to at least 6 months so
that the committee can effectively document the details of information
ordered by Justice M.B. Idris.”
According to the organization,
“The rule of law might prove to be fragile if its force depends upon the
sum of the governmental calculations of costs and benefits made. The
kind of commitment needed to nourish the rule of law is a strong
political and ethical commitment to obey all judgments of courts in
full, and not in part.”
The letter read in part:
“Extending the mandates of the committee to cover periods starting from
the return of democracy in 1999 could have a profound effect on
combating the culture of impunity that prevails wherever corrupt
individuals feel that the risk of punishment is low, and that they would
be allowed to keep their ill-gotten wealth.”
“Partial
implementation of the judgment by Justice Idris would continue to
encourage impunity for grand corruption. And the effects of corruption
on the rule of law are not only harmful, but destructive to the entire
criminal justice system, as well as erode public trust in law and order.
We believe that the more transparent and democratic is a society, the
more resilient it would be against corruption. And the more corruption
is tamed, and recovered stolen assets properly spent on developmental
projects, the more Nigeria can thrive among the comity of nations.”
“Detailed
terms of reference for the committee have not yet been published. It is
also unclear the periods of time covered by the committee’s mandate.
These lacunas if not urgently addressed could undermine the
effectiveness of the committee, and the integrity and credibility of its
work.”
“While we welcome the inauguration of the
committee as a partial compliance with the judgment by Justice Idris, we
urge your government to fully comply with the terms of the judgment by
extending the mandate of the committee to cover the periods starting
from the return of democracy in 1999, as well as accessing and
collecting information on recovered assets as ordered by the court.”
“We
would again like to draw your attention to the judgment delivered in
March 2016 by Justice Idris following a Freedom of Information suit no:
FHC/IKJ/CS/248/2011 brought by SERAP. The judgment directed your
government to provide SERAP with up to date information on recovered
stolen funds since the return of civilian rule in 1999, including:
Detailed information on the total amount of recovered stolen public
assets that have so far been recovered by Nigeria.”
“The
details ordered by the court to be disclosed include: information on
the total amount of recovered stolen public assets by each government;
the amount of recovered stolen public assets spent by each government as
well as the objects of such spending and the projects on which such
funds were spent.”
“The court noted that successive
governments since the return of democracy in 1999 “breached the
fundamental principles of transparency and accountability for failing to
disclose details about the spending of recovered stolen public funds,”
and ordered your government to “ensure accountability for all recovered
stolen assets under the governments of former President Olusegun
Obasanjo, former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, former President
Goodluck Jonathan account fully for all recovered loot.”
SERAP
therefore urged Buhari to: Renew and strengthen the mandate of the
audit committee to cover the periods starting from the return of
democracy in 1999, as ordered by Justice Idris, and to extend the four
weeks deadline within which the committee is to submit its report to at
least 6 months;
Develop detailed terms of reference for the
committee, including the power to access files and interview all persons
of interest to the committee from all governments since the return of
democracy in 1999;
Ensure the publication of the report of the
committee, and if the report establishes any relevant admissible
evidence that some of the recovered assets have been re-stolen, to refer
such cases to the appropriate anti-corruption agencies including the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent
Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), for
further investigation and prosecution;
Work with the leadership
of the National Assembly to promote and encourage the urgent passage of
the Proceeds of Crimes Bill, to ensure sustainability and transparency
in the management of assets;
Encourage and facilitate civil society participation in the work of the audit committee
