By Comfort Olayinka
The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations operating in Nigeria on Thursday accused Political Office Holders of crippling the fight against corruption by appointing their cronies into judicial offices.
The Convener, CISLAC helmsman, Comrade Rafsanjani, underscored the need for Nigerians to be united in the fight against corruption, insisting “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 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.
“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.
Worried by the antics of corruption enablers in the country, the CISLAC helmsman lamented that: “Nigerians have witnessed with alarm numerous cases featuring a high number of foreign enablers from Switzerland, Monaco, Panama, British Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom (UK) facilitating corruption. Enablers from the UK are particularly strongly linked to Nigerian cases.
“Of course, Nigeria also has a number of domestic enablers involved in cases. Out of 87 enablers captured, 5 enablers are from Nigeria: 3 lawyers/law firms and 2 real estate agents. This is due to cases involving, for example, Nigerian lawyers managing trusts on behalf of their clients that are then used to move funds abroad.
