The Centre for Anti-Corruption
and Open Leadership, CACOL, has backed the travel ban placed on 50 high profile
Nigerians by the President Muhammdu Buhari administration.
Buhari’s directive is to also
ensure that the accounts of the 50 politically-exposed persons are placed on
moratorium while they remain on security watch, pending the full determination
of their corruption cases, ongoing or under investigation.
CACOL, in a press release issued by its Coordinator, Media and Publications, Adegboyega Otunuga,
said those that have stolen from the country should face the consequences.
The Centre said, “We would
recollect that one thing almost every informed Nigerian was very concerned
about in the fight against corruption in this country was, clearly absence of
adequate and comprehensive laws to handle the menace in such a way that
suspected culprits and enablers of this social menace would no longer have a
field day with the pilfering of our commonwealth and use the weakness of the
subsisting anti-corruption laws to elope from the country where they could
easily treat themselves to the same loot they acquired by denying other
Nigerians the benefits of a good life.
“The truth is that it is easier
to get whosoever has purloined the nation’s wealth to be made to account for it
and prevent him or her from manipulating the state of such looted funds while
domiciled here. The reason is because Governments have had to enter into
bilateral arrangements with countries of destination where these loots are kept
and even made away with certain percentage before such amounts or individuals
could be repatriated. When we view the precarious situation corruption has
thrown this nation and its people, we would better appreciate why ‘drastic and
precarious situation calls for a measure of drastic steps/ actions.
“For those who insist that such
actions of the Muhammadu Buhari’s government are illegal, unacceptable and that
it could be a prelude to dictatorship, we hasten to state that most democratic
countries of the world have such provisions in their statute books, i.e. USA,
Malaysia, etc., and this is why the Buhari’s government approached the Nigerian
judiciary at the conception of this Executive Order 6 to secure the required
legal muscle for it.
The organization urged persons
who think the President’s action was illegal and out of order to contend their
matter in court of competent jurisdiction.
CACOL added, “We cannot be seen
to be saying capital NO to Corruption on one hand and in another breath be seen
to be opposed to necessary measures that could rid our nation or at least,
minimize the effects of same ghost haunting us down in another breath. It is in
this light that we at CACOL quite agree that for those who are shouting or
implying that such anti-corruption instruments could be used to witch-hunt or
hound the opposition into inaction, etc., we believe that such could be
challenged in courts of competent jurisdiction whenever they do occur.
“This is because, the nation
could no longer afford such a hypothetical situation when corruption is already
driving the nation to the precipice while many Nigerians can no longer afford
three square meals a day, majority of our youths remain unemployed or
under-employed, and the nation’s hospitals have virtually turned worse than
‘mere consulting clinics’ while the perpetrators of our misery continue to
delay justice by seeking for adjournment upon adjournment on flimsy excuses of
health concerns to run abroad where they have access to best luxuries while
their victims wallow in abject poverty at home, etc.
“Though we quite agree that, to
have a more institutionalized and comprehensive allowance for fighting this
ubiquitous ghost of corruption, a resort to sweeping legislative amendments was
required, but since this could not be immediately achieved and the existing
arrangements and the constitution allow the president of the federal republic
such emergency enablement like the Executive Orders with judicial approval, we
commend the leadership of Muhammadu Buhari for taking advantage of such
provisions and enjoin him to judiciously and expeditiously utilize same in a
manner that is completely devoid of witch-hunting or any form of undue
flagellations, while, constantly, holding our public office holders to account,
irrespective of whose ox is gored.”
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