On June 12, 2018, Joshua Dariye,
former Plateau state governor and senator, huddled in the dock awaiting the
verdict of fate for pilfering N1.6 billion public funds at a high court of the
federal capital territory (FCT).
Dariye was lachrymal, wiping hot
tears from his eyes.
Before the senator was handed a
14-year jail sentence by Adebukola Banjoko, the presiding judge, he begged for
mercy – a luxury he did not accord to the people of Plateau who endured his
troubled administration.
He was found guilty of 14 counts
out of the 23 preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC).
Before the judge passed her
judgment, Paul Eroko, counsel to Dariye, pleaded for a light sentence.
“Appeals to your judgement do not
succeed; we will fall on your mercy. The prisons are congested,” Eroko said.
“They misled the governor, it is
the bank; they said he didn’t have to present anything.”
But Rotimi Jacobs, counsel to the
EFCC, said Dariye did not deserve a light sentence because he “did not show
remorse”.
At this point, Weeping Dariye
said he wanted to speak.
“Have mercy, you are a Christian,
your name is Jacob,” he said.
On Thursday, Orji Uzor Kalu,
another former governor and senator, received the retribution of kismet.
Reality jarred Kalu out of the
fantasy that he was going home to his bed after his conviction for money
laundering by a federal high court in Lagos.
After Mohammad Idris, the
presiding judge, pronounced a 12-year jail sentence and warders moved towards
him with handcuffs, the senate chief whip resorted to diplomacy.
“Where are you taking us to now?
Please don’t handcuff me. I will follow you,” he said.
Kalu’s fall is louder than the
crash of Jericho — being a trenchant mouthpiece of President Muhammadu Buhari
in the south-east.
But is his conviction a ‘’pass
mark’’ for Buhari’s much vaunted war against corruption? I do not think so.
First, the case is 12 years old.
It was not actuated by this administration. And investigations were already
concluded before this regime.
Second, corruption cases recently
initiated against certain individuals have not received oomph owing to the fact
that they are in the ‘’Buhari fraternity’’.
For example, the case of Babachir
Lawal, former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), is
sputtering in court this despite his indictment by the government he served.
Also, there is a petition against
Bola Tinubu, national leader of the APC, for alleged money laundering at the
EFCC. Tinubu admitted transporting cash in bullion vans on the eve of the 2019
election to his house. But the anti-graft agency has not moved a muscle to
investigate the allegation.
When Ibrahim Magu, acting EFCC
chairman, was asked about the petition against Jagaban by a journalist, he
snubbed the inquiry, and said ‘’next question, please?’’
As a matter of fact, there are
other members of the APC and those in the Buhari fraternity who have corruption
allegations hanging on their necks, but the EFCC is yet to crack up a case
against them.
I will not mention more names.
So, on what grounds should
Buhari’s anti-corruption war be toasted? If the regime is applauded for the
jailing of Dariye and Orji Kalu, how about other cases it has failed to take up
or conclude?
The fact is, Buhari’s
anti-corruption war is still selective. And as Abubakar Tsav, former Lagos
police commissioner, said: ‘’It has no impact on Nigerians.’’
However, I will commend the
judiciary for not bending despite influences to have some cases of corruption
compromised. The termination of Kalu’s 12-year-old bout at the trial court is a
big point for the institution. The hero here is this arm of government.
But beyond this feat, we must
look into another tragic offence against Nigerians. Why is a senator convicted
of fraud still receiving allowances and salaries as a member of the senate?
As of December 2018, Dariye was
paid N85.5 million in prison, and as of May 2019 his allowances had risen to
N171 million. Obviously, the same immoral privilege will be accorded to Orji
Kalu. Is this not troubling?
What this means is that
tax-payers will continue to fund the lifestyles of individuals who have been
convicted of stealing from them.
Justice is not final when people,
who have been declared vandals of the public purse, are still maintained by
public money.
Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and
journalist
@FredrickNwabufo
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