Against the backdrop of alleged continued corrupt tendencies in the country, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), has described as insensitive, the recklessness with which public funds are being spent by some public officials.
He said the recklessness has become pathological to the extent that some organizations like the Niger Delta Development Commission and the Nigeria Customs Service had continued to be enmeshed in corrupt tendencies even under the present administration.
Speaking at a two-day National Dialogue on Corruption, organized by PACAC in Abuja, Sagay opined that while Nigerians justifiably criticized the National Assembly for buying cars of over N30m each for lawmakers during recession, the NDDC did a similar thing recently.
He said, “You will not believe that with all that we are going through, the NDDC, which is the other name for uncompleted projects, has just bought over 70 cars.
“Of those, about eight of them are Super Lexus Jeeps, costing N78m each and about 10 are Land Cruisers, costing N63m each.
“This money was taken from funds for infrastructure, water, housing, hospitals, school, etc., without conscience, recklessly, without a thought for the wretched people of the Niger Delta.”
Regretting that despite this purchase, the commission’s MD recently said NDDC lacked funds to execute projects and was in debt to the tune of N1.2tn, Sagay asked, “What sort of crocodile tears was the MD shedding?
“Eating the resources and future of the Niger Delta and shedding tears for the same Niger Delta?
“Another example of bold and brazen corruption, which he said was thumbing its nose at this administration and all Nigerians, was happening at the Customs service” he said.
He alleged that the department had completely ignored the fight against corruption, operating as if it was not in Nigeria citing examples of how bribe was being demanded at every stage of Customs clearance at the nation’s airports.
Naming the Tin Can Island in Lagos as a haven of corruption with bribes being demanded brazenly, he said, “There is no difference in Customs since May 29, 2015. If you go to Tin Can Island, it is business as usual”.
Insisting that the nation was overwhelmed by “an epidemic of kleptomania”, he wondered why a person would loot what he could not spend in 10 life times while exposing the rest of the population to misery, hunger, poverty, wretchedness and death.
While faulting the judiciary for allegedly disregarding the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, the SAN said in spite of the provisions of Section 396 of the ACJA, some judges were still granting adjournments running into months and would adjourn their cases to give a ruling on preliminary objection instead of giving the ruling at the same time as the judgment on the substantive criminal matter.
“All these are illegal and strictly constitute acts of misconduct on the part of the judge. The outcome of all these is that we have over hundred high profile cases not going nowhere.
“One of the most tragic phenomena currently creating a major setback for speedy criminal trials is this new invention of Senior Advocates of Nigeria defending looters and other financial criminals.
“They deliberately set out to cross-examine prosecution witness for weeks in the hope of dragging on the trial indefinitely. One prosecution witness was, in recent times, cross-examined for over a month while the judge sat there helplessly, clearly having lost control of his own court.
“All he needed to do was to give such filibustering counsel a time limit, say two hours, and the nonsense would have stopped.”
He said PACAC has decided to set up its own monitoring corps of young lawyers, who would monitor every corruption case and report any breach of the ACJA.
Meanwhile, the NDDC has denied the allegation by Sagay that it bought 70 cars, including eight Super Lexus at a cost of N70m each and 10 Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps for N65m each.
The NDDC maintained that no such purchase had been made since the assumption of office of its current Governing Board, adding that the Chairman of the Board, the Managing Director and two other executive directors were still using their private vehicles since assuming duty.
A statement in Port Harcourt on Thursday by the Head, Corporate Affairs of the NDDC, Mr. Chijioke Amu-Nnadi, added that the commission was only in the process of acquiring operational vehicles through due process.
Amu-Nnadi stated, “The NDDC wishes to state, categorically, that no such purchases have been made since assumption of office on November 4, 2016, of the current Governing Board.
“Indeed, it is a known fact that the Chairman, the distinguished Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN); the Managing Director/CEO, Nsima Ekere; and the two Executive Directors are still using their private vehicles three months after assumption of duties.
“The NDDC is only now in the process of acquiring work vehicles, and is adhering strictly to due process. These include five (5) Toyota Prado jeeps, 10 Toyota Hilux trucks, four Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps, one Toyota Coaster bus and two Toyota Hiace buses.”
On its part, the Nigerian Customs Service said it would intensify its fight against corrupt personnel in the service.
The Acting Public Relations Officer, NCS, Mr. Joseph Attah, said this in his reaction to comments made by Sagay, alleging corruption by officials of Customs service.
Attah, an Assistant Comptroller, while welcoming the observation made by Sagay, said such comments would further challenge the service to intensify its fight against sharp practices.
“The comments he made are based on the statistics that are available to him. Such a comment, coming from a highly-respected professor, shows that we should do more than what we are currently doing to deal with the remnants of those corrupt people in the system.
“We do not condone corruption. We have a regime in customs that is working hard to stem out corruption” he said.
END
Against the backdrop of alleged continued corrupt tendencies in the country, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), has described as insensitive, the recklessness with which public funds are being spent by some public officials.
He said the recklessness has become pathological to the extent that some organizations like the Niger Delta Development Commission and the Nigeria Customs Service had continued to be enmeshed in corrupt tendencies even under the present administration.
Speaking at a two-day National Dialogue on Corruption, organized by PACAC in Abuja, Sagay opined that while Nigerians justifiably criticized the National Assembly for buying cars of over N30m each for lawmakers during recession, the NDDC did a similar thing recently.
He said, “You will not believe that with all that we are going through, the NDDC, which is the other name for uncompleted projects, has just bought over 70 cars.
“Of those, about eight of them are Super Lexus Jeeps, costing N78m each and about 10 are Land Cruisers, costing N63m each.
“This money was taken from funds for infrastructure, water, housing, hospitals, school, etc., without conscience, recklessly, without a thought for the wretched people of the Niger Delta.”
Regretting that despite this purchase, the commission’s MD recently said NDDC lacked funds to execute projects and was in debt to the tune of N1.2tn, Sagay asked, “What sort of crocodile tears was the MD shedding?
“Eating the resources and future of the Niger Delta and shedding tears for the same Niger Delta?
“Another example of bold and brazen corruption, which he said was thumbing its nose at this administration and all Nigerians, was happening at the Customs service” he said.
He alleged that the department had completely ignored the fight against corruption, operating as if it was not in Nigeria citing examples of how bribe was being demanded at every stage of Customs clearance at the nation’s airports.
Naming the Tin Can Island in Lagos as a haven of corruption with bribes being demanded brazenly, he said, “There is no difference in Customs since May 29, 2015. If you go to Tin Can Island, it is business as usual”.
Insisting that the nation was overwhelmed by “an epidemic of kleptomania”, he wondered why a person would loot what he could not spend in 10 life times while exposing the rest of the population to misery, hunger, poverty, wretchedness and death.
While faulting the judiciary for allegedly disregarding the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, the SAN said in spite of the provisions of Section 396 of the ACJA, some judges were still granting adjournments running into months and would adjourn their cases to give a ruling on preliminary objection instead of giving the ruling at the same time as the judgment on the substantive criminal matter.
“All these are illegal and strictly constitute acts of misconduct on the part of the judge. The outcome of all these is that we have over hundred high profile cases not going nowhere.
“One of the most tragic phenomena currently creating a major setback for speedy criminal trials is this new invention of Senior Advocates of Nigeria defending looters and other financial criminals.
“They deliberately set out to cross-examine prosecution witness for weeks in the hope of dragging on the trial indefinitely. One prosecution witness was, in recent times, cross-examined for over a month while the judge sat there helplessly, clearly having lost control of his own court.
“All he needed to do was to give such filibustering counsel a time limit, say two hours, and the nonsense would have stopped.”
He said PACAC has decided to set up its own monitoring corps of young lawyers, who would monitor every corruption case and report any breach of the ACJA.
Meanwhile, the NDDC has denied the allegation by Sagay that it bought 70 cars, including eight Super Lexus at a cost of N70m each and 10 Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps for N65m each.
The NDDC maintained that no such purchase had been made since the assumption of office of its current Governing Board, adding that the Chairman of the Board, the Managing Director and two other executive directors were still using their private vehicles since assuming duty.
A statement in Port Harcourt on Thursday by the Head, Corporate Affairs of the NDDC, Mr. Chijioke Amu-Nnadi, added that the commission was only in the process of acquiring operational vehicles through due process.
Amu-Nnadi stated, “The NDDC wishes to state, categorically, that no such purchases have been made since assumption of office on November 4, 2016, of the current Governing Board.
“Indeed, it is a known fact that the Chairman, the distinguished Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN); the Managing Director/CEO, Nsima Ekere; and the two Executive Directors are still using their private vehicles three months after assumption of duties.
“The NDDC is only now in the process of acquiring work vehicles, and is adhering strictly to due process. These include five (5) Toyota Prado jeeps, 10 Toyota Hilux trucks, four Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps, one Toyota Coaster bus and two Toyota Hiace buses.”
On its part, the Nigerian Customs Service said it would intensify its fight against corrupt personnel in the service.
The Acting Public Relations Officer, NCS, Mr. Joseph Attah, said this in his reaction to comments made by Sagay, alleging corruption by officials of Customs service.
Attah, an Assistant Comptroller, while welcoming the observation made by Sagay, said such comments would further challenge the service to intensify its fight against sharp practices.
“The comments he made are based on the statistics that are available to him. Such a comment, coming from a highly-respected professor, shows that we should do more than what we are currently doing to deal with the remnants of those corrupt people in the system.
“We do not condone corruption. We have a regime in customs that is working hard to stem out corruption” he said.
END
