President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year administration in the fight against corruption, worsened corruption in the country, some anti-corruption stakeholders in Nigeria have said.
The assertion was made by stakeholders in Lagos, at the weekend, during a summit with the theme: “Assessing the fight against corruption under President Buhari (2015-2023),” organised by Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre.
The Executive Secretary of HEDA, Sulaimon Arigbabu, while speaking at the event lamented that in the last eight years of Buhari’s administration, the fight against corruption ended up being an endemic.
He said: “We have seen a lot of things that show that there is no sincerity in the fight against corruption. The fight against corruption has been worse.
“By the time President Muhammadu Buhari leaves office, not too much would have been achieved in the fight against corruption.
“Until we start to become a society where people don’t get away with things that are evil, the level of impunity will be reduced. It is impunity that makes corruption so pervasive. We need to be a country that sees certain things as a taboo and whoever does it, would face the wrought. We must be a society of consequences.”
However, HEDA Chairman, Suraju Olanrewaju, called for the creation of a robust legal framework that would facilitate prosecution of corrupt individuals, and the strengthening of anti-corruption institutions to enable them carry out their mandates effectively.
Also, he noted that government institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission have made strong efforts in fighting corruption but more still needs to be done.
He explained that, the EFCC secured 2,220 convictions in 2021 and 3,328 convictions in 2022. There are also several recoveries and forfeitures of assets in Nigeria, United States of America, London and Dubai, belonging to government officials including, former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
He further stated that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has also made big convictions and recovered 117 billion Naira as proceeds of crime in 2022. Calling for the creation of a robust legal framework that would facilitate prosecution of corrupt individuals, and the strengthening of anti-corruption institutions to enable them carry out their mandates effectively.
Meanwhile, the event also featured a panel session where stakeholders made key recommendations to guarantee an effective and sustainable campaign against corruption. These include that anti-corruption agencies should promote the public declaration of assets, avoid giving corrupt politicians an advantage in court by avoiding media trials and that the Federal Government should create a new commission for the auctioning and selling of forfeited assets.