Alleges over
N400b spent on bribes yearly
• It is not
true, says NBA
From the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has come a revelation
that about N400
billion is spent on bribes each year in Nigeria.This was contained in a report
presented to the public yesterday at the stakeholders meeting to mark the end
of the agency’s five-year project on corruption in the country.
Although
there is still a controversy over this report, it has highlighted the problem
corruption poses to development and the need for the government to do more to
tackle it. According to the report, which covers between June 2015 and May
2016, law enforcement agencies and the judiciary are the highest receivers of
bribes.
The survey
titled, “Corruption in Nigeria – Bribery: Public Experience and Response” was
presented in partnership with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). It was
conducted in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“Police
officers are the type of public officials to whom bribes are most commonly paid
in Nigeria. Of all adult Nigerians, who had direct contact with a police
officer in 12 months prior to the survey, about 46.4 per cent paid that officer
at least one bribe.
“Although
fewer people come in contact with judiciary officials than with police officers
over the course of the year, when they do, the risk of bribery is considerable.
The prevalence of bribery in relation to prosecutors is the second highest,
closely followed by judges and magistrates.
“The
experience of corruption in encounters with public officials whose duty it is
to uphold the rule of law can lead to the erosion of trust in public
authority”, the report held.
In her
remarks, the country representative of UNODC, Cristina Albertin, said that the
fight against corruption in the country must be in line with the rule of law,
human rights and evidence-based policies.
According to
her, until offenders are punished accordingly by necessary authorities, and
leaders begin to walk their talk, Nigerians might not see the change they
eagerly await.Her words: “What matters at this point when the project comes to
an end is where we stand now and what needs to be done next. Let me be very
clear; while we share all pride and happiness about the result achieved,
Nigerian citizens expect eagerly, changes – that offenders be punished
properly, that public systems work for them, and that we walk the talk.”
Also,
Special Assistance to the President on Prosecution and chairman of the recently
inaugurated Public Property Recovery Committee, Okoi Obno-Obla, blamed increase
in corrupt practices on successive governments’ lack of political will to
address the menace with the urgency it deserved.
According to
him, past governments could not implement existing anti-corruption acts because
they stipulate life jail and various degrees of punishment for defaulting
public officials.He stressed that in spite of the report findings, which
observed that about N400 billion is given as bribes each year, the current
administration has done so much in the fight against corruption.
Obno-Obla
said the committee on recovery of public property would resume work soon and
that it had the power to fight corruption.In a reaction to the report, the
Secretary General of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Isiaka Olagunju said
it could not be correct. He described it as a careless statement.
“How did
they know that it was N400billion? That is an assumption and highly
speculative. I consider that there are some bad eggs in the judiciary but
notwithstanding, we still have some brilliant minds, who are men and women of
integrity.
“For them
now to say the judiciary is the highest bribe-taker is very unfortunate and
actually insulting. It is not true. We are not saying that every thing is
perfect, everybody is doing the best to ensure that all is well. For them now
to say the judiciary is the highest bribe-taker, how many lawyers have they
seen or arrested or convicted on corruption?” he said.
Also, a
source within the Nigerian Judicial Commission (NJC), who would not want to be
quoted, described the claim as a figment of UNODC’s imagination. The source,
who cautioned against unsubstantiated allegations, asked what facts and figures
were before the UN agency to prove its claims.
According to
the source, a formal statement might be made by the NJC, when it gets a copy of
the report.“I know it was based on the raid of judges last year but what is the
number of judges that are corrupt when compared to the number of judges in the
country?” the source queried.
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