ISSUES IN THE 753-DUPLEX ESTATE FORFEITURE
The EFCC could do more to stem the worrying level of impunity in public office
The final forfeiture of 753 duplexes in Abuja to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) without any name to the ownership has continued to generate considerable interest. Although the EFCC claimed in the court papers that the property was discovered while investigating a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, the agency also added that the duplexes were not directly linked to him. That neither the people who filed for the forfeiture nor the court that granted the application can tell Nigerians who owns this humongous property is scandalous. But over and above the question of ownership, the forfeiture itself raises fundamental issues about the nature and extent of corruption in our country.
Whichever way one looks at it, the vast extent of this heist indicates a level of impunity and insensitivity among corrupt public officials. It also shows how a lack of transparency and accountability defines public conduct in Nigeria. Any individual who can illegally acquire such assets at public expense must have no feelings whatsoever either for his/her country or fellow citizens whose welfare is eroded by the extent of the theft. But the greater challenge is with the system that permits such a scandal. Something is obviously wrong with any public accounting system from which such quantum of resources can disappear without setting off an alarm.
While we do not dispute the EFCC explanation on the allegation of cover-up, it is also becoming increasingly clear that the anti-graft agencies have failed to stamp it in public consciousness that corruption is indeed a despicable crime. Many of the politically exposed people who have been investigated, prosecuted and convicted for corruption still live lavishly even after forfeitures of assets. Consequently, the line between crime and innocence in our society has become blurred just as people have become confused about the relationship between crime and punishment.
Meanwhile, it says something about the strength and resilience of the Nigerian state that it is being so massively looted yet remains standing. But this also explains the haemorrhage that has destroyed the economy. A former Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, is currently facing charges of stealing about N109 billion from the treasury. As of December 2022, over N30 billion worth of assets had been seized from Idris, according to then EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa.
It is no longer enough to dispossess the corrupt of their loot and ask them to go home and sin no more. Admitting the full scope of corruption and exposing the soft underbelly of extant practices that fuel abuses and strengthen financial misconduct are necessary preambles to a sustainable solution. We call particular attention to the budgeting process and the reward system. The public procurement process has become a matter of concern, as Nigerians only get the records of activities, with appallingly limited impact on transparency and reduction of the cost of government contracts. Besides, the now-entrenched government reflex of creating new agencies to deal with systemic challenges has only led to the relocation of the various seats of abuse, rather than the elimination of systemic, process and procedural corruption.
As we have reiterated several times on this page, the current fight against corruption ignores the link between distortion of values and abuse of, or general disregard, for extant rules. Therefore, we must go beyond the arrest and trial of persons who have committed various forms of graft that the operating environment subtly encourages and nurtures. We must deal with the issue of the populace demands which inadvertently imply the expectation that public officers should take liberties with the treasury. Indeed, a concerted war against corruption is needed now, more than ever. But it must be a war that shoots at the right targets. The first step towards such a holistic approach is to realise that the fight against corruption that consistently focuses on the symptoms is doomed to fail.
On the instant case of 753 duplexes, an anti-graft agency that is shy to name and shame the culprits is unwittingly being made an accessory to the raging crime of industrial corruption in Nigeria.
