Don't measure success of anti-corruption war by convictions, recovered assets – NBA
Ade Adesomoju
NBA President Paul Usoro
Ade Adesomoju, Abuja
The Nigerian Bar Association said on Monday that the number of convictions secured or volume of assets recovered was not the right index for measure of the success of the anti-corruption war.
It rather urged President Muhammadu Buhari administration to adopt proactive strategies in fighting corruption and do away with discriminatory or selective approach to prosecute his administration's mantra of anti-corruption.
The association in a statement by its President, Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN), commemorating this year's International Anti-Corruption Day, also urged the government not to allow the said anti-corruption war to be tainted by corruption.
It urged the citizens to stand up against corruption and blow the whistle when necessary while it also urged the government to embrace automation, embrace the rule of law and transparency in order to rid the country of the scourge of corruption.
It said measuring the success of the anti-graft war using the number of convictions or volume of assets recovered from looters as an index would corrupt the criminal justice system.
According to him, this would only induce corruption and abuse of prosecutorial rights.
He said, "By using these as our primary index for determining our success in fighting corruption, we set targets that induce corruption and abuse of prosecutorial rights.
"We thereby make a statement that the end justifies the means and, in the process, encourage and advocate for convictions and purported recovery of assets no matter how crooked, corrupt and undermining of justice the processes may be for attaining those goals.
"The end result is that we pay more attention to and celebrate these corrosive and corruptive processes while giving scant attention and regard to proactive measures that could actually stem and block the avenues for corruption."
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He urged the Buhari administration to abolish media trial for suspects while its anti-corruption war must not be perceived as discriminatory or selective.
Usoro said, "It is gratifying that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR has consistently made it the credo of his government to fight corruption, right from his first term in office. That is commendable.
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"The fight must however not be selective or discriminatory in nature; it must not even be perceived to be selective or discriminatory.
"The trial of persons for corrupt practices must itself not be tainted with corruption. Media trial of persons charged with corrupt practices, for example, amount to corruption itself."
He added, "Abuse of prosecutorial powers is perhaps one of the worst forms of corruption and so are the intimidation, blackmail, harassment and coercion of judicial officers in order to secure pre-determined judgments that quite often subvert justice and indeed amount to injustice. Indeed, the subversion of justice by any means whatsoever amounts to extreme corruption."
He urged government to put in place mechanism that would engender transparency as a way of effectively fighting graft.
Tags: anti-corruption war International Anti-Corruption Day