*Lagos State an interested party wanting to be judge in its own case
By OUR REPORTER
“The problem with you Southern concentrated media is that, you will never do well unless you push ethnic and religious sentiments and biases aside and practice true, noble journalism for patriotism sake for the good of Nigeria and its innocent people. Just imagine it is a Northern state that made this so called law or attempt, hell would have been let loose. Good enough, so far, no Northerner has ever been shielded from getting to answering questions over corruption allegations against him or her. But every Southerner that has been required to face justice over same has been shielded by Southern governments, their media sympathisers, civil societies and people. It is well but we are waiting for how this will play out,” he said.
The Government of Lagos State, through a new law signed by the governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, mandates agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and other anti-graft agencies to hand over corruption cases to the state government.
This was according to Punch report.
In the legislation titled ‘Lagos State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission Law’ signed by Sanwo-Olu last week, a copy of which was obtained the Punch on Saturday, a new anti-corruption agency will have the exclusive rights to investigate financial crimes and corruption cases involving the finances of the Lagos State Government.
Section 13(3) of the law reads, “The commission shall upon the commencement of this law take over the investigation of all anti-corruption and financial crime cases involving the finances and assets of Lagos State Government being investigated by any other agency.”
Section 13(5) also states, “The commission shall have the power to the exclusion of any other agency or body to investigate and coordinate the investigation of corruption and financial crimes cases involving the finances and assets of the state government.”
Currently, three former Lagos governors, Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode, are said to be under investigation by the EFCC. The anti-graft agency is also investigating the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, who helped facilitate the passage of the law.
The EFCC had in November last year written a letter to the Code of Conduct Bureau asking it to make available the asset declaration forms of Tinubu and Fashola as part of a wider probe. However, the details of Fashola’s probe have never been revealed.
The commission is also looking into petitions that Tinubu allegedly enriched himself by using a tax consultancy firm, Alpha Beta, to divert Lagos funds and commit tax evasion to the tune of N100bn.
The former governor was also reported to the EFCC for transporting cash-laden bullion vans to his home on the eve of the 2019 presidential election.
Similarly, the anti-graft agency, in 2019, commenced probing Ambode for alleged N9.9bn fraud.
Obasa was also grilled by the EFCC in October 2020, while his accounts were frozen by a court. He is accused of mismanaging public funds running into hundreds of millions of naira. While the Lagos speaker denied most of the allegations, he admitted that N80m as estacode was approved for the training of the wives of 20 lawmakers in Dubai.
According to the law, the commission shall have the power to investigate any person or administrative action taken by any ministry, department, agency or parastatal of the state government or any local government.
The new anti-graft agency shall investigate any offence under the criminal law of the state in relation to corruption and financial crimes, abuse of office, offences relating to administration of justice, obtaining by false pretences, cybercrime, fake news, interception of emails and fraudulent dealing with property debtors.
The law, which empowers the agency to investigate anyone who cannot explain his or her source of income, states that the anti-graft agency shall not be subjected to the direction and control of any authority.
The commission is, however, barred from investigating cases that are pending before the Lagos State House of Assembly, the Lagos State Executive Council or any court of law.
Corruption cases involving members of the Nigeria Police Force and the Armed Forces cannot be investigated by the commission, except acts of corruption committed by them as private individuals.
All the persons, including the spokesman for the commission, Wilson Uwujaren, the Commissioner for Information in Lagos State, Gbenga Omotoso and the spokesman for the Attorney General of the Federation, Dr Umar Gwandu, were asked by the press whether the EFCC would hand over its cases to the new Lagos State agency. They either said they would call back, didn’t answer their calls or asked for more time to respond. None of them has, however, responded as at the time before publishing, according to the Punch.
However, Sanwo-Olu, speaking moments after his assent to the new anti-graft law, was quoted as saying the legislation was a testimony to the state government’s effort towards entrenching accountability in governance and checking malfeasance among officers entrusted with public resources.
The governor, who also signed the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority Bill 2021 same day, argued that the state anti-corruption agency would be independent and complement efforts of similar agencies at the federal level.
Responding, when asked about the validation of the development, human rights lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said “the Lagos State law is valid,” adding that the constitution gives states the right to make such laws.
The senior advocate said corruption and crime are not on the exclusive legislative list and as such, the Lagos House of Assembly has more powers to create such law for the benefit of the state than the National Assembly, which created the EFCC and the ICPC.
Ozekhome argued that since the House of Assembly was in charge of making laws regarding taxation, charges and finances of Lagos State, the Assembly also has superior powers regarding diversion of such funds.
In the meantime, mouths are already wagging, asking questions about the status and pride of the Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress, APC, Federal Government, considering that the move is interpreted to mean compromise of standard by people who are supposed to be leaders of APC and who are rather destroying Buhari’s legal right in his regn time.
A source told The DEFENDER that, “This coming from Lagos State shows example of an interested party wanting to be judge in its own case. It won’t speak well for President Buhari and it won’t speak well for the APC particularly in 2023 because, most Nigerians would have clearly seen the party as an organisation of deceiving politicians and will spell doom for any sincere attempt, in future, at helping Nigeria kill corruption before corruption kills Nigeria.”
Another respondent said, “Many sad developments are happening now under President Muhammadu Buhari’s government and, more saddening, they are coming by those claiming to be co-travellers who purportedly helped him become President in 2015. And they are people who are to rule next. What do they want to achieve? To destroy the image of the North as bad rulers so they can take glory later?
“The problem with you Southern concentrated media is that, you will never do well unless you push ethnic and religious sentiments and biases aside and practice true, noble journalism for patriotism sake for the good of Nigeria and its innocent people. Just imagine it is a Northern state that made this so called law or attempt, hell would have been let loose. Good enough, so far, no Northerner has ever been shielded from getting to answering questions over corruption allegations against him or her. But every Southerner that has been required to face justice over same has been shielded by Southern governments, their media sympathisers, civil societies and people. It is well but we are waiting for how this will play out,” he said.
The DEFENDER reports that only recently, the Minister of Petroleum Resources in the Buhari government, Chief Tipreye Sylva, was seen in a video clip standing and dancing with a James Ibori, a confirmed international corruption convict. Critics, who have called for the sack of Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Ibrahim Ali Isa Pantami, over some religion based comments that were neither terrorism, criminal nor corruption related, have turned deaf ears to the identification with Ibori by the former Bayelsa State Governor, Sylva, who is now in Buhari government.
“Handlers of President Buhari’s Presidential kitchen cabinet should rise up now and not allow politicians, who are not interested in governning for the good of the people but filling their own pockets and bellies at the expense of the people, get take over.
