By Yusuf Alli

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday said the Judiciary is on top of the Nigeria Corruption Index between 2018 and 2020.

It claimed that about N9, 457,650,000.00 (N9.457 billion) was offered and paid as bribe by lawyers.

Six female judges, according to the agency, reported that they were offered N3, 307,444,000.00 (N3.307billion) and five male judges reported N392, 220,000(N392.2million).

The anti-corruption commission said the cases of outright demand and offer of bribes were “mostly linked to election matters.”

These details are contained in a report: “Nigeria Corruption Index: Report of a pilot survey”, which was made available on Tuesday by the Chairman of ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN) in Abuja.

The survey was carried out by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, the intellectual arm of the ICPC.

Owasanoye said the Nigeria Corruption Index(NCI) “indicates that both the public and private sectors are complicit in the high corruption levels in Nigeria.

“The survey also identifies the specific practices that are contributing to the corruption levels. This is the sort of information that stakeholders require to plan and evaluate their anti-corruption work.

“ICPC is committed to stopping corruption in Nigeria using all lawful means and capabilities, including deployment of knowledge and data for effective anti-corruption action.”

The NCI explained in details the rot in the Judiciary.

The report reads: “Overall, the justice sector had the highest level of corruption with a score of 63. The level of corruption in the justice sector was heightened by stupendously high amounts of money offered as bribes to judges by lawyers handling high electoral and other political cases.

“A large percentage, 73 per cent of justice sector respondents did not experience a situation of outright demand or offer of bribe. Nevertheless, it remains alarming that 16 per cent of respondents had experienced such blatant demands or offers of bribes.

“Follow up discussions indicated that the cases of outright demand and offer of bribes are mostly linked to election matters.

“Money involved in the high-level corruption in this sector was categorized into money demanded, offered or paid. Demands are made by court officials including judges, while bribery offers and payments are made by lawyers or litigants.

“The total amount of money reported by the Justice sector respondents as corruptly demanded, offered and paid between 2018 and 2020 was N9,457, 650,000.00 (N9.457 billion).

“78 respondents constituting 8.7 per cent of all justice sector respondents reported offers or payments of bribes to influence the judicial process. Out of the 78 justice sector respondents that reported amounts of money offered or paid, 63 were lawyers. This number makes up 9.9 per cent of all lawyers surveyed in the justice sector. The 63 lawyers that reported payments were mostly male being 69.8 per cent, while their female colleagues constituted 30.2 per cent of that population.

“In all, the total amount of money reported by lawyers was N5,733,986,000.00. The amount reported by female lawyers was N918,045,000 while male lawyers reported N4,815,941,000(N4.8billion).

“These amounts made up 9.71% and 50.92 per cent respectively of the total amount reported by justice sector respondents. Lawyers reported 60.63 per cent of the bribes offered and paid by justice sector respondents.

“The amount of money offered to judges was next in volume to payments made by lawyers. In all, N3,699,664,000 (N3.699billion) was reported by 11, that is 8.9 per cent of the 123 judges surveyed. 6(54.5 per cent) out of the judges that reported the offers were female, while 5(45.5 per cent) were male.

“Although, the females were just slightly more in number than the males, the females reported a substantially higher amount of money.

“The total reported by the six(6) female judges was N3,307,444,000 while the five (5) male judges reported N392,220,000.00. These amounts made up 34.97 per cent and 4..15 per cent respectively of the total amount reported by justice sector respondents. Judges reported 39.12 per cent of the bribes offered and paid by justice sector respondents.

“The court staff reported the lowest amount of money offered as bribe to influence the outcome of a judicial process. The total amount of money reported by court staff was N24,000,000…”

The document gave the breakdown of the percentage of those most responsible for bribe for judgment situations as follows: Lawyers (27.17 per cent); Litigants personally(21.96 per cent) Court Staff(Clerks, Registrars etc)—(21.54 per cent); Judges (16.88 per cent), Government MDAs (7.37 per cent); No experience on the matter(3.06 per cent); Chose not to say(1.01 per cent) and others 1.01 per cent.

ICPC also cited alteration of court documents as part of the corruption in the Judiciary.

The report said: “Grand corruption in the justice sector also manifests in the form of fraudulent alteration of court documents.”

“In the experience of justice sector respondents, court staff are most responsible for this corrupt practice.

The report gave further insights into other forms of corruption in the Executive and the Legislative sectors.

The report added: “The private business sector ranked next to the justice sector in corruption levels, although this sector had a score of 33 in monetary corruption, it had score of 55 in non-monetary corruption.

“Corrupt practices in the private business sector contributed greatly to the national level of corruption. This sector had an overall corruption score of 44.

“The high level of corruption in the private business sector can be easily overlooked while concentrating on corrupt practices in governmental spaces. The high corruption score of the private business sector serves as a reminder of the need to stop corruption in both private and public spaces.

“Many of the corrupt practices found in the private business sector involve collaboration or joint participation with government officials.

“The Executive and Legislative sectors had overall corruption scores of 42 and 41 respectively. In monetary corruption, the Executive sector with a score of 33 had a higher level of corruption than the Legislative sector, which had a score of 27.

“However in non-monetary corruption the Legislative sector with a score of 55 surpassed the Executive which had a score of 51. Some of the corrupt practices found in these two sectors involved the joint involvement of parties from both sectors. “

The report indicted MDAs of engaging in corrupt practices by footing the bills of legislators on oversight visits.

It also highlighted the methods being used by MDAs to perpetrate fraud.

It said: “The link between absence of transparency and corruption is illustrated by the sponsorship of legislative oversight visits by MDAs. Legislators conduct oversight visits of MDAs. Some MDAs facilitate these visits by providing transportation, accommodation and outright cash payments.

“The sponsorship of oversights by the inspected MDAs has been said to be unavoidable because of the number of MDAs and the absence of provisions for such visits in the legislative budget.

“Any merit in this position is whittled down by the absence of public availability of the details of the legislative budget.

“So, it is possible that legislators whose oversight visits are sponsored by MDAs could also be receiving payment for the same purpose from the legislative arms of government.”

The report also uncovered abuse of legislative office through project inspections.

It said: It is not ordinarily a legislative function to inspect governmental contracts awarded to private businesses.

“However 31 per cent of private sector respondents indicated that they had experienced situations where projects were inspected by legislators.

“Money involved in facilitation of legislators’ project inspection visits are paid by private companies.”

Editors Note; Written By Yusuf Alli and originally published in TheNation

The President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Monica Dongbam-Mensen has decried the increasing influx of substandard products into Nigerian markets.

Justice Dongbam-Mensen, who spoke in Abuja on Wednesday when a delegation from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), led by its Executive Vice Chairman, Mr Babatunde Irukera, paid her a courtesy visit at her Chambers, decried that the country has become a dumping ground for all sorts of junks.

She said there was a need for strict enforcement of existing laws to ensure that products brought into the country are of good standards.

According to the PCA, “When you look at products coming into Nigeria, you will realize that Nigeria is being taken very much for granted. I know that some people prefer to buy products made for use in Europe than the ones made for Nigeria.

“Unfortunately, some of our businessmen go out and ask that the minimum standard should be made and brought for us. So once you buy, you are on your own.

“Some times, some of the products that come into this country, we buy them as new, but in reality, they are not even second-hand, maybe they are tenth-hand or they were deliberately fabricated not to work at all.

“So we end up with a lot of junks in our nation and we have no means of cleaning up our environment, we are like a dumping ground”, She said and called for economic balancing, saying, “the gap between the rich and the poor is getting too much, it is getting too wide.”

According to her, “If there is a deliberate and conscious attempt to ensure that there is equity, balance in the distribution of wealth, such that the not so wealthy or totally downtrodden are given an opportunity to participate in the economic development of the nation, I think a lot of our problems would be solved.”

While imploring the Commission to inline with its mandate, ensure strict enforcement of existing laws, Justice Dongbam-Mensen said, there are strict laws that ensure that good standards are maintained and that products brought into a nation are of good standards.”

Similarly, another Justice of the appellant court, Peter Ige, said there was a need for wider consultation with stakeholders when amendments are effected on Acts regulating operations of government agencies.

He said the duty of the Court was to declare what the law stipulated. “For instance, right now we don’t even have complimentary copies of your Act to know the areas that are in conformity or in conflict with the constitution.”

More so, Justice Ige said there was a need for the National Assembly to amend the laws to guarantee the enforceability of Chapter 2 of the Constitution.

“You do know that Chapter 2 of the constitution is a non-justiciable provision. When people talk about restructuring and all the rest, one would have thought that everybody will concentrate on Chapter 2 of the Constitution and make our National Assembly make them enforceable.

“This is so that everybody will know that all these rights or provisions, which is the purpose of government that are provided for in Chapter 2, we can enforce them and everybody can enjoy the benefits of governance, whether politically, socially, economically, commercially or otherwise.”

On his part, the Chairman of FCCPC, Mr Irukera, said the purpose of the visit was to intimate the Court of Appeal about operations of the Commission.

“The FCCPC is keenly interested and looks forward to the Court of Appeal’s kind indulgence in collaborating with the agency.

“One of our more urgent and crucial objectives is a knowledge-sharing opportunity where we present a more in-depth analysis of the FCCPA through knowledgeable faculty working with and through the National Judicial Council, and learning from this senior bench too, what the judicial considerations are in dispute resolution, as well as how best to present questions of law for the fairest and most meaningful outcomes and disposition,” he added.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved about N120,717,387,596 for the implementation of various projects across the country.

The approvals came during the 26th meeting of the council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja on Wednesday.

Ministers of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; and Water Resources Suleiman Adamu, who addressed correspondents on the matter, explained the contracts as they concerned projects in their various ministries.

Fashola said his ministry got approval for three memoranda, totalling N117,485,081,325, saying that while two were in respect of various roads and bridges works, the third was for a banking application software for the Federal Mortgage Bank.

He explained: “Council approved a total sum of N18,923,846,198.47 billion for roads and bridges. First is the rehabilitation of 26 kilometres of Kano – Kazaure – Daura – Mai’adua Road in the Kano-Jigawa-Katsina States at N8.767 billion. Omor – Umulokpa Road in Anambra and Enugu N1.712 billion.

“Rehabilitation of Oye – Oranto off Enugu Express Dunukofia in Anambra At N2.504 billion. Okpokwu Bridge along Ogoja – Okuku – Aliforkpa-Benue Road in Cross River N1.057 billion.

“Bridge at kilometre 22 +700 meters along Bida -Zungaru road in Niger at N1.022 billion; Nkwumi Bridge linking Abia and Enugu states at N1.072 billion, and Chalawa – Runku – Sawa – Kayi Road in Kombotso, Kano State N2.787 billion.

“The other memorandum relating to roads is for the total sum of N98,73,840,842.81 billion. The roads are in Rijiya – Gusau Road in Zamfara N1.799 billion; Jega – Kwanar Sanagi – Kebbi – Gunmi Road in Kebbi N31.539 billion; Koko- Mahuta Road in Kebbi, N19.713 billion; Kukar Babangida – Gangara Road in Katsina N11.731 billion, Ihiala-Orlu -Umuduru Road to Uko at N16.750 billion, Oye Ama Etitte road to Umuawulu Road in Anambra at N2.155 billion and rehabilitation in Bichi Road in Kano State N8.34 billion.

“The third memo was the procurement of a core banking application software for Federal Mortgage Bank in the sum of N487.394,285.71 million for Messers FINTAX software to enable Federal Mortgage Bank to provide all the frontline services that other banks now provide across its branches nationwide.

“Unlike other banks, Federal Mortgage Bank is still unable to send automated notices, statements and all of those to national housing fund contributors. This application will now enable the federal mortgage bank to provide those kinds of services and do a lot of automation and reconciliation loan and credit processing when fully installed.”

On his part, Aregbesola said his ministry presented two memoranda to Council, one of which was the furnishing of the already completed technology building (the data and communication command and control centre) at the cost of N2,100,080,759.65 billion.

It was awarded in favour of messers Julius Berger Nigeria Plc at the total sum approved of N2,100,080,759.65 billion.

He said Council also approved the purchase of 44 operational vehicles for meant to enhance the efficiency of the officers recently promoted, which include Comptrollers, Assistant Comptroller Generals, Deputy Comptroller Generals as well as for patrol duties, at the cost of N768,077,08 million.

Aregbesola added: “The council approved procurement of 44 operational vehicles at a total contract sum of N768,077,08 million. The beneficiaries are messers PAN, Kawra and Wanla Motors Nigeria Ltd.

“While the final phase of consultancy was given to Messers APTECH Practice Ltd, architectural design consultants. The ward is a total sum of N163,956,232.03. The duration of the project is four months.”

FEC also approved a memo seeking the award of contract for the reversed cost for an extension of time of the consultancy services at Tadasungai Irrigation project in Kwara State.

Minister of Water Resources, Adamu recalled that council had okayed the reversal of the total cost of the main project and the ministry got approval to extend the services of the consultant, Messers Tech Consult Consultancy International and associates, Ltd for another 12 months.

“It was 24 months plus 12 months extension plus 12 months liability period, making it 36 for a total sum of N200,192,200 million inclusive 7.5 per cent VAT. These are high priority project along the banks of River Niger and has the potential to improve production in the country especially rice production,” he stated.

The Minister said the council also approved the award of contract for a dedicated power line for middle Ogun Irrigation project phase one which is in Iseyin in Oyo State.

According to him, the irrigation system used to be powered by diesel generators, “but because of deregulation and with diesel it has become so expensive and not sustainable.

“So, we have to look for other ways and means to power irrigation systems. We are looking at both the National grid and solar. In this case, we have an interim arrangement to extend power for national grid power to irrigation scheme and in the future, before it is finished, we will take it to solar.”

He said that capacity coverage is about 3,000 hectares while about 1,300 hectares have already been finished but cannot be irrigated because of lack of power.

An Assistant Commissioner of Police serving in No. 73 PMF Squadron, Magumeri, Borno state, ACP Egbe Eko Edum has been reportedly axed to death in Calabar, Cross River State Capital by unknown men.

The attack took place in the early hours of Wednesday, December 2, at about 1:00 am along Murtala Mohammed Highway in Calabar by Pepsi depot, sources said.

“He dropped off from a public transport and had called his wife to pick him up before he was attacked by the unknown men. We are investigating the incident and the family has recovered the body from the scene,” the PPRO explained.

She reiterated that the deceased “is an Assistant Commissioner of Police who serves in Borno State; he is not serving here. I think he was coming to see his family here in Cross River, he arrived in Calabar at about 1:00am when the incident happened.”

Until his death, Edum was a commander of the Police Mobile Force Squadron 73 in Magumeri, area of Borno state.

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, ruled that the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Hafiz Mohammed Inuwa, and the Attorney General of Delta State, Peter Mrakpor, both have a case to answer in a suit filed against them by former minister of State for Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo, in a ruling, delivered yesterday in the suit numbered, FHC/ABJ/1267/2020 also joined the Delta State Attorney General and Commissioner of Police as third and fourth respondents in the suit by the former Minister.

Taiwo in his ruling, while citing the provisions of Section 2(a) of the Public Officers Protection Law, said a public officer can be joined in a suit where it is believed that the fundamental right of an applicant may have been contravened during the course of discharging their duties.

“There is no doubt, that in law, the person being sought to be joined, though he is the Commissioner of Police, Delta State, can be sued in his personal capacity. It is my considered view, that the Commissioner of Delta State can be sued in his personal capacity,” he said.

According to the Judge, “The fundamental rights in the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can be deployed against anyone by an applicant who claims that his fundamental rights have been, is being or likely to be contravened by any person, even when he acts in his official capacity.

“After due consideration of the processes filed for and against the application, I find merit in the application to joinder, and I hereby order that Hafiz Mohammed Inuwa and the Attorney General, Delta State, be joined as the third and fourth respondents in this matter,” Justice Taiwo ruled and adjourned till December 17, 2020, for hearing of the suit.

Thenigerialawyer

President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday proved cynics wrong, as he agreed to comply with the resolution of the House of Representatives summoning him to appear before it to explain why insecurity is threatening the country to its very fabric and what he’s doing about it.

Making the disclosure while answering questions from journalists after leading a delegation to a meeting with the president, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, said the group was in the State House to covey to Buhari the resolution summoning him to appear before it.

He said aside conveying the resolution to the president, they also had the intention of fixing the date for the president’s appearance but they later declined fixing the date in deference to the president’s office.

However, he was swift to add that they eventually reached an agreement with the president on the date he would appear before them, but declined to make the date known, promising instead that it would be communicated to journalists later.

“We came to see the President on developments in the country. He was so willing to listen as typical of the president.

“The usual democrat that he is. What we basically sought was to convey the resolution of the House and to fix a date which we did not fix out of respect for Mr. President and his very tight schedule, what date will be convenient.

“We have agreed on a date and he will meet with the House to address the situation. We have fixed a date but we will communicate with you. He is a perfect democrat. He will come to the House to address members in the nearest future,” he said.

Asked what was his perception of the president’s handling of security threats ravaging the country, Gbajabiamila was swift to add that the president was more concerned about the worsening insecurity bedeviling the country.

He added, however, that he would avoid pre-emptying the president until he personally appears before the House, adding that Buhari is committed to addressing security crises threatening the country.

According to Gbajabiamila, when Buhari appears before the House, he will not be there to address only the lawmakers, but will rather use the floor of the House as a platform to address the entire citizens of the country.

“I think he is more concerned than me and you. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. We will leave everything until when he comes to the House. Let me not pre-empt him. All I can tell you for now is that he is fully committed to the security of lives and property of Nigerians.

“He is coming to talk to Nigerians through the House. You know that the House, as it is constituted, every Nigerian is present in the House. Every constituency in this country is represented in the House. So, when Mr. President is talking to the House, he is talking to Nigerians through their representatives,” he added.

The House had entered into a rowdy session on Tuesday following a motion presented by a member from Borno State, Hon. Satomi Ahmed, on behalf of other 10 Borno State lawmakers.

Ahmed’s motion which was the fallout of the heinous killings of 43 farmers on their rice farms in Zarbamari by Boko Haram insurgents on Saturday, also demanded a declaration of a state of emergency on security matters in the country by the president.

Ahmed had disputed the claim that the number of people killed was 43, saying the exact number was not yet known, recalling how the insurgents tied up farmers and slit their throats.

However, Ahmed had in his motion deliberately omitted the prayer summoning the president, prompting one of the co-sponsors of the motion, Hon. Ahmadu Jaha, to raise a point of order, drawing his colleagues’ attention to one of the prayers in the motion which Ahmed had failed to express.

According to Jaha, all sponsors of the motion agreed that Buhari should be summoned to tell the House what he’s doing about the security situation in the country.

Jaha’s point of order, calling for the House’s resolution summoning the president, received the backing of majority of members, but some opposed it, thus throwing the House into a rowdy session, until Gbajabiamila called for the dissolution of the House into an executive session.

The outcome of the session was not made public, until Gbajabiamila led a delegation to a meeting with the president yesterday.

Well meaning Nigerians and groups, including Afenifere and Northern Elders’ Forum swiftly threw their weight behind the House motion to summon Buhari, lamenting how insecurity had become a norm in the country.

Nigerian police operatives at the Ogun State command have exposed a baby factory where a physically challenged man has been employed to impregnate young girls and the babies sold after delivery.

Police said the baby factory is located at Ofada, Mowe, Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, southwest Nigeria.

So far, 10 pregnant girls and some unsold kids have been rescued while the operator of the factory, Mrs Florence Ogbonna reportedly fled during the raid on Tuesday, December 1.

However, her daughter and the physically challenged man engaged to make the girls pregnant were arrested.

The physically challenged man is allegedly responsible for impregnating the young girls and after delivery, Mrs Ogbonna sold their babies.

The woman Mrs Ogbonna had earlier been arrested for a similar offence and is standing trial for human trafficking before this incident. Ogun police spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi said the young expectant mothers aged 18 to 24 years, were transported from Imo, Abia and the Ebonyi States with a promise of securing employment for them but later lured into the illicit trade.

The raid was conducted at the baby factory owned by the woman who is under court bail, after one of the victims resisted the plan to put her baby for sale, escaped and reported the illicit trade to the police.

The lady identified as Chidera Onuoha revealed that she reported to the police after the fleeing woman wanted to sell her baby.

On how much the babies cost, she said: “If the baby is a boy, they sell the newborn for N250, 000. If it’s a girl, it is N200, 000.”

Two students, Endurance Bako of the University of Jos and Happy Bako, an SS1 student, have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Wulko, Nasarawa Eggon local government area of Nasarawa State.

While the two sisters are still in custody of the kidnappers, their mother, who was shot twice on her leg by the kidnappers, is currently receiving treatment at the National Hospital, Abuja.

Endurance Aushi Bako, 22, a 300 level student of University of Jos, and Happy Bako, 17, an SS1 student, were whisked away by the kidnappers who are demanding 30 million naira ransom.

A member of the family, Alex Esla Bako, who narrated what happened to our correspondent, said the kidnappers gained access to the family house in Wulko, near Endehu resort around 11pm on Sunday night, through the fence.

“They gained entrance into our house around 11pm on Sunday night, through the fence and when my mother noticed some strange movements, she came out and the kidnappers flashed her torch light in the face before shooting twice at a close range on the leg.

“Since they took my two sisters away, they called time to time, with different numbers and the first demanded 30 million, now they are saying 20 million,” he said.

The overseer of Agidi Development area in Nasarawa Eggon local government of the state, Emma Yaro, who confirmed the development, said he had reported the case to the Police. (The Nation)

“Unless those who want to be politically correct by playing poker with the country’s fate, most Nigerians, after more than five years of Buhari’s presidency, have come to the inexorable conclusion that the onerous task of governing Nigeria is way beyond his ken.

In any other country apart from Nigeria with its asinine and highly flawed leadership recruitment process, a man with Buhari’s competencies will thank his stars if he is rewarded with the chairmanship of a local government.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, amplified this depressing fact on November 26 at the fourth quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council in Abuja, when he said bandits were fast overrunning the North.

“People think the North is safe but that assumption is not true. In fact, it’s the worst place to be in this country because bandits go around in the villages, households and markets with their AK 47 and nobody is challenging them. They stop at the market, buy things, pay and collect change, with their weapons openly displayed,” he lamented.

But it is not only the North that is in ruins. Buhari’s incompetence and lack of capacity have ruined Nigeria. Farmers in the South also need security escorts to access their farms.

It is unfortunate it took the slaughtering of innocent rice farmers and the international opprobrium on the country for the North to realise that Buhari is a bad omen for all. But it is not enough for fellow compatriots to wake up from their lethargic slumber.

It will be good if the right lessons have been learnt by all Nigerians, Southerners and Northerners alike, which is: If the North is worse off in spite of the fact that a rabid ethnic supremacist like Buhari is in office, then Nigerians are better informed that competence should trump all other mundane considerations when making a choice in 2023.”

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