By Our Reporter
Human rights and community based groups in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, have called for public support for anti-graft agencies fighting to track down shady public and private officials, a task that has seen some investigators killed or faced with death threats.
The groups spoke at the Evaluation of Review of Impacts of Tracing and Recovery of illicit Funds and Assets on Beneficiaries held in the ancient city. Representatives of the anti-corruption groups spoke on various threats faced by anti-corruption detectives including threats of deaths and kidnapping issued to them and their relations.
The event was organised by the Human and Environmental Rights Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) with the support of MacArthur Foundation, Open Society Foundation (OSF/OSIWA), TUGAR, National Orientation Agency (NOA) and PTCIJ.
The programme was attended by several Community based organisations, civil society, media, and labour.
Participants also spoke extensively on how various HEDA trainings across the country have strengthened their capacity to track stolen funds and illicit assets.
Nigerians were also urged to show solidarity with corruption detectives adding that the success of their actions is crucial to lifting Nigeria from misery and poverty.
The Chairman, HEDA Resource Centre, Olanrewaju Suraju, said Nigeria has made progress in the anti-corruption campaign.
He said not only at the local level have assets been recovered, but also internationally.
“Nigeria is now like a shining light for Africa in the recovery of stolen assets. Nigeria started the process of engaging the Federal Bureau of Investigation, (FBI) which has led to the recovery of huge stolen funds from abroad and arrest of Cyber criminals” Suraju said.
The participants said the human rights community is happy about how EFCC has increased pressure on the United Kingdom to repatriate Allison Madueke, the former Petroleum Minister, believed to have stolen billions of dollars of public funds. They went a step further to congratulate Mr. Ibrahim Magu on his recognition by FBI for his achievements in fighting cyber crimes.
At the technical session, officials of EFCC, ICPC and the Code of Conduct Bureau, (CCB) shared gory experiences of threats and intimidation suffered in the cause of investigating corruption related cases. The officials who wanted not to be named complained that politically exposed persons often threaten to eliminate corruption investigators. There have been reports of anti-corruption officials killed by suspected agents of corrupt persons.
Other hurdles listed by the officials include the long process associated with the trial sessions aided by judicial bureaucracy and inadequate data making it difficult to trace stolen assets and political influences by elected officials.
“We are frustrated by the judiciary, corrupt judges, lawyers and a civil service network that is noted for bad record keeping and stiff neck compliance with requests from anti-graft agencies”, an official from one of the anti-corruption groups stated.
HEDA Executive Secretary Mr Sulaimon Arigbabu said Nigerians should collaborate with anti-graft agencies adding that public support automatically provide a form of immunity for anti-corruption detectives.
Other groups who attended the training were Niger-Delta Budget Monitoring Group, Nigerian Guild of Investigative Journalism among many others.
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