There was outrage yesterday at the seizure of yet another cash belonging to Nigeria.
The $5.7 million was meant to buy arms through a third party.
The criticisms were scathing, with the Federal Government getting knocks for burgling yet another arms purchase — the second in three weeks.
The lid on this deal was removed by a South African newspaper on Monday – three weeks after the seizure of $9.3 million cash, which was also meant for arms purchase. The money was taken in cash inside a bombardier jet to Johannesburg.
The South African Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the money was frozen for illegal transaction.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday led the condemnation of the action, which it described as “embarrassing”.
But National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki, who issued the end-user certificate for the transaction, said there was nothing untoward about it to warrant the action taken by the South African government agency.
Senior lawyers and opinion leaders also decried the seizure of the cash, which they described as “shameful”.
They said it was unfortunate that a similar “illegal transaction” could occur again when the backlash from the first one is yet to settle.
They said all those involved in the “shady deals” must resign and be prosecuted, if the country wants to repair its battered image.
According to them, in other climes, not only would those involved in the first incident have been named and made to resign, their trial would have started.
The lawyers praised South Africa for exposing Nigerian officials’ “shady deals”, urging the country to make public its investigation.
Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), activist-lawyer Festus Keyamo, former NBA Ikeja Branch chairman Monday Ubani, constitutional lawyer Ike Ofuokwu and an Imo State governorship aspirant, Mr Ike Ibe, a lawyer, called for the prosecution of all those involved in the “shady” deals.
Akeredolu said the government’s admission of being involved in what he called cross border crime is an indictment of the leadership.
“Seizure of hard currency said to belong to the Nigerian government by the South African government is, to say the least, a national disgrace. The Federal Government under the watch of President Goodluck Jonathan owes Nigerians an explanation. The question, however, is: What explanation?
“The admission by the government of its involvement in this cross border crime only underscores the character of persons we have regrettably saddled with leadership. This development is undoubtedly a source of embarrassment to decent Nigerians.
“This clear act of illegality must be called to question by the National Assembly with the responsible agencies directed to investigate and punish those found culpable whether in agbada, khaki or cassock,” Akeredolu said.
Keyamo said the cash seizures were not only embarrassing, but are a disgrace.
These transactions are highly suspicious; they smack of illegality, and it is embarrassing and very shameful that the Federal Government can be linked one way or the other to these shady deals.
“They’re dragging the name of the entire Federal Republic of Nigeria into complete disrepute in the eyes of the international community. What is going on is a ground for highly-placed public officials linked to these transactions to resign, be removed from office or be impeached. Unfortunately, none of these has happened. It is a shame,” Keyamo said.
To Ofuokwu, there must be something “sinister” about the “arms” deals. He said Nigeria was portrayed as a nation of criminals before the world.
“The Federal Government has thrown caution and all known fiscal decency and responsibility to the wind. There must be something sinister about this arms deal, if at all there is any. Their conduct with these cash seizures is, to say the least, a monumental shame and embarrassment to us as a nation.
“The advisers and functionaries of this government, I believe, have differently or jointly resolved to pull down this government by all their actions. We, as a nation, have lost about USD15million in less than one month to South Africa.
“With this development, South Africa continues to climb up the ladder of development index whilst Nigeria continues its decline in all spheres. This conduct only portrays us as a people and as a nation of criminals and very primitive ones for that matter.
“What is the essence of the cashless policy being put in place if the Government in itself under the watchful eyes of the Central Bank is still conducting business in this manner? Honestly, if the truth must be told, it all boils down to primitive acquisition which our public servants are well known for,” Ofuokwu said.
Ibe said heads should have been rolling if there was no cover-up by the government. “After the first and second incidents involving the same unwholesome means and the same South Africa, by now heads should have been rolling.
“This is either gross incompetence on the part of officials charged with the responsibility of legitimate arms purchase or an attempt to rubbish Nigeria’s national integrity and sovereignty.
“I call on the President to take all steps both domestic and diplomatic to arrest this ugly trend and bring to book anyone who played any inappropriate role in the entire mess,” he said.
Ubani urged Nigerians to ensure the matter is not swept under the carpet. His words: “It’s a very big source of embarrassment. All this while, we’ve been saying that monies are being taken outside our shores. What we were not sure is the method, the source and countries they’re taking them to. But this time, South Africa has become the destination point. The first time, they explained it away. This time, there is more to it.
“If it were a serious country, these incidents are not merely coincidental – they’re enough to make any government lose its legitimacy in the eyes of the people, and officials should be resigning. Why would South Africa be taking on Nigeria? If Nigeria is respected by the rest of the world, why would South Africa be in a haste to expose all our faults and embarrass us in the eyes of the world?
“It means they really have facts that these guys have been milking this country dry. They’re angry with the Nigerian government in the way it is treating its citizens. They must be tired of the kind of corruption that Nigeria is noted for. In every human development index Nigeria is always rated low.
“They’re trying to portray Nigeria, which claimed to have rebased its economy and is bigger than South Africa, in a very bad light and show there is something wrong about Nigeria and about its fight against corruption. Maybe South Africa now wants to be on the side of the Nigerian people.
“If it is a country where the people know their rights, where the citizens are united, not divided on ethnic or religious lines, what will be done is that whoever is involved in this must resign and be prosecuted. But if that happens, people will bring up religious, ethnic and political party sentiments and the whole thing will die off and our leaders will be laughing at us while drinking Champagne.
“The House of Representatives did not investigate the first one and it has even become a dead matter. If care is not taken, in a week’s time, this one will also be a dead matter and nothing will happen. As long as we’re not united, nothing will happen.”
Mr George Oguntade (SAN), described as worrying the failure of the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala or the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clarify the “embarrassing” arms transactions.
He said: “These recent incidents involving seizure of very substantial amounts of money allegedly belonging to the Nigerian State by another government is indeed a national embarrassment.
“The frequency of the incidents will also appear to raise questions as to the legitimacy of the transactions. It is either those involved are utterly ignorant of global money laundering protocols or deliberately attempted to circumvent same. Both do not augur well for the Nigerian state whose name has been appropriated to these transactions.”
To Oguntade, “it is incredulous that neither the CBN governor nor the Minister of Finance has made an official statement on the matters.”
“This paints a very bad picture of the Nigerian state and provides ample justification for the global view that fiscal irresponsibility is the order of the day by the Nigerian government and that this will not in way aid the war against terrorism which has confronted it for some years now.
“It is high time citizens of Nigeria raised their voices and call the government to order on these shameful shenanigans,” Oguntade said.
Theophilus Akanwa described as “disappointing” the fact that government officials would engage in a transaction that could result in a national embarrassment and humiliation by another country.
He questioned the sincerity of the transactions, if the deals could not be brokered through legitimate means rather than violating South African laws.
Said Akanwa: “Assuming there is the need to purchase arms for the nation, I am perplexed on the reasons why Mr president will not order the right channels to be followed to avoid the further sinking of our country’s image on corruption.
“Why the cashless policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) when the government is still carrying cash? Where is CBN and what was it’s role in all these cash carrying?, he said.
