The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Itse Sagay

  • Senators earn N3bn per annum – Sagay

    Senators earn N3bn per annum – Sagay

    Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay has disclosed that an average Nigerian Senator earns three billion naira per annum.

    He made the revelation while delivering the Nigerian Society of International Law (NSIL) Public Lecture titled  “The Many Afflictions of Anti-Corruption Crusade in Nigeria” as Guest speaker on Wednesday in Lagos.

    “From the information I have gathered, a Nigerian Senator earns about #29 million a month and over #3 billion a year,” Sagay stated.

    The comprehensive breakdown of the salary of the Senators given by Professor Sagay amounted to  #3, 264, 329, 264.10 per annum.

    The breakdown of the salary of 29 million naira per month is as follows:

    Basic Salary #2, 484, 245.50;

    Hardship allowance, 1,242, 122.70;

    Constituency allowance #4, 968, 509.00;

    Furniture allowance #7, 452, 736.50;

    Newspaper allowance #1, 242, 122.70;

    Wardrobe allowance, 621,061.37;

    Recess allowance #248, 424.55;

    Accommodation 4,968,509.00;

    Utilities #828,081.83;

    Domestic staff #1,863,184.12;

    Entertainment #828,081.83;

    Personal Assistant #621,061.37;

    Vehicle Maintenance Allowance 1,863,184.12;

    Leave Allowance #248,424.55;

    Severance Gratuity #7, 425,736.50

    Motor Vehicle Allowance, #9, 936,982.00.

    “The younger the more corrupt”

    Sagay also spoke against the rush of younger politicians in haste to run the affairs of the country, noting that Nigerian politics has quickly declined since the first  Republic.

    According to Sagay, “One common thread that runs through the attitude of recent politicians borders on greed, avarice, self-service and accumulation of wealth at the expense of the country.”

    “Why the rush? A young politician who wants to run at 25 will still become 30, it is just a matter of five years. Why can’t they wait to run? Most politicians are just consumed by greed and the younger they get, the corrupt they become,” the professor said.

  • 55 government officials, businessmen diverted N1.35tr – Sagay

    55 government officials, businessmen diverted N1.35tr – Sagay

    The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay, on Monday said a study has shown that 55 top Nigeria government officials and private businessmen illicitly diverted a total of N1.35 trillion between 2006 and 2013.

    He also said at least one trillion naira was lost to fuel subsidy scam in the country and millions of dollars stolen by an ex-minister from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) coffers to bribe election officials in 2015.

    Sagay spoke at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, during the Conference on Promoting International Co-operation in Combating Illicit Financial Flow and Enhancing Asset Recovery to Foster Sustainable Development.

    He said: “A study revealed that between 2006 and 2013, 55 top government officials and private businessmen illicitly diverted a total of N1.35 trillion roughly at that time $7.5 billion to themselves at the expense of ordinary Nigerian citizens. This was what was revealed. What was not revealed turned out to be far more mind boggling.

    “These included trillions of naira squandered in fuel subsidy scam, billions of naira in Dasukigate and hundreds of millions of dollars taken from the NNPC by a former minister to bribe election officials in 2015. The list goes on.”

    According to him, one-third of the stolen money could have been devoted to several relevant projects in the country.

    He said because of the looting, Nigeria has the largest number of abandoned projects in the world.

    Sagay said government officials were more interested in sharing projects funds for their selfish benefits than completing projects.

    The PACAC chairman added: “In the press release of January 2016 on the negative impact of looting, government provided the following insight: One third of stolen funds could have provided 600.18 kilometers of road and 36 ultramodern hospitals per state. The funds would have provided education for children from primary to tertiary level at the rate of N5.34 billion per child and 20,062 units of two-bedroom houses. The amount stolen would have done all these.

    “As I was putting my thought to paper on Thursday, June 1, a newspaper headline kept screaming at me: N423 billion Niger Delta projects misappropriated by the Ministry of Niger Delta.

    “So you can see that the corruption onslaught is devastating and unrelenting thus driving us further and further from our sustainable development goals.

    “I have always said it and you know Nigerians don’t like the truth, but this is the truth, give our elites an opportunity to do a project, vote money for that project, the first thing they do is divide that money amongst themselves.

    “Nigeria has largest number of uncompleted projects in this world. Many people just take the money and walk away in collusion with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that awarded the contracts.

    “Let me draw the connect between unrestrained looting and illicit financial flows. Most of the financial assets stolen in Nigeria are taken out of the country as part of the illicit financial flow.  The immediate impact is that Nigeria is deprived of the capacity to realize its sustainable development goals of the UN officially known as transforming our world.

    “These include no poverty (eradication of poverty), zero hunger (eradication of hunger), good health, quality education, clean water and sanitation and affordable clean energy etc.

    “It is hard for any country to achieve that when it has looted 90 per cent of its resources and this hemorrhage is leaving our shores of under-developed world to the developed world, developing them more while we are retarding.

    “The annual flow of criminal activities is estimated at between $1 and $1.6 trillion and half of this comes from developing countries like ours.

     

    “It is therefore vital that we increase our capacity of understanding the illicit financial flows, the hemorrhage if we are to meet our sustainable goals or if we are ever to transform something better. We have to acquire the capacity to stop the hemorrhage.”

     

     

     

  • Sagay’s response to Senate uncalled for, regrettable-APC

    Sagay’s response to Senate uncalled for, regrettable-APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday charged government appointees, to stop making statements that could further worsen the relationship between the Executive and the Legislature.

    Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, APC National Publicity Secretary, gave the advice in a statement issued in Abuja, saying that such utterances could derail the party’s effort to make peace between both arms of government.

    Abdullahi said the party was making concerted efforts to resolve the lingering rift between the Executive and the National Assembly and called on appointees to do same.

    The party specifically urged Prof. Itse Sagay, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACAC) to exercise restraint in his comments.

    According to him, the party also charged him to desist from making utterances that may be misconstrued as an attack on the institution of the National Assembly.

    “We believe the comments attributed to Prof. Sagay are uncalled for, regrettable and could further complicate the relationship between these vital arms of government.

    “The party wishes to reiterate its earlier position admonishing all elected or appointed government officials to desist from utterances that may ruin efforts to build a harmonious relationship between the two arms of government.

    “Prof. Sagay should not operate outside this admonition.

    “Our expectation would be that as a Law Professor of repute, Prof. Sagay would appreciate the need not to denigrate the institutions of democracy, be it the executive, legislature or judiciary,’’ he said.

    Abdullahi said the party objected to the Professor’s call on the Senate to withdraw invitation extended to him.

    This, he said, was unacceptable and potentially injurious to the peace efforts by the party, especially on the background that he was appointed by the APC government.

    He said the party acknowledged the fatherly role being played by President Muhammadu Buhari to resolve outstanding issues with the National Assembly by setting up a committee led by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    He further charged government appointees to help the Vice President makes friends that would make his job easier.

    Abdullahi expressed happiness with its recent meeting with the Senate caucus and confidence that all the issues raised would be addressed.

    He also urged the National Assembly to further intensify its efforts to ensure timely passage of the 2017 national budget.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Sagay had earlier referred to the confirmation of presidential nominees by the Senate as a mere exercise.

    The Senate, in a unanimous decision, had on March 28, stood down the confirmation of 27 Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for two weeks following the statement.

    Most lawmakers saw Sagay`s comments on the senate’s power to confirm nominees of the president as disrespectful, uncouth and a lack of recognition, coming from a Professor of Law.

    The constitution had clearly stated that heads of agencies and some officers must be confirmed by the Senate before appointment. (NAN)

     

  • Sagay: Senate summon unconstitutional- SERAP

    Sagay: Senate summon unconstitutional- SERAP

    Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has advised the leadership of the Senate to immediately withdraw the summon it issued for Professor Itse Sagay, Chairman Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption to appear before the Senate committee on ethics, privileges and public petitions.

    It described the summon as “unwartanted and unconstitutipnal”.

    SERAP in a statement on Thursday signed by its executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni said that, “the Senate’s decision to summon Professor Sagay simply for exercising his right to freedom of expression is arbitrary, a travesty, mala-fide, and cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny.”
    It said suppression of freedom of expression and public discussion is inimical to peace, order, good governance and the rule of law, and patently inconsistent with the Senate’s law-making and oversight functions.

    The statement read in part: “The Senate is not immune from constitutional control simply because it’s a law-making body. In fact, the Senate has neither special immunity from the operation of the constitution nor special privilege to invade the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed right to freedom of expression of Professor Sagay or other citizens for that matter.

    “The framers of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) would never have contemplated a legislative power without responsibility, and the Senate can’t continue to carry on in a manner that implies its law-making and oversight powers are not open to question. Therefore, its powers under the constitution ought to be exercised reasonably and responsibly, consistent with the fundamental notions of peace, order, good governance and the public interest.

    “The human rights of Nigerians are secured against not only executive lawlessness but also legislative excesses. To trample on citizens’ freedom of expression is to thwart the ideals of representative democracy and the rule of law.

    “The National Assembly is constitutionally empowered to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of Nigeria but recent events in the Senate would seem to stir the public anger. It seems curious that the Senate will be giving a raw deal to the heads of the two leading anti-corruption bodies in the country—Ibrahim Magu of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Itse Sagay of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption.

    “All public institutions and figures are legitimately subject to criticism and political opposition. The Senate in particular and the National Assembly as a whole would do well to respect the inherent rights of Nigerians that are so fundamental to our constitutional structure. Democracy, constitutional supremacy, and the rule of law require no less. Indeed, no principle is more basic to any proper system of law than the maintenance of the rule of law itself”, it stated.

    It recalled that Professor Sagay’s comment was a reaction to the Senate’s refusal to proceed with confirmation of 27 persons President Muhammadu Buhari nominated as Resident Electoral Commissioners.

  • Knocks, kudos for Buhari’s anti-graft battle

    The President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft battle on Thursday received knocks and kudos at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The occasion was the National Dialogue on Corruption organized by the office of the Vice President in collaboration with the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC).

    The good and bad of the present fight against corruption in the country took the centre stage at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja

    The newly confirmed Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, and Senator Chukwuka Utazi, who represented the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, faulted the ‘sting operation’ process against judges by the executives arm of government.

    Saraki specifically noted that the sting operation was carried out without the necessary court warrants.

    But Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, were on hand to defend the actions of the government.

    The occasion also saw the Chairman of PACAC, Professor Itse Sagay differing with the Country Officer and Head of Office,  Open Society Initiative for West Africa,  Jude Iloh over the February 6th protests against Buhari’s government.

    While seeking international cooperation to defeat corruption in Nigeria, the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo said that corruption is an existential threat to Nigeria both as a nation and as an viable economic entity.

    He said: “But the truth of the matter is that we all know that corruption in Nigeria is systemic. It doesn’t matter whether it is the Executive arm of government, the judiciary or the legislature, every arm of government is involved in this systemic and life threatening social anomaly called corruption.

    “There’s no question at all. And it affects all segments of the society. It affects the religious, it affects agencies and civil society groups. There’s no one in our nation that can say they are not in one way or the other, not necessarily being complicit but at least under some influence or the other of some of the implications of corruption. “

     

  • Nigeria may lose another $550m Abacha loot in U.S – Sagay

    Nigeria may lose another $550m Abacha loot in U.S – Sagay

    The Chairman of Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay, on Thursday raised an alarm that Nigeria is on the verge of losing another $550m stolen fund recovered from the family of late maximum ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha, to the United States.

    Sagay spoke at a press briefing on asset recovery and asset return held in Abuja.

    He said what the government wants is an unconditional return of the country’s stolen wealth.

    The media parley was jointly organised by PACAC and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora.

    “Nigeria presently stands to lose another $550 million recovered from the Abacha’s family to the U.S contrary to the earlier promise by the U.S to return same to Nigeria,” he said.

    The amount, he said represented a separate tranche from the earlier $480 million forfeited to the U.S following a court judgment in August 2014.

    Sagay said the government is demanding for unconditional return of the money recovered.

    He explained that stringent conditions for repatriation being given by the countries, particularly the U.S in which some of the nation’s stolen wealth are stashed contradicted the earlier promises made to the government.

    Appealing to Nigerians in Diaspora to step into the matter, Sagay said, “this is the time for Nigerians in Diaspora and every friend of Nigeria to get involved in the advocacy to recover stolen assets, not in just in words but in deed.

    “We need no apologies from recipients of stolen assets. Our demand is the unconditional return of our stolen national patrimony.”

     

  • Nigeria would have disintegrated if … – Sagay

    Nigeria would have disintegrated if … – Sagay

    Nigeria would have either disintegrated or be confronted with  harsh economic crisis similar to that of Zimbabwe had Dr. Goodluck Jonathan been re-elected  as president in 20015, eminent lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), declared on Thursday.

    Sagay, who is Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), faulted those comparing the current administration with the immediate past regime and seeking a return to the lawless past because of the prevailing economic challenges.

    The lawyer, who said the government was laying a solid foundation and building solid structures to combat corruption, hinted of plans to establish a special court to try corruption and kidnapping, among others.

    He spoke at an Anti-Corruption Summit organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice in conjunction with a group, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and One Africa in Abuja.

    Sagay said his committee has completed a draft bill for the establishment of special court.

    He said the draft bill, which is being taken through the required legal processes, will aid the establishment of special court to deal with special cases speedily.

    The summit was put together to propose and harmonise anti-corruption positions to be tabled by Nigerian delegation, to be led by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the forthcoming International Anti-Corruption Conference slated for London on May 12.

    British Prime Minister, David Cameron, will host the conference that will be attended by several world leaders.

    “Also we have completed a draft on special crimes court. It is very comprehensive. These courts will have jurisdiction over economic and financial crimes, corruption cases, narcotic drug cases, money laundering cases and cybercrime cases.

    “That is the proposal. There will be special courts and they will have advantage of speed in dealing with cases.”

    On corruption and impunity under Jonathan, Sagay said “considering the unrestrained looting and brigandage” witnessed under the last administration and the “sharp drop in petroleum prices from $140 at one stage to $30 per barrel as it is now, it is no surprise that the Nigerian economy lies completely prostrate.

    “In in fact, I heard some people declaring their preference for corruption, because under corruption, life was easier and more pleasant for them. To me, this is the ultimate demonstration of perverse mentality, immaturity and ignorance.

    “If the former government had been returned to power in 2015, by now, Nigeria would have become would have become a completely failed state.

    “We could have gone the way of Zimbabwe, where they had an inflation rate of over a billion per cent, and where you needed a trillion in Zimbabwean currency to have $300. Their currency was in fact suspended and they are now using American dollars.”

  • Nigerians support anti-graft war – FG

    Nigerians support anti-graft war – FG

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday said 76 per cent of Nigerians are behind the government’s anti-corruption campaign.

    He spoke when he received the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, led by renowned Professor of Law and civil rights Activist, Itse Sagay, in his office on Tuesday.

    He also commended the role of the committee in the country’s anti-corruption crusade.

    ”Bodies like yours, the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, are critical to the success of the fight,” the Minister said while receiving members of the Committee at his office in Abuja on Tuesday.

    ”We have no doubt that you will continue to advise the administration on the prosecution of the war against corruption and the implementation of required reforms in Nigeria’s criminal justice system.”

    Mohammed said the visit by members of the committee could not have come at a better time, ”considering that we are presently running a National Sensitization Campaign Against Corruption.”

    He acknowledged the huge support that the ministry had received – and has continued to receive from the committee since the launch of the campaign, saying it had gone a long way in contributing to the modest achievement recorded since the campaign was launched.

    ”I can say, without equivocating, that since the launch of the sensitization campaign against corruption, we have succeeded in getting more and more Nigerians talking about corruption. Not everyone has joined the campaign, but we see the increased national debate on corruption as a positive development, because the more people are aware of the evils of corruption, the more the likelihood for them to support the government’s battle against corruption,” the minister said.

     

  • PAC against corruption

    PAC against corruption

    The Sagay committee should not only work at better perception for President Buhari’s anti-corruption war, it should push for speedier procedures without sacrificing justice 

    The national mood, which clearly favours a consensus against corruption, paints the Itse Sagay-led Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) Against Corruption as the proverbial man come to meet the moment.

    The Sagay team appears peopled by names that boost public confidence.  Prof Sagay himself, vocal silk and human rights activist, needs no introduction.  Prof. Femi Odekunle, professor of criminology, was victim of raw impunity — a grim corruption of power — under the Sani Abacha military dictatorship, when he was roped into an alleged coup.

    Other members, by academic discipline, technical competence or activist temper, appear well positioned to take a holistic look at corruption; and offer fitting response to it by Nigeria’s often slow and dodgy criminal justice system: Dr. Benedicta Daudu, associate professor of International Law, Prof. E. Alemika, a professor of Sociology, Prof. Sadiq Radda, another professor of Criminology, and Hadiza Bala Usman, a civil society organisation activist.  Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, is the committee’s executive secretary.

    If Nigerians seem largely agreed on the imperative to root out corruption in their national life, the international community too appears trenchant in support.  The Sagay committee, therefore, is supported by a US $5million Anti-Corruption and Criminal Justice Reform Fund, courtesy of the trio of the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation and Open Society Foundation.  The independent funding would shield the committee from government meddlesomeness, which is good; even if the Buhari Presidency appears in tune with the people’s outrage against corruption, and would appear determined to lead the charge.

    The support fund is to be managed by Trust Africa, a non-government reform body, with presence in more than 25 countries in Africa, with the gospel of reforms to make governance cleaner; by keeping sleaze out of government business, and channelling resources into growth and development triggers.

    So, by local and international anti-corruption consensus, the Sagay committee would appear in good company.  Even the Goodluck Jonathan Presidency, under whose charge have come humongous allegations of corruption and mind-boggling sleaze, had ironically weighed in, in support of the Sagay committee, even before the committee was created.

    Just before leaving power, President Jonathan signed into law the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015.  Aside from repealing the Criminal Procedure Act and the Criminal Procedure Code, the 495-section law, sponsored by Dr. Ali Ahmad, a lawyer and member of the House of Representatives in the 7th National Assembly, made other far-reaching provisions (former CJN, Justice Aloma Muktar, called the law “revolutionary”), all aimed at fastening procedures, without jeopardising justice.

    So, all appears set for the committee to tackle its brief: develop comprehensive interventions for achieving recommended reforms in Nigeria’s criminal justice system; and advise the president on prosecuting the anti-corruption war.

    So, with the balance of sentiments, is the Sagay committee home and dry?  No.  Media spinning has all but eliminated the concept of manifest goodness in the public space.  Therefore, even the most hideous and morally repugnant of behaviours now claim their equal-opportunity right to be tabled and heard.  Besides, it is trite in British common law, which is the basis for Nigeria’s criminal laws, that an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  So, in the infrastructure of public opinion and procedure of the courts, the PAC enjoys no especial advantage: Corruption would not go down without a fight.

    Yet, a rigorous and focused membership, and the mood of the public, can help the committee  to turn the structural disinterestedness into strengths.  Since its mission deemed it worthy and its job well cut out, it must leverage public opinion to further attract and retain public support.  It should therefore project its activity such that the public is doubly convinced that its mission is total elimination of corruption, without prejudice to any vested interest.  If it wins the perception war, and it retains its integrity, the mission would have been half-accomplished.

    On the more technical aspect, however, it should focus on how fast the country can implement the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice law.  The bane of rooting out corruption here is the subversion of the criminal justice system through bungled investigation, cynical stalling of the judicial process by subversive injunctions and outright brazen bribery of judicial officers.  The new law has made provisions for how these anomalies can be tackled.  So, the committee’s starting point would be to recommend how best to implement these sections, as fast as possible.

    Proceeding from these basics, it can then advise the president on whether to set up special tribunals to try corruption cases, with a special bent on judicial procedures with zero tolerance for delay; or designate some courts to solely handle corruption cases.

    The Sagay committee has a historic responsibility.  Its membership has the intellectual and technical competence for the job at hand.  President Buhari, so far from words and action, appears ready.  The people — except, of course, the potentially guilty graft barons — are also eager.

    The committee must, therefore, match its intellectual capacity with clear passion for the job.  It must always remember: Nigeria must kill corruption to prevent corruption from killing it.

  • Lawyers to Fed. Govt: explore negotiation option

    Lawyers to Fed. Govt: explore negotiation option

    Some senior lawyers urged the Federal Government to explore the negotiation option in the bid rescue the abducted school girls.

    They said if it means trading detained Boko Haram members for the girls, the government must do all in its power to free the girls.

    According to them, the victims are too young to be left for too long in the hands of the terrorists.

    A former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) said: “My view is that the government should not close any option in the light of the people the terrorists are holding.

    “You’re talking about young schoolgirls. That in itself will inform a different consideration entirely. We should not toy with them.

    “They should consider the fact that these are young girls that are with these terrorists,” he said.

    Professor of Law, Itse Sagay (SAN) said the government has no choice but to negotiate with the terrorists, noting that the lives of the innocent girls were more valuable than those of Boko Haram suspects in prison custody.

    “Is keeping the Boko Haram detainees in prison custody more important than the lives of those innocent girls?

    “Government should negotiate with Boko Haram, if at the end of the negotiation, the way out is to surrender some of the detainees for our girls, so be it.

    “I am not saying the government should take Boko Haram’s demands for it. There should be negotiations with the group,” he said.

    Elder Paul Ananaba (SAN) said while it is no longer fashionable for government around the world to come out openly to say they are negotiating with terrorists, all options should be explored in this instance.

    “The fact that they said some parents have recognised some of the girls and they can be rescued, my advice to government is to study thoroughly the offer of the swap and weigh the possibilities. Getting the girls rescued must be the priority.

    “In essence, what I am saying is that if the best option available is to negotiate, they should weigh it carefully and come up with the best approach of going about it in the best interest of the girls, the parents and the country.

    “There are people who are specialised in negotiating with terrorists and I think we should tap from their experience in this situation.

    “If you are a parent and your girl is there, you would want to be on the side of the devil for negotiation and get your girl rescued.

    “So, if it is the most viable thing to do, they should go ahead. I would give an example in this case. They are still searching for people in the Malaysian plane that crashed weeks ago even though there is no hope.

    “So, rescuing the girls must be the primary thing to do. Any other step can follow.”

    Chief Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN) said Nigeria shoud make any sacrifice to free the girls.

    “The life of these children are more precious than that of any suspect or prisoner. It is better to release all these prisoners to their groups in exchange for these girls who have so many years to live and too young to be in that situation.

    “They should be rescued and after that government can then face them, all these criminals. Whatever sacrifice Nigeria can make to get these girls released is not too much.

    “Let these people (detained Boko Haram members) go and for the girls to be released. We can go and confront them later because we are afraid for the lives of these girls,” Fagbohungbe said.

    Some lawyers, however, hold a different view. Mallam Yusuf Ali (SAN) said: “I see the demand as a cheap blackmail. It will set a dangerous precedent to trade criminals for innocent underage secondary school children!

    “We must not sacrifice decency on the altar of expediency.”

    For Professor of law, Akin Oyebode, trading off the girls for terrorists in detention would be a sign of failure and downright helplessness by the government.

    He stated that only Prisoners of War (POW) are traded and the said exchange is usually arranged by Red Cross.

    “It is sacrilegious and a sign of weakness which should not be encouraged because it will encourage other armed groups to see mass hostage taking as an avenue to meet their demands from government.

    “It is tantamount to surrendering to evil forces. Boko Haram have no conscience and an insatiable appetite for violence. How are we sure they won’t make more far reaching demands?” He queried.

    Chairman, NBA Ikeja Branch, Mr Yinka Farounbi, said: “I am a father, so I can imagine the feelings and the pains the parents must be going through. But honestly, and this is my candid opinion, you don’t negotiate with terrorists. When you negotiate with terrorits, you are giving them more powers; you are conferring legitimacy on them. What they did to these children is criminal.

    “I am a parent and I can feel what they feel and I know that they want their children back. But when a government of a nation is negotiating with terrorists, it is a dangerous thing.

    “Other ways, other means should be deployed to get these children released from the claws of the terrorists. We have gotten assistance from USA, Britain, France, China among others.

    “It is only when these prove to be ineffective that the issue of negotiation can come and it should last option. Government should look at the other side of the coin and not engage in negotiation now. It should deploy other means,” Farounbi said.