Examining Buhari’s one year of anti-graft campaign

The historic election and swearing into office of President Muhammadu Buhari clocked one year on Sunday May 29. A major highlight of this period is the increased anti-corruption activities by the various anti-corruption agencies. The fight has seen the probe and arraignment of several top serving and retired public officers and military generals on allegations […]

The historic election and swearing into office of President Muhammadu Buhari clocked one year on Sunday May 29. A major highlight of this period is the increased anti-corruption activities by the various anti-corruption agencies. The fight has seen the probe and arraignment of several top serving and retired public officers and military generals on allegations of misappropriation of billions of naira. Emanating from this, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has recovered over N2 trillion from alleged looters in 12 years.
While some lawyers and others, who analysed the anti-corruption war, described it as balanced and fruitful, others argue that the war has focused more on the opposition.
For instance, the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) said Nigeria would have become a completely failed state if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led previous administration had returned to office because of the perceived mismanagement of resources.
Speaking at the Abuja Anti-Corruption Summit organised by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and One Campaign in Abuja recently, Sagay also criticised senior lawyers who adopt different tactics to frustrate the trial of their “looter-clients.”
 He expressed the hope that the new Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 is addressing the impediments in criminal justice in the country, which had in the past been exploited by corruption suspects.
Emeka Etiaba (SAN) also expressed satisfaction with the anti-corruption crusade, maintaining that people who public funds stole are now afraid of being caught up by the long arm of the law.
 “Things are not done with impunity; people now know that they should be accountable. There is also corruption overseas, but the system works and the people know that if they steal they would be caught and prosecuted. At least, I am happy that the EFCC is facing the business more seriously today,” he said.
Also in an interview with Daily Trust, Tawo Eja Tawo (SAN) expressed support for the war against corruption which has become endemic.
 “It is the cause of why our infrastructure is degenerating, and why we are where we are. So every right thinking person must condemn it to save the future generations. But it still boils down to the rule of law and due process because you cannot fight corruption outside the ambit of the law,” he said.
Among those with a different opinion of the anti-corruption war of the President Buhari’s administration thus far is a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the current chairman of the Council of Legal Education, O.C.J. Okocha (SAN), who told Daily Trust that “the anti-corruption war of the present government appears to be lop-sided, and apparently targeted at particular individuals in the opposition political parties of today, while corrupt persons who are in the present government are apparently being shielded and made to look as ‘sacred cows’.” He added that “The war against corruption must be total, and devoid of partisan political considerations.”
Other analysts also think the anti-corruption fight is not all-encompassing. Among them is civil rights lawyer, Kayode Ajulo, who said the anti-corruption fight is not only one-sided but that it appears if you have a corruption case, once you defect to the ruling political party, it is the end of that corruption question.” 
Also, Tawo Eja Tawo (SAN) said, “Some people are saying that the anti-corruption war appears to be partisan and one-sided. Yes, if you look at what is happening you tend to say so. But the defense has been that there have not been allegations against these people or that they are still investigating. We have to give them the benefit of the doubt.”
President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Waheed Odusile, while adding his voice in this direction, said the anti-corruption crusade “seems to be targeted at opposition political parties.”
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Austin Alegeh (SAN) in a recent interview with newsmen said the bar supports the anti-corruption campaign provided it is fought within the ambit of the law.
He said the bar is willing to provide many lawyers who could offer pro bono services to the federal government to win the war.
Responding to
Sagay’s  assertion, a member of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Awa Kalu (SAN), submitted that it would be against the principles of justice to accuse lawyers of shielding perceived corrupt persons when they had not been convicted by a competent court. He therefore called for due process to be followed in the anti-corruption effort.
In his assessment of the administration’s anti-graft war thus far, a Professor of Law in the Faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof. Muhammed T. Ladan, admonished the administration to remain consistent in its war against corruption.
 In his words: “There must be consistency in the focus of the law enforcement agencies and the prosecuting authorities in the sense that whether they are seen as being selective or vindictive, they must make sure that none of them operates above the law.”