Pardon for treasury looters? (II)
Readers who are conversant with this column would have notice unusual way in which the first part of this discourse terminated last week. It didn’t close with a prayer that usually marked the end of every piece. That was because I exceeded the number of words for the space allotted to the column and the […]
Readers who are conversant with this column would have notice unusual way in which the first part of this discourse terminated last week. It didn’t close with a prayer that usually marked the end of every piece. That was because I exceeded the number of words for the space allotted to the column and the editor who had the prerogative over what appeared on the page cut out some concluding paragraphs. It is for this reason that I developed the missing portion from that piece into a second and concluding part of the discourse.
For the benefit of readers who missed this column last week when the first part of the piece captured Senator Dino Melaye’s remarks in which he called Buhari to pardon treasury looters by granting them a grace of time within which they could return the looted funds. The same edition of the Daily Trust newspaper of Monday October 3, 2016 which reported senator Melaye’s remarks on page 3 also carried on its page 4 a counter call from Senator Jerry Useni urging President Buhari to apply stiffer measures against looters of public funds.
As a public officer in an exalted office as distinguished as that of the Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Melaye’s remarks under reference sound very unpatriotic to a default. One question for the senator is: Was it a loan that the looters took from the nation’s treasury that would warrant the review of the payment schedule initially agreed upon? The statement by Melaye that a 6-months respite will encourage treasury looters to return stolen funds sound as if returning stolen public funds were a personal choice which pursuit or accomplishment deserves commendation. As a senator and lawmaker, is he not aware that stealing public funds is a financial crime? If one may also ask OgaMelaye, when did the routine job of the prosecution of criminals by security operatives become a matter of agony? A simple rhetorical, or more specifically, stylistic analysis of Malaye’s remarks suggests that he was probably looking for a way to indict the judiciary and decided to ‘cleverly’ do it through the back door by describing legal procedure as ‘fruitlessly pursuing looters in and out of courtroom’.
Senator Melaye’s postion must have sprout from a conspiracy theory.No theory of pardon would propose clemency tosuspected treasury looters have not fulfilled commonsense conditions that would warrant any calls for it.Pardons are (and should be) granted only when individuals have demonstrated observable traits of remorseand are considered deserving of pardon. Clemency or pardon is sometimes offered to persons who are wrongfully convicted or who claim they have been wrongfully convicted, which are nowadays more often dealt with by appeals than by pardon.In Dasukigate, however, treasury looters do not belong to any of these imperatives of pardon.If themanytrials of treasury lootershave all remained inconclusive not to talk of convictions, the justification for Melaye’s call for pardonthus remains ridiculous.
Many Nigerians believe that some judges are not supporting the fight against corruption through unnecessary adjournment of cases involving financial crimeseither to delay convictions or, as some Nigerians insinuate, disallow prosecutors from securing any. One glaring truth from the probe, for instance, of Dasukigate is that none of all the looters that have so far been interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)has come out to deny the allegations leveled against him or her. Neither has any of the alleged treasury looters said that EFCC claims against him or her are untrue.
If a suspect failed to deny the accusation of abuse of public office brought against him and insteadagreed to returnthe looted funds, it appears ridiculous if such a suspect is charged to court only for the presiding judge to grant him bail and then follow it up with indefinite adjournments. The fight against corruption would have made a difference in the public and private life of Nigerians if the judiciary had convicted even if it were one of the treasury looters that were arraigned in the past one and half years of President Buhari’s administration. Unless the judiciary exercises its statutory function of jailing criminals including looters found guilty to have stolen public funds in order to deter potential looters, the current fight against corruption may only produce hybrid looters. God forbids!
What makes Dino Melaye’s position more surprising is that he was the same person who led public protests in 2013 demanding for the recovery of the missing $20 billion oil fund as well as the prosecution of the then minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Allison Madueke. Is it that Melaye is now with the looters and not Nigerians, or that he does not want the law which prescribes punishment for criminals to take its course? One reason given to justify punishment is that it is a measure to prevent people from committing an offence, deterring previous offenders from re-offending, and preventing those who may be contemplating an offence they have not committed from actually committing it. This punishment is intended to be sufficient that people would choose not to commit the crime rather than experience the punishment. The aim is to deter everyone from committing offences.
Senator Melaye’s appeal raises questions about the extent to which he is upholding the oath of office he swore to preserve. Nigerians do not also know whether his appeal is the best way to protect the country’s constitution. That is as much as we are also asking whether that is the best way to defend the collective rights and interests of Nigerians.
In this case of treasury looters, we say ‘no’ to Senator Dino Melaye, and ‘yes’ to Senator Jerry Useni. May Allah (SWT) grant our leaders, elected and appointed, the piety and righteous frame of mind to protect and defend the interest of Nigerians in their respective legislative and executive duties, amin.