Presidential anti-graft c’ttee sets new sentencing guidelines
The Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption (PACAC) says the gravity of an offence will henceforth determine the sentence to be handed to corruption convicts by the courts. PACAC said under the new Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Corruption and Other Related Economic Offences, the cost of an offence to the state and the public will […]
The Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption (PACAC) says the gravity of an offence will henceforth determine the sentence to be handed to corruption convicts by the courts.
PACAC said under the new Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Corruption and Other Related Economic Offences, the cost of an offence to the state and the public will be considered before punishment is meted to a convict.
The Executive Secretary of PACAC, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, disclosed this last week during the presentation of the committee’s first year report from August 2015 to July 2016 with civil society organisations in Abuja.
He said after conviction, the parties would address the court on the implications to the state of abuses such as the diversion of funds meant for roads or arms purchase.
“For example, if somebody is brought to court that he has stolen N1 billion, the court must look at the gravity of what it has caused the state,” he said. “If N1 billion was to do a road for example and people have been dying on the road or spending man-hours, the court must take cognisance of that in sentencing.”
He explained that the committee has also introduced a new plea bargain manual and assets recovery strategy and interim forfeiture orders that encourages integrity, accountability, credibility and transparency.
Owasanoye also said the committee has evaluated past high profile cases such as the Halliburton, Malabo, maritime sector corruption, and cases involving former state governors and ministers with a view to prosecuting indicted individuals.