Lagos — MANY could have forgotten the shocks that reverberated through the nation last September, when the Federal Government awarded German transnational, Siemens contracts in the power sector as part of government's efforts to ensure stable electricity supply.

The amount might have been smaller, but Siemens, like Halliburton, won new contracts in 2008, a year after a bribe-for-contract scandal involving Siemens, which blew open. Nigerian officials were mentioned among those Siemens bribed to win contracts. About €12 million, or $17.5 million was paid out as bribes to win the inflated contracts.

A court in Munich, Germany last October 8 indicted Siemens of bribing ministers and top government functionaries in Libya, Russia, and Nigeria for telecommunications contracts. Details indicated that in Nigeria, four former ministers, a serving senator, and other top officials allegedly got various amounts.

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua ordered relevant security agencies to investigate the allegations, promising not to spare anybody found culpable - just like in Halliburton. The Federal Government in December 2007, barred Siemens AG from bidding for fresh contracts in Nigeria pending conclusions of investigations into the bribe-for-contract scandal.

Also like Halliburton, who the House of Representatives barred from new contracts in 2004, but has kept getting contracts, less than a year after the Siemens scandal in the telecommunications sector, it has moved to Nigeria's ailing power sector.

Since 2007, nothing has been heard about the Siemens investigations. What is the status of investigations the President ordered? It is important Nigerians know the situation. Does the long silence suggest the scandal has been forgotten? Did the Munich court clear Siemens after the initial indictment?

The Siemens precedent would be repeated in the purported investigation of the Halliburton case. Why is the Federal Government asking the USA for details of a court case decided in France? Was the Federal Government unaware of the origins of the convictions that drew American interest to the case? Where is the report of the EFCC's investigation of Halliburton in 2004?

What was the role of the Nigerians mentioned in the scandals - Halliburton and Siemens? Why have Nigerians named in the scandals been quiet?

Government, with the lax manner it is handling these scandals, shows it does not appreciate the full import of its actions. These scandals have accentuated belief that in Nigeria, for the right price, law and order become mere words.

Nigeria has become a haven for buccaneers masquerading as businessmen who can get away with anything, even when they are caught. Their gains are the sort that deprive ordinary Nigerians the right to a decent livelihood. Their Nigerian collaborators are happy with themselves, certain that nobody would punish them not minding glaring evidences of their infractions.

Nigerians want their government to act firmly against suspects in these scandals. Government has to prove that it is neither a party to, nor a supporter of criminality. Nigerians are also eager to see their government punish these crimes as a bold statement against illegalities.