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Washington, DC — Former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has urged the United States government to expand its crime law to enable it nail high level Nigerian recipients of bribe, who usually have a safe haven within the country.
Ribadu spoke yesterday on "Capital Loss and Corruption: The Example of Nigeria." during a testimony before the House Financial Services Committee of the US Congress in Washington,DC
He argued that while the responsibility to solve this problem ultimately lies with Nigeria, the US could help to narrow the operating space for what he described as "high-stakes elite bribery", with an expanded law that would rein them in, irrespective of their country of origin.
According to him, weak institutions in developing countries such as Nigeria had given corrupt officials a free reign while their counterparts face crippling sanctions in the developed world.
He reminded Congress that the culprits of the infamous Halliburton/KBR corruption scandal had faced severe consequences including the payment of killer fines up to the tune of $600 million.
On the other hand, their Nigerian counterparts are still walking free because of poor law enforcement and the fact that the US lacks jurisdiction to rein in those individuals, he said.
The same goes for the Siemens scandal that is yet to produce any conviction or sanction from the Nigerian side. But if and when they are nabbed across borders, the lack of hiding place will stop them in their tracks, he added.
"Without a doubt, the fight against corruption in countries like Nigeria will require strengthening international regulations and standards to enable enforcement on the ground.
"Until those receiving the bribes are punished for their actions, the market place for high-stakes elite bribery will continue to thrive," he stated.
Ribadu further suggested that Congress could support Nigeria's anti-corruption fight through civil society monitoring programmes, transparency efforts and programmes tilted towards investigative journalism.
Other areas of cooperation, in his view, should include intelligence gathering and sharing, tackling tax havens and offshore banks and efforts to ensure that secrecy does not undermine transparency and accountability.
The cost of corruption is too high to be ignored. Both the domestic and international dimensions must be tackled if success is to be achieved, he said. Citing examples of the high cost of kleptocratic activities, he said the UK Commission for Africa estimates that stolen assets from Africa held in foreign banks amount to some $93 billion.
Nigeria is also known to have lost some $440 billion between 1960 and 1999 to corruption; a figure, he said, is six times higher than the Marshall Plan amount needed to rebuild devastated Europe after World War 11.
As per cases treated by the London Metropolitan Police during his tenure, Ribadu said former Governor of Plateau State Joshua Dariye was found to have 25 bank accounts in London alone, acquiring some 10 million pounds in benefits through criminal conduct.
Also former Governor of Bayelsa State D.S.P Alamieyeseigha had banks traced to Cyrpus, Denmark, US and Bahamas. He had property valued about 10 million pounds in London and another valued at 10 million rand in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ribadu said he survived an assassination attempt, which prompted his decision to go on exile temporarily. He said he risked his life to fight corruption because of debilitating effect on the poor masses. "I see myself as a policeman first and as a law enforcement officer at the frontlines. I have seen corruption provide fertile ground for injustice, violence, for the failure of government and the failure to use revenues and donor support for the benefit of the people," he stated.
He said the EFCC secured over 275 convictions of the near 1000 cases in court by 2007. The unrest in the Niger Delta, he argued, is partly due to corruption by leaders in the region.
Giving an example, he said a Niger Delta governor offered him a bribe of $15 million, which he (Ribadu) put into a national bank as evidence. The governor, he said, is now one of the trusted advisers of the current administration.
According to him, "At the end of the day, it will be we, the Nigerians and the Africans that will have to solve our own problems and catch up to the rest of the world in freedom and development. I assure you that can be done."
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People like Ben are the loud majority in Nigeria that keeps her permanently on her knees. People who are half educated with limited moral instructions all through thier life! With no sense of sincerety and hard work. Peoples who fail to understand that basic minimal requirement of life like water and electricity is not available in a country that prides itslef as giant of Africa. And major producer of crude oil that imports finished products like fuel and diesel again. That the whole entity called Nigeria is a shame to Africa. I pray for that day that Ribadu will be presdent of this country to change things. AT THE MOMENT THE COUNTRY IS SICK LIKE THE PRESIDENT.
What Ribadu say,s about the need to strengthen laws to make life hell for the thieves back home is welcomed,in fact it,s like telling the comrade in crime, come see what your criminal affiliations has landed us (the masses) if that,ll make stealing of public funds less fanciful in Nigeria so be it. The Americans knew from day one that these funds were stolen and could,nt have been from legitimate earnings, but they went ahead nevertheless and received and kept these stolen, illegal funds from Nigeria,Africa, without feelings for the intended infrastructural and other developmental initiatives these monies were meant for.They (Americans& UK,Europe) have been our nemesis over the centuries and going to them to help fish out these people is the only logical way to go.The US have to show to us that they support stamping out corruption in Nigeria by doing the following
(1) Encourage progressive Africans to stamp out corruption. (2) Return all funds deemed to have come from corrupt practices lodged in their banks. (3) Stop supporting criminal elements whose only reason for coming to and remaining in power is solely for corruption sake. (4) Make it impossible to transfer stolen and corrupt funds through and to the US. (5) Slam sanctions on these individuals and as you do so return all of our monies in your on-shore and off-shore banks that got there as a result of corrupt practices,after al, with these funds we don,t need your perilous handouts(aids) that seems to attain no good.
After doing all of the aforementioned, we can then start to debate on whether to stop seeing the Govt of the US and EU as partners in crime that they at the moment are. In fact, we want you to stop sending people to practice criminality(corruption) in Africa and in the process impoverishing the African masses. Keep your aid, return our money,it,ll go a long way to easing our troubles.
Nigeria socioeconomic problems should be fought in all fronts including abuse of office. I hope that anybody committed to Nigerian socioeconomic recovery should endeavour to be close to all facets of our macroeconomic and microeconomic factors. Such a person need to be armed with all the analytical instruments to assess the channels of global pursuit of social, economic and politcal democratic decency. We do not need people that see only the surface. We need Nigerians that can combine brilliance, intelligence and wisdom to assist in bringing decency to our political and industrial governance.
Nigeria's problems have to be solved only by Nigerians as long as the country is still sovereign. It is not the responsibility of the US to govern or plan security for Nigeria. Tough LEADERSHIP IS REQUIRED!
When will lost Africanse like Ribadu learn to become awake to the fact that the European people are racist and without virtue: And, European people are too beastly in disposition to help Africans in any way!
Africans MUST help themselves; because to invite European people in African business is to worsen the situation.
Biggest corruption and criminality going on in Nigeria is the European devastation of the Nigerian Delta and the theft of African wealth.
Those are the devils that Ribadu should be persecuting and prosecuting.
Any wealth that Africans have in African is African wealth; and this wealth dwarfs what the racist Europeans are plundering from the Continent.
So Ribadu should leave the Africans be and go after the biggest thieves on the Continent -- the European crooks!
American economy has been destroyed by American thieves; yet the foolish Ribadu thinks the Americans virtuous enough to serve African justice? For shame!