The coalition of civil rights groups under the auspices of the Nigerian Network on Stolen Assets (NNSA) has enjoined United Kingdom government to continue its support to Nigerian government in the effort to recover all looted assets stashed in Western banks and offshore centres, and the establishment of effective oversight mechanism for civil society to ensure transparency and accountability for all the recovered funds.
In a letter to G7, the coalition brought together by the executive director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), David Ugolor, asked the UK Prime Minister David Cameron to sensitise and mobilise members of G7 to reject the controversial covert agreements by the immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan with the family of the late military despot, Sani Abacha, over the recovered $980 million stolen funds which was repatriated to Nigeria by the Swiss government.
In the said letter to G7 through UK PM, NNSA contends that the Nigerian government’s agreement with Abacha’s family has set a strong precedent for impunity and grand corruption, and erodes the rights of civil society to hold government accountable. The coalition stated in the letter that “if the G7 rejects the agreement, it would send a strong warning to other administrations that the international community has zero tolerance for such arrangement”.
Ugolor applauded the invitation of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari to the G7 summit, but expressed worry that the G7 and the Nigerian government seemed to have made errors which seem to significantly weaken the implementation of the agreement of the stolen funds recovered in 2005.
He condemned, in strong terms, the secrecy surrounding the handling of $980 million recovered from the Abachas, pointing out that the immunity granted by the government to the family was undermining the fight against corruption.
Monitoring the use of the $500 million in 2005 by the Nigerian government revealed a lack of transparency and accountability in the repatriation process which led to a “re-looting” of the loot.
NNSA noted with dismay that the covert pact between the Nigerian government and the Abacha family wrapped up in July 2014 granted the Abachas perpetual immunity against arrest and prosecution by government in lieu of a fraction of billions of stolen funds returned to Nigeria.
The network restated its involvement in the campaign for the repatriation of stolen assets and revenue transparency in Nigeria. Expressing its worry in the letter to Cameron over the deal, the group comprising experts, academics and members of non-governmental organisations said: “We are deeply concerned that immunity agreements with former leaders who have engaged in grand corruption set a very bad precedent in the fight against corruption and will prevent Nigeria from fully coming to terms with the damage inflicted by grand corruption.
“Today, we are worried that over a decade after the G8 and Nigeria collaborated in a Compact to Promote Transparency and Combat Corruption in what was hailed as a “new partnership”, the tracing, tracking and repatriation of the country’s looted assets is still on a snail pace, just as corruption is more rife in public and private institutions than it was in 2005,” the group decried.
The group noted that Nigeria’s rating on the Transparency International Catalogue has remained poor, and recording below average in the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, particularly in the application of the rule of law, accountability, public management processes, the development of the rural sector, education and health. The group also enlisted the G7 to support Buhari’s administration in fulfilling its promise to ensure a transparent public procurement processes in Nigeria.
Further, it solicited support for Buhari in deepening institutional reforms of the anti-graft agencies, like Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to help perform their functions.
Besides, the group, in the letter, acknowledged UK’s key role along with other members of the G7 countries in establishing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), as well as other global efforts to combat corruption and illicit finances, recalling that in July 2005 G8 Summit in Scotland, members had agreed to a $31 billion debt deal that saw the cancellation of Nigeria’s $18 billion external debt to the Paris Club after the payment of about $12.124 billion and $7 billion owed to London Club of creditors.
Moreover, the group applauded the UK government for its support to Nigeria in the build-up to the recent general elections, which it said culminated in credible polls.
Signatories to the letter were David Ugolor of ANEEJ, Debo Adeniran of Coalition against Corrupt Leaders, Adetokunbo Mumuni of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Leo Atakpun of West African Civil Society Forum, Salaudeen Hashim of Zero-Corruption Coalition, and Adekunle Lukman of Advocacy Initiative.
Others included the Co-convener, Say No Campaign Nigeria, Ezenwa Nwagwu; Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere; Public Policy Analyst, Spaces for Change, Nigeria, Ndutimobong Enang; National Coordinator, Publish What You Pay Nigeria Campaign, Faith Nwadishi; Chairman, Civil Society Network Against Corruption; Olanrewaju Suraju; and the Co-Convener, Development Alliance for Niger Delta, Tony Abolo.