Anti-graft advisory committee receives 50 petitions, calls for assets recovery committee

The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption says it has received 50 petitions and recommends the setting up of a nine-member Presidential Committee on Assets Recovery to be headed by the Vice President.
The Executive Secretary of the Committee, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, made this known at the public presentation of the committee’s report in Abuja.
According to Owasanoye , when established, the committee’s membership should comprise the Attorney-General of the Federation, Minister of Finance, National Security Adviser.
Others are: The Director-General, Department of State Security, Inspector-General of Police, Minister of Information, EFCC, ICPC and PACAC.
Owasanoye said: “One of the things we have recommended is the establishment of Presidential Committee on Asset Recovery and I think this is the first time it is being made public.
“Headed by the Vice President with the approval of the President and the members are the Attorney General of the Federation, Minister of Finance, National Security Adviser, DG SSS, Inspector-General of Police, Minister of Information, EFCC, ICPC and this committee
“It is to look at the policy and strategy on anti-corruption on how we are going to recover assets.’’
The Executive Secretary also said 50 petitions had been received from the pubic and forwarded to the appropriate agencies in the last one year.
Owasanonye further said the committee published a number of strategic manuals on selected areas of national interest in order improve workings of government.
Some of these manuals include: “Plea Bargain Manual’’, Corruption Information/Intelligence Sharing Protocol’’ and “Corruption Case Management Manual” among others.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Iste Sagay (SAN) has called for reforms of the nation’s judiciary aimed institutionalising good governance.
He noted with concern that the rot in the judiciary can make nonsense of the essence of the country‘s democracy, saying that reforms of the third arm of government is mandatory.
Sagay bared his mind in his remarks during the presentation of the committee’s report.
Sagay said: “If we do not put the judiciary right, judiciary with integrity and honour, a judiciary with the moral authority, then we have no government and we have no democracy.
“You people remember the era of Eso, Oputa, Onyagolo, of Nnamani, of Ndigwe, Of Mohammed Bello, Obaseki. Which DSS would have dared to question any of those people, no agency of government would have dared it.
“They gave a lot of their judgments against military government, I can cite over 20 judgments which they gave against the military government, against Buhari’s military government.
“The moral authority of our former justices of that golden era of Supreme Court was the highest power in the land.
“That moral authority has crashed, and therefore, having crashed like a tree that has fallen, then ants and all sorts of things can climb over it, lizards can climb over it.’’
He said the arrested judges had brought themselves down, adding that the natural thing that should happen was what had happened.
He said: “The ordinary man like you and I could be guilty of corruption, a judge should never by accused of corruption, let alone be found with evidence of what he was accused of.
“Once a judge does that, he has automatically brought himself down to our level and so cannot complain the same way you and I are treated when entangled in similar circumstance.’’
He, therefore, urged the public to be fair and objective in their commentaries regarding the pending allegations against the seven arrested judges.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari appointed the committee on August10, 2015 to advise the present administration on the prosecution of the war against corruption and the implementation of required reforms in Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
Other members of the Committee are: Prof. Femi Odekunle, Dr Benedicta Daudu, Prof. Etannibi. Alemika, Prof. Sadiq Radda and Hadiza Bala Usman.