The Court also ordered President Buhari to “direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, SAN, and/or appropriate anti-corruption agencies to without delay commence prosecution of indicted lawmakers”.
Browsing: SERAP
The organization also urged Buhari to “refer to the EFCC and ICPC not just allegations regarding the $16 billion power projects but also the alleged squandering of over N11 trillion meant to provide regular electricity supply covering the governments of former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan.”
Justice Raliatu Adebiyi, in her judgment on Monday, convicted Nwobike of 12 counts of the 18-count charge bordering on attempting to pervert the course of justice slammed on him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
SERAP is also asking the court to order “an investigation by appropriate agencies as to how the public funds that have so far been received by each senator have been spent and for the findings of any such investigation to be made public”.
According to the report: “The amount of money embezzled, misappropriated or stolen by public officials and leaders in the private between 2013 and 2017 has galloped beyond the contemplation of average Nigerians. Evidence abound that Judges, judicial officers, lawyers and military officers are participants in the frenzy of despoliation of national wealth.”
SERAP is also asking that the returned funds should be used to establish a trust fund to improve investment in education and health..
The organization also asked the Council to: “Treat the atrocities by herdsmen as terrorist acts, in line with the UN Security Council resolution 2349 (2017), which addresses Boko Haram’s presence in the Lake Chad Basin and calls on all states to combat all forms and manifestations of terrorism. Declaring attacks by herdsmen as terrorist acts would help make up the authorities to seriously address the threats posed by herdsmen and combat the crimes against humanity being committed against Nigerians.”
A statement by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Timothy Adewale, said that the Federal Government also agreed to publish details of allocations of the projects in the 36 states of the federation.
SERAP had last week asked Engr. Suleiman Adamu, the Minister of Water Resources, to “explain why Nigeria’s water and sanitation infrastructure have continued to deteriorate and millions of Nigerians have to resort to drinking water from contaminated sources with deadly health consequences, despite the authorities claiming to have spent trillions of naira of budgetary allocations on the sector since the return of democracy in 1999”.
Saraki on Wednesday disclosed how he inspired the passing of the bill by the Kwara State House of Assembly to suspend payment of pensions to former governors and their deputies when they hold a public office and called on other state assemblies to take a cue from Kwara State and pass similar laws in their states.
According to Transparency International’s report, the perception of corruption has worsened under President Muhammadu Buhari.
The organization also urged Buhari to “instruct appropriate authorities to publish details of how his government plans to spend and monitor the spending of the $85m returned by the United Kingdom from the controversial Malabu deal involving $1.6bn, so as to remove the risks of corruption or mismanagement of the money”.
The organization urged the Chairperson and Bureau of the Commission “to urgently hold an extra-ordinary session of the African Commission to address the illegal and unfair return of 51 Cameroon refugees, asylum seekers and naturalized Nigerians, and the continuing violations of the rights of the returnees by the government of Cameroon.”
Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo stated this on Friday while granting leave in the suit number FHC/L/CS/1497/17 filed last year by SERAP to compel the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) to “challenge the legality of states’ laws that allow former governors who are now senators and ministers to enjoy governors’ emoluments while drawing normal salaries and allowances in their new political offices and to identify those involved and seek full recovery of public funds from them.”
The decision by Justice Mohammed Idris last Friday has now cleared the way for SERAP to advance its case against the Federal Government on the publication of the reports of investigation into the allegations of budget padding and prosecution of indicted officers of the National Assembly.
The organization also urged Prince Al Hussein to “speak out strongly and condemn the killings apparently by herdsmen in the country, and make an official visit to Nigeria with special rapporteurs with relevant mandates to discuss the killings and concrete actions to end the killings and ultimately bring about significant improvements in the lives of farmers and their families as well as other citizens affected by violence across the country”.
The organization said: “That millions of Nigerians are suffering due to fuel scarcity is a moral outrage. Preventing and ending the problem of fuel scarcity is not only a moral duty for this government but also a legal and human right obligation.”
The audit committee, established last month by Buhari, is to undertake an audit of all recovery accounts established by government agencies.
In the statement dated November 29, 2017 and signed by SERAP’ds Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organization said: “Nigerian and other African victims of abuses in Libya are crying out for leadership. They urgently need African leaders to act. Given Nigeria’s leadership role in the region, Buhari can and should provide greater leadership to push European and African leaders to go beyond merely condemning the atrocities and act swiftly to end the shocking abuses, remove Nigerians and other African women, men and children still trapped in Libya from harm’s way, and guarantee their safety and well-being.”
The plaintiffs are suing over “violations of the human rights of workers and pensioners to equality and equal treatment; equal protection of the law and non-discrimination; to dignity and independence; to adequate standard of living and well-being; to property; to work; to family life; and to economic and social development”.