Politics
A legal practitioner, Mr. John Adeniyi, has urged the Federal Government to take a cue from global, civilized legal systems to boost its anti-corruption crusade.
Adeniyi told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Friday that the menace of corruption in the country had assumed unimaginable dimensions and needed an appropriate globally-acceptable legal framework.
According to him, it will be very difficult to commit any crime and go scot-free with adequate funding, training coupled with modern and sophisticated crime detecting equipment available abroad.
“For those who have traveled abroad, you know you can’t bribe the policeman on the road.
“If you know that when you are arrested you are in trouble and if you are taken to court you can’t influence the judge, there will not be any corruption in Nigeria,” Abubakar said.
He blamed the prevalent corruption and other fraudulent practices among the regulatory authorities as one of the factors responsible for the nation’s underdevelopment.
Adeniyi expressed the need for a strong political will on behalf of the government to wipe out corruption and other vices in the country.
He expressed the urgent need for a well-funded judiciary and police operations in order to bring back sanity to all spheres of the society.
Adeniyi also praised the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari for laying a solid foundation toward ridding the country of corruption-related vices.
He said the issue of inadequate remuneration and decaying infrastructure had continued to dampen the morale of anti-corruption agencies and personnel.
The legal expert expressed optimism that the present anti-corruption crusade would continue to yield a result with the introduction of some strategies such as the involvement of whistle-blowers to track down corrupt persons.
“The recent conviction of some highly placed politicians is a sterling testimony that the country is gradually winning the war against corruption and other fraudulent practices.
“People believe it is only when a judge takes a bribe that you can say he or she is corrupt. It goes beyond that.
“Failure to do your job or the needful as a litigant or a lawyer is corruption.
“And this situation to me can only be arrested if only our judiciary and police systems are well placed via adequate funding.
“Our anti-corruption agencies starting from the Economic and Finance Crime Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) need to be encouraged morally and economically for optimum performance as obtained globally,” he added. (NAN)
– Mar. 27, 2020 @ 15:57 GMT |
Tags: Anti-corruption: Expert advises FG to align with global legal system
