From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and its members have been challenged by Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), to play a crucial role in the fight against corruption in the legal system.
According to a statement from ICPC on Monday, Owasanoye spoke at a breakout session of the NBA Annual General Meeting and Conference with the theme: “How Corruption Fuels Insecurity and Bad Governance: The Role of Lawyers in Tackling Corrupt Practices in Nigeria” held at the Eko Atlantic, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Decrying the corrupt actions of lawyers, the ICPC boss recommended the NBA leadership to act quickly and punish those lawyers who engage in unethical behavior.
He questioned the middlemen role played by some lawyers for suspects involved in corruption, money laundering and illicit financial flows (IFFs) cases, describing it as unethical.
“In one of the investigations by the Commission, we traced the money to the account of a lawyer. When we got to the account, the money had further been transferred to many accounts in an effort to frustrate the investigation. These lawyers are agents of money launderers, and they undermine the legal profession.
“Also, some lawyers are engaged in the payment of bribes to file cases in courts or to collect receipts. Lawyers must dare to speak and challenge the status quo and reinvigorate the fight against corruption and money laundering,” he stated.
Owasanoye further expressed deep concern over orders granted by courts to lawyers preventing anti-corruption agencies from investigating and making arrests.
“The courts are now in the habit of issuing orders stopping anti-corruption agencies from investigating and making arrests. The biggest culprits are the senior lawyers and it is a matter of regret that the NBA is not doing anything about it.
“The NBA has shown some promise but this promise needs to be taken forward and the Association needs to act swiftly to save the legal profession and prevent its denigration,” he lamented.
The head of the ICPC noted that the supply of essential infrastructure, security, education, health, and food are the direct casualties of corruption when examining the relationship between corruption, insecurity, and poor governance.
“A single transaction of diversion of huge sums could have immediate impact that may become irreversible or more difficult and costly to reverse, while petty diversion of budget or misallocation of resources may not immediately make impact but will inevitably impact medium to long term.
“A lot of phantom projects are included and also duplicated in the budget every year. The ICPC has annually been unpacking the budget once it is passed by the National Assembly. The Commission has been able to stop the duplication of projects in the budget running into billions of naira,” he noted.
He added that two units – Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking and System Study and Review were created by the Commission as part of measures to get to the root causes of corruption in the public sector and address them head-on.
He further stated that the Commission was collaborating with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) through the use of modern technology to aid the fight against corruption and illicit financial flows.
In his presentation, the former NERC Chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi, praised efforts of the current ICPC Chairman and Board in promoting accountability, integrity, and honesty in the system
“The ICPC has been very excellent under the present Chairman and Board which has brought integrity, honesty and accountability to the system,” said Amadi, who is also a political strategist and law governance expert.
He emphasized the importance of human rights to social order, saying that they are critical conditions for social justice and good governance.
Amadi also called for self-regulation by the legal profession saying: “The NBA has to self-regulate its members by addressing and penalizing the corrupt ones among them. The Association should create a new index for good performance.”