US Report: Massive, Pervasive Corruption at All Levels of Govt

* Says cases rarely concluded
* Accuses security agents of unlawful killings

Despite repeated avowals of his commitment to a fight against
corruption, the United States Department of State has said there is
a climate of impunity in the President Muhammadu Buhari government
that allows officials to engage in corrupt practices with a sense
of exemption from punishment. The State Department’s Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, in its Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices for 2018, said Nigeria had made little progress in
efforts to limit corruption in its public service.

The US Congress mandates the executive to produce a report on
the state of human rights worldwide every year. For Nigeria, the
findings in the 2018 Human Rights Report, released Thursday, were
largely similar to those of the previous year’s report, indicating
lack of real progress in the government’s anti-corruption war.

A copy of the report obtained by THISDAY said, “Although the law
provides criminal penalties for conviction of official corruption,
the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials
frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
“Massive, widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels
of government and the security services. There were numerous
reports of government corruption during the year.”

The report stated that the country’s two key anti-corruption
agencies, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related
Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), had broad powers to prosecute corruption, but
rarely applied such powers to conscientiously and logically
prosecute corruption cases.

It stated, “The EFCC writ extends only to financial and economic
crimes. The ICPC secured 14 convictions during the year. In 2016
the EFCC had 66 corruption cases pending in court, had secured 13
convictions during the year, and had 598 open investigations.

“Although ICPC and EFCC anti-corruption efforts remained largely
focused on low and mid-level government officials, following the
2015 presidential election, both organisations started
investigations into and brought indictments against various active
and former high-level government officials. Many of these cases
were pending in court. According to both ICPC and EFCC, the delays
were the result of a lack of judges and the widespread practice of
filing for and granting multiple adjournments.

“EFCC arrests and indictments of politicians continued
throughout the year, implicating a significant number of opposition
political figures and leading to allegations of partisan
motivations on the part of the EFCC. In October the EFCC arrested
and indicted former governor of Ekiti State Ayo Fayose on 11
counts, including conspiracy and money laundering amounting to 2.2
billion naira ($6 million). After a Federal High Court ruling,
Fayose was out on 50 million naira ($137,500) bail.”

On financial disclosure, the report noted the constitutional
requirement under the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act
(CCBTA) for public officials, including the president, vice
president, governors, deputy governors, cabinet ministers, and
legislators (at both federal and state levels), to declare their
assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) before assuming and
after leaving office. The constitution calls for the CCB to “make
declarations available for inspection by any citizen of the country
on such terms and conditions as the National Assembly may
prescribe,” said the report. “The law does not address the
publication of asset information. Violators risk prosecution, but
cases rarely reached conclusion.”

Perhaps, more chilling was the finding that arbitrary
deprivation of life and unlawful killings were prevalent in Nigeria
in 2018. The report cited several examples.

It said, “There were several reports the government or its
agents committed arbitrary and unlawful killings. The national
police, army, and other security services used lethal and excessive
force to disperse protesters and apprehend criminals and suspects
and committed other extrajudicial killings.
“Authorities generally did not hold police, military, or other
security force personnel accountable for the use of excessive or
deadly force or for the deaths of persons in custody.

“State and federal panels of inquiry investigating suspicious
deaths generally did not make their findings public.
“In August 2017 the acting president convened a civilian-led
presidential investigative panel to review compliance of the armed
forces with human rights obligations and rules of engagement, and
the panel submitted its findings in February. As of November no
portions of the report had been made public.

“As of September there were no reports of the federal government
further investigating or holding individuals accountable for the
2015 killing and subsequent mass burial of members of the Shia
group, Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), and other civilians by
Nigerian Army (NA) forces in Zaria, Kaduna State. “
The report noted the 2016 nonbinding report of the Kaduna State
government’s judicial commission, which found that the Nigerian
Army (NA) used “excessive and disproportionate” force during the
2015 altercations in which 348 members of the Islamic Movement in
Nigeria (IMN) and one soldier died.

It said, “The commission recommended the federal government
conduct an independent investigation and prosecute anyone found to
have acted unlawfully. It also called for the proscription of the
IMN and the monitoring of its members and their activities.
“In 2016 the government of Kaduna State published a white paper
that included acceptance of the commission’s recommendation to
investigate and prosecute allegations of excessive and
disproportionate use of force by the NA.

“As of September, however, there was no indication that
authorities had held any members of the NA accountable for the
events in Zaria. It also accepted the recommendation to hold IMN
leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky responsible for all illegal acts
committed by IMN members during the altercations and in the
preceding 30 years. In 2016 a federal court declared the continued
detention without charge of Zakzaky and his wife illegal and
unconstitutional.

“The court ordered their release by January 2017. The federal
government did not comply with this order, and Zakzaky, his spouse,
and other IMN members remained in detention. In April the Kaduna
State government charged Zakzaky in state court with multiple
felonies stemming from the death of the soldier at Zaria. The
charges include culpable homicide, which can carry the death
penalty. As of December the case was pending. In July a Kaduna High
Court dismissed charges of aiding and abetting culpable homicide
against more than 80 IMN members. As of September the Kaduna State
government had appealed the ruling. Approximately 100 additional
IMN members remained in detention.

“In October security forces killed 45 IMN members that were
participating in processions and protests, according to Amnesty
International (AI).”
The report recalled the January 2017 bombing of an informal
internally displaced persons (IDPs) settlement in Rann, Borno
State, by the Nigerian Air Force, which resulted in the killing and
injuring of more than 100 civilians and aid workers.

It said, “The government and military leaders publicly assumed
responsibility for the strike and launched an investigation. The
air force conducted its own internal investigation, but as of
December the government had not made public its findings. No air
force or army personnel were known to have been held accountable
for their roles in the event. There were reports of arbitrary and
unlawful killings related to internal conflicts in the North-east
and other areas.”

The report identified the following human rights issues in
Nigeria: unlawful and arbitrary killings by both government and
non-state actors; forced disappearances by both government and
non-state actors; torture by both government and non-state actors;
and prolonged arbitrary detention in life-threatening conditions,
particularly, in government detention facilities. Others are harsh
and life threatening prison conditions, including civilian
detentions in military facilities, often based on flimsy or no
evidence; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights; criminal libel;
substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and
freedom of association, in particular for lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons; and refoulement of
refugees.

The report also identified as human rights abuse corruption;
progress to formally separate child soldiers previously associated
with the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF); lack of accountability
concerning violence against women, including female genital
mutilation/cutting, in part due to government inaction/negligence;
trafficking in persons, including sexual exploitation and abuse by
security officials; crimes involving violence targeting LGBTI
persons and the criminalisation of status and same-sex sexual
conduct based on sexual orientation and gender identity; and forced
and bonded labour.

The report, however, noted that the government took steps to
investigate alleged abuses but took fewer steps to prosecute
officials who committed violations, whether in the security forces
or elsewhere in the government.

“Impunity remained widespread at all levels of government. The
government did not adequately investigate or prosecute most of the
major outstanding allegations of human rights violations by the
security forces or the majority of cases of police or military
extortion or other abuse of power,” the report added.

Culed from Thisday