Falana to FG: declare how much stolen funds have been recovered

Activist lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has called on the Federal
Government to declare how much stolen funds it has recovered since
1999.

He was joined in this call by the first woman SAN, Chief Folake
Solanke at the 20th Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture to celebrate the
74th birthday of the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical
Mission (TREM), Bishop Mike Okonkwo.

Delivering the lecture titled: “The Danger of Unequal Criminal
Justice System in Nigeria”, Falana, who was the guest lecturer,
said the Federal Government, through the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) had recovered over N1 trillion looted from
the treasuries helped by its whistleblower policy since 1999.

However, he said the exact amount had not been declared neither
had the government said what the funds were used for – though he
also mentioned that N605 billion was recently recovered.

He said the government should use the funds to empower local
government areas to provide jobs at the grassroots level to check
unemployment and curb crime.

He said: “The Federal Government has recovered huge sums of
money from looters. one of the policies of government, the whistle
blowing policy, has fetched the country N605 billion as of three
months ago.

“I am therefore suggesting that the billions recovered by the
EFCC, let the Federal Government allocate at least N1 billion to
every Local Government for job creation for our young men and
women. “

Speaking on the justice system, Falana lamented that the despite
the constitution providing for equality before the law, it was
difficult for the poor to get justice as majority had no access to
lawyers.

The rich, he alleged, are able to subvert justice by paying huge
sums of money to stretch trials, get police and military
connivance, or buy favourable treatment when incarcerated.
He said: “Section 17 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Nigeria talks
of equality before the law. But I am sure you will all agree with
me that equality before the law is a joke in any capitalist
society.

“What we have done is to create agencies like the Legal Aid
Council, the National Human Rights Council and individual lawyers
to encourage them to ensure that the poor get justice.

“Because if the poor do not get justice, whether the government
likes it or not, whether you arrest all the Sowores of this world,
there will be a revolution one day. Because when the poor rise it
can be dangerous in any society. It can even lead to anarchy as it
is the case now.

“Yesterday what happened in Lagos – the attacks if you watched
the film on television, you will know that we are in trouble.

“Some of the criminal elements opened carried the loot on their
heads and the police had a hard time containing the crisis. That is
why we must go out and ensure injustice in the polity is
addressed”

Supporting Falana, Mrs. Solanke, who chaired the lecture, said
the government owed Nigeria the duty of telling how much has been
recovered from its anti-corruption drive.

To help address the problem, Falana called on Okonkwo and
members of TREM to help in ensuring the poor get justice.

He suggested that the church could join magistrates to inspect
police stations monthly and identify people languishing in illegal
detention.

He promised to collaborate with the church to make it
possible.

“To stop illegal detention, every police station shall be
inspected once in a month. In a place like Lagos, we have got the
chief judge to assign magistrates to inspect police stations. We
can help connect with the magistrates so that every month when the
magistrates are going on inspection

“By next year, this church will be rolling out how many people
have been freed form illegal detention for the past one year. I
know your church has a number of lawyers and I will be prepared to
partner with them to ensure justice is done and served,” he
said.

In her speech, while commending the organisers of the Mike
Okonwkwo Secondary School Essay Competition for awarding prizes to
winners who scored 50 and above, Mrs Solanke called the practice of
setting admission cut-off marks at less than 50 per cent
scandalous.

She said: “I am relieved that the average percentage of the
winner was 68 per cent. One of my current crusades is to protest
the damaging policy of educational institutions, schools, colleges,
universities, the Law School…who accept less than 50 per cent as
pass mark.

“As a former teacher of Latin and Mathematics in England and
Nigeria, anything below 50 is a failure. Now institutions accept
40, 45, 48 as pass marks. Scandalous!

“I was appalled to hear that the Joint Admission and
Matriculation Board (JAMB) approves 120 out of 400 as passmark.
Heavens above, 120 out of 400 is 30 per cent.”

Winners of the competition, Esigbone Ferdinard of Roshallom
International Secondary School, Egbeda, Lagos; Oluwaseun Aremu of
Shepherd International College Ado-Ekiti ; and Adeola Ifeoluwa of
Chrisfield College, Itamaga, Ikorodu got N100,000, N75,000 and
N50,000 each.

E-Registration: NIS Registers 2,100
Migrants

The Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Muhammad
Babandede MFR wishes to inform the general public particularly
migrant community in Nigeria that the on-going migrant
e-registration exercise embarked upon by the Service will be a
continuous process, as it is part of the Service’s statutory
responsibilities prescribed by the Immigration Regulation 2017.

The Service embarked on this exercise as part of its day to day
scheduled duties in line with Section 22 (1 & 2) of the
Immigration Regulation 2017 which empowers the Service to maintain
a register of all “Immigrants” and also empowers the Comptroller
General to keep in the registry, information and particulars of an
Immigrant as he may time to time direct. This clarification becomes
necessary against the misconception between the amnesty period
declared by the President and the duration of the Exercise.

Thus far, the Exercise is yielding results as over 2,100
migrants have been registered at the NIS Headquarters alone, while
registration centres at Lagos, Rivers, Delta, Ogun, Ekiti, Kwara,
Cross River, and others are steadily following in a bid to achieve
a nation-wide registration Exercise.

The CGI hereby calls on all migrants staying beyond 90 days in
Nigeria, whether regular or otherwise (including those without
proper documents) to take advantage of the 6-months amnesty period
given by the President which lasts between 12th July,2019 to 11th
January,2020 and register at the nearest Migrant e-Registration
centres in their places of residence.

Signed
DCI Sunday James pcc
Service Public Relations Officer
For: Comptroller General of Immigration