FG Can’t Win Corruption Wars Without Prosecuting Lawyers — Falana SAN

A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has said the war against
corruption will not be won if anti-graft agencies continue to
protect lawyers, accountants and other professionals found wanting
in corrupt cases.

He was speaking on Wednesday at the 24th Anti-corruption
Situation Room (ACSR) organized by the HEDA Resource Centre, the
Technical Unit of the Governance and Anti-corruption Reforms
(TUGAR) and other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Abuja.

According to him, not prosecuting those involved in helping in
the utilization of stolen funds by EFCC and ICPC with the aim to
get information to prosecute their clients leaves a gap.

He said members of professional bodies like accountants and
lawyers who help to facilitate the usage of embezzled funds should
be prosecuted to send a strong signal that the law would take its
cause with everyone caught in aiding and abetting corruption.

“When properties are to be bought with embezzled funds, the
culprit, in the course of using such money, would have gotten some
real estate firms to carry out some investigation because he does
not want to be cheated by buying a property already bought by
somebody else.

“The estate firm will ensure due diligence to ensure that the
property is free from encumbrances.

“Then a lawyer will be hired to make way for the properties to
be registered in a false name while the bank manager colludes in
the withdrawal of the huge sum of money.

“By the time the investigations are carried out, the anti-graft
agencies are simply satisfied with the fact that these
professionals collaborated with the investigation by betraying
their client and inform them that they are not the target but the
client thus the need for cooperation,” Falana said.

He also urged professional bodies to suspend or ban any of their
members culpable in corrupt cases which he said will reduce acts of
corruption in the country.

Falana faulted the federal government’s direction on the fight
on corruption since the citizens were not involved in the demand of
accountability from all public officials.

He called for the constitution of National Council of Public
Procurement to award contracts as stated in the Public Procurement
Act, stating that: “For a regime that loudly proclaims it is
fighting corruption, it ought to have the council instead of the
weekly award of contracts by the National Executive Council as it
is done on a weekly basis.”

The Chairman of Human and Environmental Development Agenda
(HEDA), Olanrewaju Suraju, who accused professional bodies of
laxity in sanctioning members who violate their code of conducts,
urged them to take actions as part of measures to tackle corruption
in the country.

A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has said the war against
corruption will not be won if anti-graft agencies continue to
protect lawyers, accountants and other professionals found wanting
in corrupt cases.

He was speaking on Wednesday at the 24th Anti-corruption
Situation Room (ACSR) organized by the HEDA Resource Centre, the
Technical Unit of the Governance and Anti-corruption Reforms
(TUGAR) and other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Abuja.

According to him, not prosecuting those involved in helping in
the utilization of stolen funds by EFCC and ICPC with the aim to
get information to prosecute their clients leaves a gap.

He said members of professional bodies like accountants and
lawyers who help to facilitate the usage of embezzled funds should
be prosecuted to send a strong signal that the law would take its
cause with everyone caught in aiding and abetting corruption.

“When properties are to be bought with embezzled funds, the
culprit, in the course of using such money, would have gotten some
real estate firms to carry out some investigation because he does
not want to be cheated by buying a property already bought by
somebody else.

“The estate firm will ensure due diligence to ensure that the
property is free from encumbrances.

“Then a lawyer will be hired to make way for the properties to
be registered in a false name while the bank manager colludes in
the withdrawal of the huge sum of money.

“By the time the investigations are carried out, the anti-graft
agencies are simply satisfied with the fact that these
professionals collaborated with the investigation by betraying
their client and inform them that they are not the target but the
client thus the need for cooperation,” Falana said.

He also urged professional bodies to suspend or ban any of their
members culpable in corrupt cases which he said will reduce acts of
corruption in the country.

Falana faulted the federal government’s direction on the fight
on corruption since the citizens were not involved in the demand of
accountability from all public officials.

He called for the constitution of National Council of Public
Procurement to award contracts as stated in the Public Procurement
Act, stating that: “For a regime that loudly proclaims it is
fighting corruption, it ought to have the council instead of the
weekly award of contracts by the National Executive Council as it
is done on a weekly basis.”

The Chairman of Human and Environmental Development Agenda
(HEDA), Olanrewaju Suraju, who accused professional bodies of
laxity in sanctioning members who violate their code of conducts,
urged them to take actions as part of measures to tackle corruption
in the country.