Saraki, accused of massive corruptionNigeria’s Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the country’s Code of Conduct Bureau to urgently open an investigation within 14 days on “current and immediate past high-ranking public officers named in the Panama Papers” or face legal actions.
The organisation requested Mr. Sam Saba, the Chairman of the Bureau, to ensure that other officials not named in the Panama Papers but who are maintaining, operating or have maintained and operated foreign accounts in other safe havens and secrecy jurisdictions, be prosecuted.
“We would be grateful if the Bureau could begin to take these steps within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then as to the steps the Bureau is taking to address the concerns raised in this letter, the Registered Trustees of SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel the Bureau to effectively discharge its constitutional and statutory mandates in this instance,” the organisation said.
The letter dated 8 April 2016 and signed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni reads in part:
“SERAP believes that the Panama Papers have shown the extent to which public officers in the country are concealing their stolen wealth in safe havens and secrecy jurisdictions, contrary to the Code of Conduct for Public Officers which prohibits public officers from maintaining and operating foreign accounts.
“SERAP hopes that the Code of Conduct Bureau will learn from the lessons of the Panama Papers to combat the abuse of the asset declaration requirements and not wait for further international disclosures that may implicate even more public officers in corruption and money laundering.
“SERAP argues that unless high-ranking public officers who use safe havens and secrecy jurisdictions to breach the fundamental requirements of asset declaration are sanctioned, named and shamed, the credibility of the asset declaration regime as a tool of preventing and combating corruption will continue to be doubted, and Nigerians will continue to witness climate of lack of transparency and widespread impunity of corrupt public officers in the country.
“SERAP also believes that bodies like the Code of Conduct Bureau should now seize the opportunity and use its mandate to react to this international scandal by taking concrete and proactive steps to address increasing breaches of constitutional provisions by high-ranking public officers.
“This action will be entirely consistent with the Nigerian 1999 Constitution (as amended), the law establishing the Bureau, and will meet demands by Nigerians for improvement in transparency regarding asset declarations and sanctions of public officers for breaches.
“Effective asset declaration regime can play an important role in detecting illicit enrichment and preventing corruption and avoiding the kind of international embarrassment that the Panama Papers represents for Nigeria.
“SERAP notes that the aims and objectives of the Code of Conduct Bureau include the establishment and maintenance of a high standard of morality in the conduct of public business and ensuring that the actions and behaviour of public officers conform to the highest standards of public morality and accountability.”