CORRUPTION WITHOUT CONVICTION AN EFFORT IN FUTILITY
Many Nigerians voted for change in the last Presidential election. They want things to be done differently for themselves and the society at large. Nigerians were tired around the high degree of impunity, corruption and lackadaisical attitude of those in power, they needed change. President Mohammad Buhari was elected to effect this change because he is seen as an incorruptible person and a no-nonsense administrator in his days as a onetime head of state.
With the swearing in of the President on May 29, 2015 as the elected President Commander- in- chief of the armed forces Federal Republic of Nigeria, the hope of many Nigerians were rekindled for a better Nigeria. Many Nigerians are eager to know the plans of the President most especially in his campaign against corruption. The introduction of the Treasure Single Account though, was introduced during President Jonthan’s administration, but became effective under Buhari administration is indeed a plus and a great initiative to fight corruption. The arms deal saga with the former National Security Adviser is indeed a scary revelation if such is true, the offender need to be punished as a deterrent to avoid future occurrence. Any civil servant or Public servant that fails to follow the procedure as laid down in the 2007 procurement act should be dealt with accordingly so as to restore sanity into the system.
Restoring sanity into the system entails two major things. 1) An independent and effective judiciary 2) thorough and painstaking investigation by the police or the commission that deals with such corrupt practices.
Time has shown that many allegations made by the police are not thoroughly investigated and concluded before they are taken to the court of law for convictions, which indeed has left many criminals off the hook. In criminal matters, the onus of proof is always on the prosecution to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt as the presumption of innocence is in favour of the accused. Therefore, failure to prosecute the accused of the offence committed will only enhance more crime to be committed and encourage corruption. Lawyers who are ministers in the temple of justice on many occasions do contribute to this denial of justice by creating unnecessary adjournments to delay the hearing. The introduction of the criminal Justice act has tried to act against such acts by lawyers in order to expedite actions against the accused while prosecuting him because justice delayed is justice denied.
For the actualization of a corrupt free society the synergy between the police and the court of law must be very effective and reliable for the common man to believe in it that justice will be done. What we presently have is the synergy between the media and the police
Publicly announcing their arrest on the media without any conviction in the court of law. As far as I am concerned, for the past 16 democratic years of the PDP I have never seen anybody charged and convicted of the offence of corruption in the court of law. With the APC, I am yet to see also, even though it's still early to say, but with the way things are going for now I have my doubts. This is because for the government to win the battle against corruption, government machinery for the adjudication of justice must be effective and reliable which as far a I am concerned is not yet in place.
Failure of the APC to win the battle against corruption may put Nigeria into a state of anarchy and distrust which is more reason why the government must fight corruption fiercely and not only through the media. Parading suspects on the media is not fighting corruption, but convicting them in the court of competent jurisdiction is fighting corruption. Corruption without conviction is an exercise in futility.
