Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina has said the President Muhammadu Buhari has not yet taken a decision on whether to prosecute former government officials who have voluntarily returned looted funds.
Speaking to the Punch, Adesina said, “The looted fund is being returned through CBN. Only the bank can speak on the procedure, and how much has been returned so far.”
“The President has not made a declaration on whether those who returned money voluntarily would still be prosecuted or not.”
Reacting to the silence from the Presidency on the identities of those returning stolen funds, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, an elder statesman said Buhari was pampering corrupt officials.
He said , “It is a crime against the state for anybody to steal public funds. Returning stolen funds quietly without being sanctioned is even worse than the crime of stealing the money .
“This is morally reprehensible and it can never serve as a deterrent to other corrupt politicians who might want to steal public resources.
“Buhari is pampering those corrupt leaders by just obtaining looted funds and not jailing them. With all the
bragging and the promises he made during the campaign, we expected that his war against corruption will be ruthless.
“These public thieves carted away our national assets and in the process, impoverished many Nigerians. Corruption is also responsible for the infrastructural decay we are experiencing. The roads are bad and many Nigerian youths cannot find jobs.”