Transparency International has backed the Federal Government’s decision to publish the names of alleged looters of the nation’s treasury.
However, the group called on the government to ensure that allegations of bias in drawing up the list are addressed to boost people’s confidence in the process that went into compiling it.
The Head of Transparency International in Nigeria and Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Musa Rafsanjani, made this known in an interview with The Punch.
Recall that Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had on Good Friday, March 30 and Easter Sunday, April 1 released a combined 29 names of alleged looters of the nation’s treasury.
The lists had contained names of mainly members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), sparking accusations of bias.
But reacting to the lists, Rafsanjani said, “I don ’t think there is anything wrong in publishing names of people that have actually looted the resources of the country . They have plunged us into the misery we now find ourselves . If these persons were investigated and found to have committed that offence, it was right for their names to be disclosed .
However , I have my reservations about the decision to publish their names . First , why has it taken the Federal Government so long to publish the names ? The names were published months to the election season and the first interpretation Nigerians gave to the scenario was that it was a political witch-hunt .
Another issue is that the list is not comprehensive . The government did not include members of the ruling party being investigated for corruption . Therefore, people are likely to, again , give the list a political interpretation . When the people have this feeling, the effect the Federal Government expected the disclosure to have is already lost .
For me , the timing of the list is not appropriate and the list is not comprehensive . We know that in Nigeria , there are lots of people who have also looted this country at the local and state government levels . Last year , I know that there was a court ruling mandating the Federal Government to publish the names of the looters . But the government did not immediately do that . The government must revisit the list and see that it includes those persons from its own political party also.”