The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) is an aggregate of human rights, community based, and civil society organisations with an anti-corruption agenda across Nigeria. It is a non-political, non-religious, non-sectarian, non-profit Coalition. CACOL sets for itself the task of using any available means to cause relevant authorities to probe and bring to book all corrupt leaders both in public and private institutions. We also strive to protect interest of persons or groups found to be victims or potential victims of corrupt practices or processes of manipulation. The decision to embark on the journey was taken in September, 2007 in view of the need to confront, once and for all the Frankenstein monster called ‘corruption’ that has been ravaging all the facets of our national life in Nigeria for so long.
Sir, our Coalition finds pertinent to call for the immediate investigation of the roles of the Minister of Interior, Lt. General Abdulrahman Dambazau (Retd.), and the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt. General Tukur Buratai over the arms procurement scandal, a scam which has led Your Excellency to order the probe of about 54 other military officers indicted in the case.
We equally through this medium call for the investigation of the role the CCB in the assets declaration processes undergone by the COAS and public officials generally.
Your Excellency, we find it curious that the duo of Lt. Gen. Dambazau and Lt. General Buratai were excluded from the probe ordered by you following the approval of the recommendation of the Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Armed Forces led by AVM Jon Ode (retd.)
This is against the background that the duo were part of the top echelon of military and partook in one or the other in the arms procurement processes within the period which the Presidential Committee reviewed. It is our position that, it is dialectical to include the COAS and Minister in the probe, for the purpose of transparency and fairness. We are convinced that even if they are not guilty of any of the allegations that have been widely reported, those could be still be witnesses given the positions they occupied in the period under review. Their inclusion will certainly help in terms of more information and as persons whom allegations against require to be checked.
Moreover, their inclusion in the probe will instill more popular support for the anti-corruption drive which has been persistently described as ‘selective’ in many quarters.
On the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, Your Excellency, the COAS is currently in the eye of the storm following the revelation that he owns two properties in Dubai, even though both the Army and the CCB have affirmed the respected General declared his assets when he passed through the asset declaration processes on two occasions. Strident calls for the COAS’s resignation or that he should be sacked over his Dubai palatial mansions valued at about $1.5m are blaring all over the country following COAS’s explanation which most find unacceptable.
As widely reported by the media, the COAS has affirmed that the properties were declared with your Bureau when he underwent assets declaration on two occasions with the CCB and that he acquired the said properties with his ‘life savings’. It is has also been reported that the CCB corroborated the claims of the COAS.
From empirical analysis, it is clear that the arithmetic does not add-up even if the General never spent a dime out of what he was to have officially earned since he joined public service via the Army. How a General with his ‘life savings’ and even possibly other legitimate means could afford the said properties is no doubt very questionable!
Circumspection tells us that, it is the duty of the CCB to ascertain the value of all assets declared by public official before it, and bring to fore if discrepancies exist in the declarations. That is how other agencies like EFFC can swing into action to investigate if financial or economic crimes are being violated.
The reason why the verification of the value of the assets of the COAS was not carried out by the CCB is suspicious and makes it crucial for the government to investigate the circumstances that led the CCB to clearing a public official whose assets value did not correlate with his life savings all put together and possibly other legitimate means.
The picture definitely insinuates that perhaps the agency was in cohorts with the COAS if the allegations against him are proved to be valid. And this is why the assertions by the Army and the CCB that Lt. General Buratai had declared his assets and have been ‘cleared’ even without confirming whether the value of the Dubai properties under question were verified, and the source of the money used to acquire them, is not sufficient. Therefore, since at this stage, there is the possibility that the Army or some Army officials and the CCB or some of its officials may have been in cahoots with COAS over the allegations against him to cover up their negligence; their submissions on the saga remain suspect.
We propose that the Army and CCB should hands-off the COAS case for an independent judicial action; this will expose if violations had been committed by officials of the Army and CCB or not, and will also exonerate the innocent and apply punitive against the culpable.
This development has again brought to the fore, the imperativeness of making assets declarations by all public officials with the CCB public for purpose of transparency and public scrutiny so as to engender public trust in governance. There is absolutely no reason for public officials to hide their assets if they got them through hard work or other legitimate means. One of the major reasons the CCB was created in the first place was for the verification of assets declared by public officials so as to nip the tendency to make false assets declaration in the bud.
We strongly rely on the political will and zeal demonstrated thus far by Your Excellency to make our calls. We are convinced that with your immediate action on issues raised, the dusts being raised and the aspersions being cast on the credibility of the anti-corruption drive you are championing will die naturally. The conscience is said to be an open wound, and only truth can heal it, your conscientiousness and reputation of upholding the truth encourages us also to make our quintessential calls for investigations on the issues we have raised with this letter.
We remain committed to the anti-corruption drive to cleanse our country of corruption in all facts. Please accept our strong solidarity and due regards as we await your decisive action.
Yours in service to humanity
Debo Adeniran
Executive Chairman, CACOL
08037194969,
Cc: Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB
Cc: Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC
Cc: Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC
Cc: Office of the Attorney General of the Federation
Cc: Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation
SOURCE:
CORRUPTION WATCH NG
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