The Executive Chairman of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, Mr, Debo Adeniran has congratulated the Federal Government, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and other security agencies as the anti-corruption war achieves its first conviction.
The EFCC had accused Mr. Omatseye of engaging in contract splitting and bid rigging to the tune of over N1.5bn while in office as the DG of NIMASA. The offence, the anti-graft agency said, contravened Section 58(4) of the Public Procurement Act 2007.
Mr. Adeniran in reacting to the development said that, “the recent judgment delivered by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which convicted former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Mr. Raymond Omatseye, to 5 years imprisonment over a contract scam involving N1.5bn is heartwarming and welcomed.”
The CACOL Chairman, sad that “It has always been our position that the conviction of corruption criminals was possible if the cases are handled diligently; from information gathering to arrests and from prosecution to conviction. The truth is that 99% of the so-called corruption crimes suspects are mostly likely to be found guilty if their cases were diligently handled.”
“Some of the corruption criminals have the wherewithal to take advantage of the lacunae in our laws and the shoddy prosecutions to escape justice. There should be thoroughness in investigations and diligence in prosecutions for all the cases of corruption; these will a long way in ensuring that corruption criminals do not cleverly escape the wrath of the law.” Mr. Adeniran added,
We commend the efforts of the Federal Government, the EFCC and the civil society organizations as the anti-corruption war is beginning to bear fruits with recovery of loots and the latest conviction. We hasten to repeat our call for life imprisonment for convicts that stole any amount above 1 billion naira, and they should be made to work diligently for their own upkeep via whatever skills they possess previously or has been able to learn behind the bars.
“They should be used as objects to educate the young, the youth and all when they go on excursion to the prisons, seeing former corrupt leaders in such situation will certainly serve to deter the potentially corrupt. Furthermore, whatever assets traced to such convicts should be deemed to be proceeds of corruption and confiscated by the Nigerian state.’’ The Executive Chairman of the Coalition concluded.
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