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Tuesday 30 July 2013

Yobe traders accuse JTF of extortion

Transporters and traders in Yobe State are lamenting alleged extortion by military personnel attached to the Joint Task Force, JTF, at check points in Damaturu.

Buba Umar, a trader that normally transports his wares from Kano to Maiduguri, in an interview with Vanguard, Monday alleged that they spend up to N20,000 to bribe the JTF on every trip at more than 50 check points, saying the amount is outrageous.

 He said: “Prices of foodstuff in the market have risen as a result of the extra expenses we incur, like the bribe we give to JTF and the hours we spend on the road.

“Some of these good are perishable, we have to deliver on time, but due to these numerous check points, they usually get spoiled. Many suppliers from Kano axis have stopped supplying food items to Damaturu because of this and it makes the prices of goods to go up.”

Another transporter said they spent hours on the long queue that stretches up to three kilometres at times, and the JTF are not helping matters.

 Source:vanguard

Friday 26 July 2013

How I arrested Corporal for extortion – Superintendent

A Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP, Oyanwenda Ekho-J, yesterday, told a Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Senior Magistrates’ Court in Karu, how he arrested a former colleague, Corporal John Enekele, for extortion. Enekele, who was dismissed from the force in February for allegedly extorting N11,000 from Inalegu Onah, is currently facing trial. Enekele was arraigned on March 28 on a one-count charge of extortion before Senior Magistrate Aminu Abdullahi. He, however, denied the charge. At the resumed hearing, yesterday, Ekho-J, Commander of the FCT Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, testified that he arrested the accused person who was on an illegal duty on February 2, this year. Led in evidence by the prosecutor, Sergeant Atteh Effiong, Ekho-J alleged that Enekele was in possession of N11, 000 he forcibly collected from his victim. He said other incriminating items such as three SARS bullet proof jackets, four gallons of diesel and a large quantity of marijuana in a black polythene bag were also found on the accused. The prosecution witness told the court that he was on routine visit to SARS office on February 2 when he saw an unusual gathering on his way and stopped to find out what was happening. He said: “I saw the accused person and one Paul, who was in a SARS bullet proof jacket, and I demanded to know the officer in-charge of the operation. “Paul moved close to me and introduced himself in an unofficial police manner. I quickly detected he was not one of us. I became suspicious and demanded for his police warrant card but the accused told me he had just passed out of police training school and was still awaiting his warrant card. “I later discovered that Paul, who posed as an officer, was the accused person’s partner on illegal duty.” Ekho-J said he asked the accused person what the crowd was doing on the highway instead of taking them to SARS station for proper investigation of the alleged crime they committed. He told the court that he had to send for the most senior guard commander at the SARS gate and ordered that they should all be taken to the office for questioning and detailed investigation. Investigation He said: “Investigation later revealed that the accused person arrested Onah with four gallons of 20 litres of diesel, handcuffed him and locked him inside his car for no reason. “The accused insisted that Onah must pay a bribe of N30,000 before his release or stand the risk of being taken to SARS base for torture. “Onah gave him all he had amounting to N11,000, but the accused insisted that he must pay the balance of N19,000 before he would be released. “Onah had no option than to call his brother to meet them at SARS gate with the balance, which they were waiting for before I arrived at the scene.” The search According to Ekho-J, the accused denied collecting any money from the victim and his denial prompted me to order an on-the-spot search of his car. He said that “all police officers, including me, are entitled to only one bullet proof jacket each, and I wondered where the accused got the extra three jackets found in his possession.” Ekho-J said the accused was dismissed from the police after he was found guilty in an in-house trial, and later charged to court. The prosecutor tendered in evidence all the items allegedly recovered from the accused person which the court admitted as exhibit. He, however, asked the court for adjournment to enable him present his third evidence which the court granted. Following the prosecutor’s request, the magistrate adjourned the case to August 19.

Source: vanguardngr.com

$1bn Malabu oil deal: Senate mandates committees to investigate bribery allegation

The Senate, on Thursday, mandated its committees on Finance and Petroleum (Upstream) to wade into the contentious $1.092 billion Malabu oil deal.

Senate President David Mark, who brought up the issue before his colleagues during the plenary, said there was need for the upper legislative chamber to carry out a thorough investigation with a view to unravel the circumstances surrounding the controversies in the issue.

The House of Representatives had, last week, summoned the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, over a letter purportedly written to a foreign organisation, Global Witness, saying that the House had cleared him of any wrong doing in the deal.

Royal Dutch oil giant, Shell and Italy’s oil major, ENI, are under investigation by the British Government for alleged money laundering over the Malabu oil deal.

The two oil firms with huge investments in Nigeria were suspected to be connected to a money-laundering allegation relating to the OPL 245 they bought from Nigeria for $1.3 billion.

Source: tribune

Friday 19 July 2013

Nigeria Police Officer hands over huge sum recovered in robbery chase

Examplary policing
A Nigerian Police officer recovered huge sums from robbers on Friday in Abuja after a spontaneous chase on his power bike in a rare display of exemplary policing.


The robbers, riding on a lower engine motor-bike snatched a money bag containing N150,000 from the victim as he walked out of a bank in heart of the Area 3 part of town.

The victim’s call for help drew the attention of the police officer, Abu Tanko, a Police motorcycle rider attached to the Force Headquarters Abuja.

Mr Tanko swiftly chased the robbers as they fled off with the cash. After few kilometers, at a point around the neighbouring Area 8, he caught with the robbers. The the robbers flung the money bag and ran away as he slowed down to pick up the bag.

Heroic Mr. Tanko returned to the scene about 15 minutes later with the whole sum of money intact and handed it in the bewildered owner before a cheering crowd.

Nigerian police officers are notorious for corruption and instability around money, forcing most Nigerians to rely on self-help or alternative security.

“It is an indication that there are still a few ones out there,” the force said in a Facebook post it made about the heroic officer. “All hope is not yet lost!”

The police advised distressed citizens to always call its officers because they institutionally required to respond to all distress calls.

Kogi Commissioner Denies Bribery Allegation

Lokoja — The Kogi State Commissioner Works, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullah, has denied allegation that Vehicle Inspection Officers ( VIO) under the ministry are extorting money from motorists who engaged in indiscriminate parking on the road.

The commissioner, while reacting to the allegation that the Vehicle Inspection Officers are collecting N10,000 from defaulting motorists, said the penalty fees for anybody that violates the law is N5,000, adding that there is a designated account number in one of the new generation bank where offenders are to pay the fees.

According to him, the ministry sensitized the public against indiscriminate parking by the road sides.

Abdullahi said it is not the duty of the state government to provide a parking space for motorists, noting that a driver who has gone through the rudiment of driving should know where to park and where not to.

Source: Daily Trust.

China shuts travel agency in GSK bribery case

SHANGHAI, July 19, 2013 (AFP) – China has shut down a travel agency which served as a conduit for bribes allegedly given by staff of British drug firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the government and state media said.

Chinese authorities say GSK employees bribed government officials, pharmaceutical industry groups, hospitals and doctors to promote sales.

The Shanghai Linjiang International Travel Agency was ordered to halt business over “illegal activities” including fake billing, the Shanghai tourism administration said in a statement.

Police also detained the agency’s chief representative Weng Jianyong, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported on Friday.

GSK employees gave the bribes directly and through travel agencies and project sponsorship, police said last week.

A police official estimated GSK funnelled nearly $500 million in suspected bribes through travel agencies and consultants over several years.

Media reports say more than 20 people have been detained in the case, including pharmaceutical and travel industry personnel.

Police have held four top executives of GSK China and prevented another, the firm’s British finance director, from leaving the country though he has not been formally detained.

Weng, who as Linjiang’s “legal representative” is responsible for the company’s activities under Chinese law, told state television that his agency arranged cash payments of 40,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan ($6,500 to $81,000) for GSK.

“Company (GSK) regulations only allowed gifts of a hundred or two hundred yuan which definitely wouldn’t do,” he said in an interview aired this week.

GSK executives also took kickbacks from travel agencies in return for organising conferences, some of which did not exist, police say.

In a statement earlier this week GSK said it was “deeply concerned” about allegations of fraud by individuals at the company and third-party agencies and would cooperate with the investigation.

Source: pmnewsnigeria

How We Run Police Stations With Bribes Due To Lack Of Money-DPO

 “…Nigerian police officers and men are suffering in silence and yet we are expected to do some magic”—Senior Police Officer

Meager allocations from the Federal Government that has refused to decentralize the Police is putting Nigeria police stations at the mercy of charity from communities and dirty money from criminals. It is essential to point out here, that most police stations in the country are run on “Greek gifts”.
A reporter Temitayo Famutimi remarks; “whoever wants to know why inefficiency is the lot of the Nigeria Police, the starting point may be to closely observe the state of things at police stations across the country. Apart from the poor physical state of many of them, they are largely run on charity”.
Considering the rate of crime and criminal activities in the country, how much should a police station, which ought to always be battle-ready have in its coffer at every point in time? Well, investigations by our correspondent shows that some of the police stations in Nigeria get as low as N35,000 as allocation from the force headquarters per quarter.

A DPO serving in the Ogun State Police Command explains that depending on members of the public for funds to e effective policing is not only risky but also against the principles of policing. Describing the majority of such philanthropic gestures as a Greek gift, the senior police officer says experience has shown that many of these donors usually have skeletons in their cupboards.
Buttressing his argument with what transpired in his area of jurisdiction, he explains that an hotelier who had taken up the responsibility of paying for the monthly subscription of the DSTV in the police station was, initially unknown to him, doing so as a cover for his child abuse activities in his hotel. According to him, “My men didn’t have the gut to take actions because they were unsure if they had the moral right to arrest a staunch supporter of the station. My men had to await my arrival at the station before a decision to raid the hotel had to be taken…expectedly, the subscription for the DSTV stopped and, ever since, I foot the bill from my purse whenever I have enough money to spare.”

Besides, Nigerians who have at one time or the other had a reason to report an incident at a police station are no longer new to the demands from the policeman on duty, asking them to part with sums between N500 and N1, 000 before their statement can be taken. Even after taking such statements and there is a need to make an arrest of those reported, the policeman on duty asks the complainant to drop another N2, 000 to fuel the police patrol vehicle.

A senior police source at the Ogun State Police Command headquarters in Abeokuta also confided in our correspondent that the quarterly allocation the command receives from the Force Headquarters fluctuates between N450, 000 and N650, 000. This amount, it was gathered, is meant for catering for the needs of the 46 police stations and the five area commands in the state for three months. The amount, it was learnt, is not distributed equally among the police stations as criteria such as the size of the police station and the crime wave in the station’s area of jurisdiction were being used to determine how much each station receives.

A Divisional Police Officer, who pleads anonymity, reveals that his station receives between 35,000-40,000 Naira quarterly from the Federal government which is not even enough to fuel the patrol vehicles in the station for three days, let alone covering the whole expenses for three months.
He says, “It is very difficult to run a police station as a DPO without your men engaging in corrupt practices…to describe the allocations we get quarterly as inadequate is to say the least.

He continues; “I get less than N40,000 to cater for my running costs quarterly, and, as a matter of fact, to run a truly motorized patrol, you will need (at least) about 40 liters of petrol in 24 hours for a patrol van and this amounts to N3, 840 daily. In this division, we have four patrol vehicles and this makes it N15,360 daily. If we decide to spend the allocation only on petrol, the money wouldn’t last more than three days. So, where do we get the money to make up for the huge shortfalls? Am I in the position to tell policemen who incessantly complain of poor salaries to donate money to run the affairs of the station?”

In Lagos, the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, a public-private partnership established by law in 2007, has been useful in this regard. The LSSTF intervention caters for acquisition of police equipment, purchasing of patrol vehicles and their maintenance.

However, a senior police officer in the state explains that patrol vehicles whose maintenance bill is footed by the LSSTF are those attached to the Rapid Response Squad, noting that other vehicles in police divisions are left in care of DPOs to maintain from the quarterly allocation.

The police officer explains that the quarterly allocation given to police stations in the state is between N45, 000 and N80, 000, depending on the size of the police station and the crime wave in the area the station is situated. According to him, “Police funding is a problematic issue and there is no way the police will perform magic with the way we are being funded. For my division, I get an allocation of N45, 000 quarterly. Just tell me what that money can cover out of the needs of the station for a total of 90 days?”.

He adds; “Apart from fuelling of patrol vehicles and generators to power the police station, we incur expenses on stationeries. This is especially because the police are not ICT-compliant. As a result, we often beg for assistance from members of the public’’.

Investigations reveal that, DPOs are usually in the habit of holding save-our-souls meeting with the members of the community in their jurisdiction to solicit for help to run the affairs of the station.
In such meetings, it was gathered, community development associations, owners of small businesses, among others, usually take up one or two responsibilities of catering for the needs of such police stations.

One of the DPOs in Lagos State Police Command told our correspondent that when he assumed office, in one of such meetings, he begged the stakeholders in the community who raised money to buy blocks, pay for the labour costs as well as foot the bill for fixing a gate around the station’s fence.
He says, “For you to succeed as a DPO there is no way you won’t live your life as if you are a beggar because money won’t be forthcoming from the top to make ends meet. And who are you to ask questions? When you are invited to a meeting with your boss, maybe at the Area Commander or Commissioner of Police, and issues bordering on finance come up, the best you can do is to say ‘yes sir, I’ll manage, sir.

“When I resumed at my duty post I specifically made the areas of needs of the station known to the various stakeholders in the community. At the end of the day, some private citizens and managers of firms were the ones who erected the fence of the station.”

He adds that after much persuasion, two managers of the petrol stations in the area had been providing the station with 50 litres of petrol per week. The Officer in Charge of Patrol and Guard goes around taking delivery of the fuel every Monday. And when the fuel finishes, the boys know how to go about getting the patrol vehicle refueled because the work has to be done”.
A source in Akwa Ibom State Police Command explains that the situation is not different from other state commands. He however notes that the local government chairmen provide some monthly allowances to support police stations in their domains.

Also, a police source adds that the case of many states in the northern part of the country is usually worsened by the presence of many police posts under police divisions.

Another source at the Police Force Headquarters says the Police Public Relations Officers in the various state commands are worse off as their offices are not entitled to any allocations from the Force Headquarters. Also, that the PPROs in the various commands live at the mercy of the commissioners of police in their respective states.

The source notes, “The IG is just trying to work around something and find a way of including that office in the scheme of things to function appropriately. What about officers who get transferred to new police commands? The allowance they are entitled to in lieu of accommodation at that new desk for 30 days is not often even paid.

“Nigerian police officers and men are suffering in silence and yet we are expected to perform some magic. There are no two ways to it: The Federal Government and the National Assembly should commit more funds to the police for effective policing of the country.”
When contacted, the acting Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, a Chief Superintendent of Police, confirmed the plight of the DPOs across the country. And that, the challenges are not peculiar to one particular state stressing that the state of police stations across the country is pathetic. He adds that the Force Headquarters is constrained and cannot fund the various police divisions, area commands and state commands appropriately because, “we cannot give what we don’t have.” Mba advises officers and men of the Nigeria Police to do everything “humanly possible,” to do the job well despite the “challenges and constraints”

From the submissions of high-ranking officers of the Nigeria Police Force, it is obvious that the federal government is not competent enough to run the number one internal security organization of the country. It is more disturbing that this is happening in a period of rising global security challenges, not to mention that the country is under serious security threat by various terrorist organizations. Now, should the Police be decentralized?  So that each state will independently cater for her internal security. What do you think should be the best way out?

Source:  nigeriapolicewatch

Tuesday 16 July 2013

We rejected N15m bribe from illegal oil bunkerers – Lt-Col Otu

BENIN CITY — OFFICERS from the 4 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Edo State under the code name, Operation Pulo Shield, weekend revealed how 11 suspected illegal oil bunkerers, operating from Benett Island, Delta State attempted to induce them with N15 million bribe.

Speaking on the operation that led to the arrest of the suspects, while parading 11 of them at 4 Brigade Headquarters, Benin City, 3 Battalion Commander, Lt.Col. Ifeanyi Otu said his men were offered N15 million by the economic saboteurs to look the other way.

He said most of the suspects, however, claimed to be employees of an oil service firm, JACK MARINE, but engaged as third parties to convey sludge in chartered vessels.

While lamenting the incessant activities of bunkerers in the Niger Delta, Otu, however, said their activities had been curtailed since the launch of the Operation Pulo Shield, under Brigade Commander, Brig.-Gen. Pat Akem.

According to him, “What we are witnessing is a result of relentless efforts by the Brigade Commander, Brig.-Gen. Pat Akem, which has led to their arrest.

“Two individuals met me, claimed that they had papers to load sludge in the Niger Delta, but I knew that in the area they were talking of (Igbokoda), had no flow station there, there is no refinery there. Based on that, I made investigations.

“Barely two days after, another person came and offered me N15 million, N5 million per vessel and another N7 million for my operating officers. We later got information that some vessels were in the area and we moved in. They confessed that though they were told to come and load sludge, they were there for illegal oil bunkering.

“Let me use this opportunity to reiterate the determination of the Operation Pulo Shield on zero-tolerance for crime and appeal to others to desist.” He lamented that in spite of arrests made “others still indulge.”

Captain of one of the vessels, Steve Fregene, said he and his crew members might have been deceived into the adventure.

He said, “I was engaged to pick sludge aboard. I am working with Jack Marine, but another company chartered the company’s vessels to convey sludge. Soldiers came aboard on 11 (July) and told us we were on illegal operation. They asked. ‘Did you see any refinery,’ and I said no. It’s like they deceived us, we are all family men here, not criminals. We are all salary earners, I, as captain, earn N300, 000 monthly.”

Copyright: 2013 Vanguard Media Limited, Nigeria

Link: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/07/we-rejected-n15m-bribe-from-illegal-oil-bunkerers-lt-col-otu/

FG bars 10 corrupt firms from doing business in Nigeria

The Federal Government made what appears to be its first major breakaway from dubious state contractors Monday, when it barred 10 companies from doing business in the country, following their alleged corrupt practices.
The measures announced amid last week’s release of the Transparency International Corruption Index report which suggests a worsening corruption trend in the country, dated back the penalties to as far back as the year 2000.
The affected companies are Scientific Energy and Environmental Management System of 23B Ijora Drive, MKO Gardens, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, debarred from June 17, 2013 to June 17, 2015; SNC Lavalin, C/O Aluko Oyebode, 35 Moloney Street, Lagos debarred from May 7, 2013 to April 17, 2023; Sego Ventures, 17B Canery Drive, MKO Gardens, Lagos, debarred from June 3, 2011 to August 1, 2013; Gurpreet Singh Malik, Lagos, permanently debarred since February 11, 2000. Kamal Sharda, Lagos, Sharda Impex (U.K), Lagos, Shereena Agriculture Ltd, Kano, Vikram Deepak Gursahaney, Lagos, has also been permanently debarred from February 11, 2000. Karitex Ltd was permanently debarred from February 24, 2000; and Contransimex Nig Ltd barred from May 30, 2012 to May 29, 2014.
Emeka Ezeh, director-general of  the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), made this known in Abuja, at a one- day stakeholders’ workshop on the presentation of debarment procedure.
Ezeh said the move was to ensure effective implementation of the Public Procurement Act 2007.
“For the successful implementation of the public procurement Act 2007, the bureau has developed a debarment procedure after other international good practices that currently exist elsewhere across the globe.
“The proposed debarment procedure is one of the mechanisms developed by the bureau, to punish procurement related corrupt activities and inculcate the required discipline in Nigeria’s public procurement system”, he said.
Ezeh said the step would “ultimately improve the way to do business to meet international good practices”. He said the process was not new in the procurement value chain across the globe but had been implemented by other countries, even in Africa.
Ezeh said that the U.S. debarment process was among the oldest and its grounds included anti-trust, tax evasion, false statements and bribery in procurement related activities.
He listed the countries that had established their own systems as Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, Zimbabwe, United Kingdom, Bangladesh , Denmark and Senegal, among others.
“In 2007, Nigeria also adopted cross-debarment system in the case of Messrs Lahmeyer International, which was debarred by the World Bank”, he said.
He said the Federal Government, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation circular No. SGF/CP/I/5.3/VII/814 of January 19, 2007 concurrently debarred Messrs Lahmeyer international in Nigeria.
“Therefore, what the bureau is trying to implement is not new, as it already exists in other climes where the public procurement law has been implemented”, he said.
With this debarment, the 10 companies will not be allowed do business in the country, according to their years of debarment, in addition to other sanctions that may follow.
The ban on the companies was prompted by the report from both the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank Group.
Corruption is endemic in the country, cutting across the social strata of the society and ranging from the monumental fuel subsidy scam, to a massive scam uncovered in the pension administration. Senior government officials have also been named in brazen corrupt practices.
Transparency International in its 2012 Corruption Index said Nigeria is highly corrupt, being the 35th most corrupt nation in the world.
A breakdown of the barred companies shows 10 were barred by the World Bank and the remaining three by the Inter-American Development Bank Group.
Ezeh said the key objective of the debarment procurement was to ensure prevention and deterrence.
He advised contractors and service providers who wish to continue doing business with the Federal Government to put in place anti-corruption mechanisms, to avoid debarment.
Ezeh said “if you violate any provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007, if one offers bribe and generally misrepresents facts and lies about his capability, with a view to changing the outcome of the procurement process, one is liable to sanctions”.
He said debarment or sanctions were usually placed on companies doing businesses without recourse to due process, or for encouraging bribery and corruption in procurement processes, which negate the rules, as enshrined in Nigerian Procurement Act of 2007.
By: BADEJO ADEMUYIWA

Chinese Police Insist GSK Paid Bribes

British drugmaker, GlaxoSmithKline Plc channelled bribes to Chinese officials and doctors through travel agencies for six years to illegally boost sales and to raise the price of its medicines in China, police said on Monday.

Four senior Chinese executives from GlaxoSmithKline had been detained, said Gao Feng, head of the economic crimes investigation unit at the Ministry of Public Security.

Since 2007 the company had transferred as much as 3 billion yuan (323.5 million pounds) to more than 700 travel agencies and consultancies, Gao told a news conference. He did not make clear how much of this money was spent bribing officials and doctors.

Last week the Ministry of Public Security said GSK executives in China had confessed to bribery and tax violations.

Until Monday, Chinese authorities had released few details on the probe into Britain's biggest drugmaker, one of a string of investigations into foreign firms and their pricing practices in the world's second-biggest economy, reports Reuters.

"We have sufficient reason to suspect that these transfers were conducted illegally," Gao said.

"You could say the travel agencies and GSK were criminal partners. Among the partners, GSK was mainly responsible. In a criminal organisation there is always a leader."

GSK officials were not immediately available for comment on Monday. The company has previously said it had found no evidence of bribery or corruption in China, but added it would cooperate with the authorities. It has said it was only told about the investigation in early July.

The detained executives include Liang Hong, vice president and operations manager of GSK (China) Investment Co Ltd and Zhang Guowei, the company's vice president and human resources director, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

It was unclear if any of the executives had legal representation.

Chinais an increasingly important country for international drugmakers, which are relying on growth in emerging markets to offset slower sales in Western markets where many former top-selling medicines have lost patent protection.

IMS Health, which tracks pharmaceutical industry trends, expects China to overtake Japan as the world's second biggest drugs market behind the United States by 2016.

The charges of bribery make the GSK case the highest profile corporate investigation in China since four executives from mining giant Rio Tinto Plc were jailed in March 2010 for taking bribes and stealing commercial secrets.

Gao gave no specific examples of how the bribery involving the GSK executives worked in practice. He said there were also instances of "sexual bribery", although he did not elaborate.

The official People's Daily newspaper said GSK collaborated with travel agencies to funnel bribes to doctors and officials by creating fake "conference services" as expenditure for GSK in order to misappropriate funds, some of which would then be spent on bribes.

GSK supplies key products such as vaccines in China, as well as drugs for lung disease and cancer.

dailytimes

Corruption and Governance Failure in Africa

African is endowed with vast mineral resources estimated a quarter of the total world mineral deposit. However, the mineral resources deposits has not transformed into development for its people. The continent remains the poorest in terms of income poverty and is on the lowest indices in social indicators ranging from life expectancy, illiteracy rates, water and sanitation, nutrition, diseases etc.

 According to the World Bank Report 2010, 48.5 percent of People in Sub-Saharan African live below the $1.25 a day poverty headcount ratio in contrast with 2.4% in the Middle East and North Africa. It is obvious that the massive wealth accruing from the continents mineral resources only benefits few with the remaining vast population wallowing in abject poverty.

Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guineas, and Gabon are amongst the resource rich countries but each is plagued by poverty and now facing insurrections which is a clear manifestation of misrule and mismanagement of the continent resources.  Africa experience is that the higher the resource rent the higher the corruption. Why is the vast wealth of Africa failing to translate into development for its people? The often cited reasons are; weak government institutions, absence of anti-corruption mechanisms, lack of political will, rent seeking, governance failure greed and absence of a national identity etc.

The ills of corruption is however one of the greatest challenges of development in Africa. A form of corruption is exemplified in the abuse of public office for private gains.  Elected political office holders in Africa use governance as an opportunity to amass private wealth at the expense of the populace thereby affecting the delivery of public goods and service. Electoral fraud is another disruptive form of corruption affecting the enthronement of democracy, as it encourages a zero sum politics also occasioning electoral violence. It has an enormous effect on nation building which could be tied to social and economic development.
It is within this context that Africa continues to rank low on all corruption index. Taking the Transparency Corruption Perception Index 2012 as an example, the highest ranked countries in Africa on the CPI are Ghana 64, South Africa 69, Sao Tome and Principle 72, Liberia 75 and Burkina Faso 83 with Somalia, Sudan, Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Zimbabwe Chad, Guinea, and Uganda, all below the table.
It is against this framework and the consequences attached that the African Union AU introduced the  African Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance (ACDEG) calling on state parties to fight against corruption in conformity with the provision of the AU convention on prevention and combating corruption adopted in Maputo, Mozambique in July 2003. The ACDEG further states;
Article 27 states that in other to advance political, economic and social governance, state parties shall commit themselves to improve efficiency and effectiveness of public services and combating corruption.
Article 32 states that state parties shall strive to institutionalize good political governance through accountable, efficient and effective public administration and organize regular, free and fair election.
Article 33 states that states parties shall institutionalize good economic and corporate governance through inter alia of effective and efficient public sector management.
•Promoting transparency in public finance management.
•Preventing and combating corruption and related offences.

African states should support the African Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance (ACDEG) to jointly combat and eliminate corruption, so that Africa can attain her full potential for sustainable development and the well being of African people.

These goals can be achieved through:
•The ratification and implementation of the ACDEG.
•Enforce anti corruption laws.
•Improve sociopolitical and economic life.
•Social transformation in educating the public of the necessary factor in social transformation.
•Strengthening existing institutions among strong executive branch and week legislature and judiciary.
•Governments need to integrate anti-corruption actions into all aspects of decision-making. They must prioritise better rules on lobbying and political financing, make public spending and contracting more transparent
Creation of anti-corruption agencies where they do not exist, the independence of these institutions should be guaranteed;
Engaging in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative;
Governments need to integrate anti-corruption actions into all aspects of decision-making.
They must prioritize better rules on lobbying and political financing; make public spending and contracting more transparent
Media and civil society must play a key role in fighting corruption in Africa 

Monday 15 July 2013

Citizens Score Jonathan Low On Anti-Corruption - Transparency International

Despite the claims by the federal government that the Jonathan administration is waging a committed fight against corruption, majority of Nigerians say the government is merely paying lip service to the effort to stamp out corruption, a survey by Transparency International has shown.
The result of the survey, tagged 'Global Corruption Barometer 2013', said to be the biggest-ever public opinion survey on corruption, released on Monday, showed 75 per cent of Nigerians say the government's effort at fighting corruption is ineffective.
Only 14 per cent of those surveyed say the government's effort is achieving results.
Also, 94 per cent of Nigerians think corruption is a problem with 78 per cent saying it is a serious problem.

Police and Political parties
The report also showed that most Nigerians believe political parties and the police are the most corrupt institutions in the country. About 94 per cent say political parties are affected by corruption while 92 per cent say the police is tainted with corruption.

Other institutions that performed abysmally in the survey are the legislature with 77 per cent corruption perception, the civil service with 69 per cent, the judiciary with 66 per cent and the education system with 54 per cent.

The military has 45 per cent corruption rating. Medical and health services are tied with businesses, with 41 per cent corruption perception, while the media and non-governmental organisations have a perception rate of 33 and 32 per cent respectively.

According to Nigerians, the least corrupt institutions are religious bodies with 24 per cent perception.
Over the past two years, 85 per cent of Nigerians think corruption has increased (75 per cent say it has increased a lot), 7 per cent says it has remained the same while 9 per cent says it has decreased (only 1 per cent says it has decreased a lot).

Over the past 12 months, the report says, 81 per cent of Nigerians say they have given a bribe to the police, 30 per cent of those surveyed say they have paid a bribe for education services, 29 per cent have given a bribe to the registry and permit services, same for utilities, and 24 per cent have given a bribe to the judiciary.

Source: Vanguard

The most corrupt countries in the world

More than half of the world's population believes corruption in the public sector is a very serious problem. Liberia and Mongolia are the two most corrupt countries in the world, according to a recent study. In both countries, 86% of residents believe corruption in the public sector is a very serious problem. Residents in the vast majority of countries around the world believe corruption has only gotten worse in the past two years.

Anti-corruption nonprofit Transparency International has released its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer, which surveyed residents in 107 countries. The world's corrupt nations differ in many ways. Four are located in Africa, three in Latin America and two in Asia. These nations also vary considerably in size and population. Mongolia has just 3.2 million residents, while Mexico, Nigeria and Russia are three of the largest countries on the globe, each with more than 100 million people. Based on the percentage of surveyed residents that reported corruption in the public sector is a very serious problem, these are the world's most corrupt nations.

What many of these nations do have in common is that their people are largely opposed to corruption. Globally, 69% of people questioned by Transparency International said they would report corruption if they encountered it. In seven of the nine nations with the worst corruption, residents were at least slightly more likely to oppose corruption. In Paraguay, one of the countries with high corruption, 90% of citizens said they would report corruption, while 87% and 86% said they would do so in Mexico and Russia, respectively.

Many of those surveyed in the highly corrupt countries also felt their governments were not holding up their end of the bargain. In seven of the nine countries, more than half of those questioned felt their government was ineffective at fighting corruption. In Liberia, 86% of residents surveyed said their government was ineffective at fighting the problem. This was the largest proportion of any of the 107 nations Transparency International surveyed.
While corruption appears to affect every part of the public sector, certain segments were much worse than the rest. Globally, at least 60% of respondents claimed political parties and police were corrupt. Additionally, more than 50% of people stated their legislature, their public officials and their judiciary were corrupt.

In the world's most corrupt nations, those institutions were, naturally, even worse. In Nigeria, 94% of people claimed their political parties were corrupt, the most in the world. Similarly, 96% of Liberians reported their legislature was corrupt, also the most in the world. In eight of the nine most corrupt nations, more than 80% of residents considered the police to be corrupt.

Many of these nations remain among the world's less-developed, and they lack the resources of the United States, Japan and the European Union nations. Among the most corrupt nations, only Mexico, Russia and Venezuela had an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) per capita over $10,000 in 2012. None were among the top 50 nations measured in GDP per capita. By comparison, the U.S. per capita GDP was estimated to be nearly $50,000.

Based on figures published by Transparency International, 24/7 Wall St. determined the nations with the highest percentage of respondents who claimed corruption was a very serious problem. Transparency International also provided other figures on corruption perception. Data on GDP by nation came from the International Monetary Fund. Population statistics are from The CIA World Factbook.
9. Zambia
  • Pct. saying corruption very serious: 77%
  • Pct. claiming public officials corrupt: 65% (41st highest)
  • Pct. claiming police corrupt: 92% (tied f0r 4th highest)
  • 2012 GDP per capita: $1,722
In September 2011, Zambia held elections that resulted in the election of President Michael Sata. Since Sata's victory, several officials from the past administration, including former President Rupiah Banda, have been arrested for corruption. Complicating matters, many of the corruption allegations relate to government officials receiving improper benefits from Chinese investors, who are unpopular in much of the country yet provide direct investment and jobs. Zambia's residents are poor, with an estimated GDP per capita of just $1,722 in 2012, versus nearly $50,000 in the United States. An extremely high 85% of residents claimed they had been asked to pay a bribe in the past.
8. Nigeria
  • Pct. saying corruption very serious: 78%
  • Pct. claiming public officials corrupt: 69% (28th highest)
  • Pct. claiming police corrupt: 92% (tied for 4th highest)
  • 2012 GDP per capita: $2,720
In Nigeria, 84% of those surveyed by Transparency International claimed corruption had increased in the past two years, a higher percentage than almost any other country in the world. Troublingly, 75% of those surveyed also said the government was, at best, ineffective at fighting corruption, worse than in all but 10 countries. Nigeria is heavily dependent on the oil industry, yet the government refuses to act on accusations the oil companies underreporting the value of the resources they extract and the tax they owe by billions of dollars. Certain transparency groups also blamed politicians for encouraging corruption. In 2012, Nigeria had just the 37th largest GDP in the world, despite having the world's seventh largest population.
7. Russia
  • Pct. saying corruption very serious: 79% (tied for 5th highest)
  • Pct. claiming public officials corrupt: 92% (the highest)
  • Pct. claiming police corrupt: 89% (10th highest)
  • 2012 GDP per capita: $17,709
According to 82% of individuals surveyed, it is important to have personal contacts to get anything done in Russia's public sector. Additionally, 85% of Russians stated the government was run by just a few large entities for their own best interests. The only two other countries where residents were more likely to feel this way were Lebanon and Cyprus. The latter was known until recently as a haven for Russian oligarchs' money. These hyper-wealthy individuals often have close political ties, which allowed many to become wealthy during Russia's post-Soviet privatization.
6. Paraguay
  • Pct. saying corruption very serious: 79% (tied for 5th highest)
  • Pct. claiming public officials corrupt: 58% (55th highest)
  • Pct. claiming police corrupt: 82% (26th highest)
  • 2012 GDP per capita: $6,136
In few nations were personal connections considered to be more important than in Paraguay. As many as 88% of the country's residents said such contacts were important in getting things done within the public sector, a higher proportion than all but two other countries worldwide. This was also the reasoning behind the majority of bribes, with 63% of all such payments going toward speeding up a service. Worse, 78% of residents noted that their government had been either ineffective or very ineffective at fighting corruption, one of the highest proportions worldwide.
5. Mexico
  • Pct. saying corruption very serious: 79% (tied for 5th highest)
  • Pct. claiming public officials corrupt: 87% (3rd highest)
  • Pct. claiming police corrupt: 90% (8th highest)
  • 2012 GDP per capita: $15,312
Globally, 53% of individuals surveyed by Transparency International claimed that corruption had risen in the past two years. However, in Mexico, that figure was 71% as the country's citizens have become less tolerant of corruption. In addition, 72% of those polled stated the Mexican government was ineffective in fighting corruption, while 78% claimed that having personal contacts was either important or very important in getting the public sector to be helpful. Last year, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) won elections nationwide to return to power despite previous allegations of heavy corruption. In a July 2012 article, Time magazine described corruption as "the stubborn remnant of the PRI's seven decades of authoritarian rule that is at the heart of the drug lords' ability to operate in Mexico."
4. Zimbabwe
  • Pct. saying corruption very serious: 81%
  • Pct. claiming public officials corrupt: 70% (25th highest)
  • Pct. claiming police corrupt: 86% (15th highest)
  • 2012 GDP per capita: $559
Roughly 77% of those surveyed claimed that corruption in Zimbabwe had risen in the past two years, a higher percentage than in all but a few other countries. Potentially contributing to this rise, longtime President Robert Mugabe failed to keep past elections free from violence and voting irregularities. Mugabe's opponent is likely far more popular with the people, but the upcoming elections on July 31 could still end up rigged in the Mugabe's favor. More than three-quarters of residents stated that the government was run largely or entirely by a few entities acting in their own best interests.
3. Venezuela
  • Pct. saying corruption very serious: 83%
  • Pct. claiming public officials corrupt: 79% (9th highest)
  • Pct. claiming police corrupt: 83% (24th highest)
  • 2012 GDP per capita: $13,616
Venezuela's long-ruling socialist president, Hugo Chavez, passed away in March. Corruption was a concern in Venezuela since before Chavez's first election victory in 1998. His chosen successor, Nicolas Maduro, has vowed to end corruption, which has often been associated with Venezuela's socialist government. Before April's presidential election, opposition candidate Henrique Capriles claimed that nationalization of private businesses allowed public officials to control major industries for personal profit. In Venezuela, 79% of respondents said their nation's political officials were corrupt, among the highest percentages in the world.
2. Mongolia
  • Pct. saying corruption very serious: 86% (tied for the highest)
  • Pct. claiming public officials corrupt: 77% (12th highest)
  • Pct. claiming police corrupt: 66% (49th highest)
  • 2012 GDP per capita: $5,372
Mongolia had one of the world's fastest growing economies in 2012, when its GDP rose an estimated 12.3%, according to the IMF. But corruption has been identified by USAID as a critical threat to the country's continued growth as well as to its democracy. Corruption has become pervasive in the country, after "rapid transition to democracy and a market economy created huge demands on bureaucracy that lacks the [means] to prevent corruption," according to the organization. Encouragingly, less than half of all people surveyed in the country said that corruption had increased in the past two years, versus 53% of respondents worldwide. Also, while 77% of people considered public officials to be corrupt, just 12% believed the country's government to be run by a few large, purely self-interested entities.
1. Liberia
  • Pct. saying corruption very serious: 86% (tied for the highest)
  • Pct. claiming public officials corrupt: 67% (35th highest)
  • Pct. claiming police corrupt: 94% (3rd highest)
  • 2012 GDP per capita: $673
The vast majority of Liberians surveyed said they believed the country was run either largely or entirely by a few entities acting in their own self-interest. A world-leading 86% of residents who spoke to Transparency International claimed their government had been either ineffective or very ineffective at fighting corruption, while 96% of residents claimed Liberia's legislature was corrupt, also the highest percentage of any nation. A stunning 75% of residents surveyed claimed they had paid a bribe to secure some service, trailing only Sierra Leone. In all, 80% of the population had at one point been asked to pay a bribe. Recently, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf fired the country's auditor general for corruption.

Source usatoday

Court rules on $15m Ibori bribe September 20

Justice Gabrael Kolawole of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja will on September 20, 2013 deliver judgment on the ownership of the $15 million alleged bribe money of a former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, which is the subject of a legal tussle between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Delta State Government.

The Delta State Government is claiming ownership of the money allegedly given Ibori as bribe to stave-off arrest by a former Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

The EFCC had in July 2012 approached the court, through an ex- parte application, requesting for an order forfeiting the Ibori bribe, which had been lying in the vaults of the Central Bank of Nigeria for more than five years, to the Federal Government as unclaimed proceeds of crime.

Following the application, the court on July 24, 2012 ordered the EFCC to publish an interim order of forfeiture in a national newspaper (Thisday Newspaper), alerting any one with claim to the said money to state such claims within 14 days.

Three parties, including the Delta State Government, indicated interest.
While the others have since abandoned their claim to the Ibori bribe, the Delta State Government has continued to pursue its claim.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Wednesday, the EFCC closed its case, urging Justice Kolawole to dismiss the claim by the Delta State Government to the $15 million and order the final forfeiture of the sum to the Federal Government, in line with the provisions of Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.

It submitted that the Delta State Government’s claim to the bribe lacked merit as the same government had in 2007 instituted an action against the Commission and the Attorney General of the Federation, stating that Ibori should not be investigated and that the state had lost no money from its treasury.

“My lord, it is too late for the Delta State Attorney General to lay claim to this money because of his action where he instituted a case against the Commission, saying the governor should not be investigate,” Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) and counsel to the EFCC, stated.

Jacob went on to reveal that in paragraph 10 of the affidavit deposed in the said case by the Delta State Attorney General, it was stated that the state’s Accountant General, after a thorough investigation, had concluded that no money was lost and that they have no complaint of any missing money.

The EFCC counsel further averred that the Commission, having unequivocally stated that the money was given as a bribe and that no one has come up to claim ownership, Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences has given the court power to order the final forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government.

Source: dailypost

Sunday 14 July 2013

Corruption Becoming a Cultural Problem in South Africa

Corruption is always in the news, in fact it has become so common, that it is no longer surprising. It no longer shocks the sense, at least not for ordinary South Africans and the country is fast approaching a stage where no one will bother making noise about it anymore. A recent survey revealed that even the South African Police Service (SAPS), which is supposed to be fighting corruption, is perceived to be corrupt. On Thursday National Commissioner General Riah Phiyega launched an anti-corruption unit aimed at eradicating corruption within the SAPS.

In the years since independence, ordinary South Africans have been trying to build new lives, for themselves and for the generations to come- all things bright and beautiful, except it has proven to not be as easy as some initially thought. For those that break their backs to build the future, they have at some point encountered those that would not break their backs, but instead hold the keys to the gates of success of those that do and will charge a small fee for those who want to pass through. That fee is the much beloved bribe.

To grease the wheels on your way to success it has become almost acceptable, if not probable that some sort of corruption will take place. Unfortunately, the one who can pay the bribe is often not one of the back-breakers, but instead a short-cutter, who doesn’t have what it takes to do the job well. Public officials are bribed to approve certain business activities- they, that should be protecting the public and upholding up the standards of the country we are all trying to build, are putting us in the hands of those who simply want to take advantage of the system.

Corruption as we all know destroys the fiber of society, often milking those that cannot afford to be milked and yet can be found at all levels, in schools, businesses and government. The culture of corruption is an open secret for the world to see and while the country is on the global stage, displaying itself as a bright light on the continent- everyone knows what goes on when the lights go out and it could be crippling South Africa’s chances of bringing in major investors.

After the exuberance of winning a well fought independence, most African countries are left suddenly by their colonial masters and an incredible gap of business leadership is left behind. Into that gap, as often happens, is placed individuals who want their time to shine, who want what they believe they deserve after decades of suffering and toiling under unjust systems and they decide to pay themselves their dues- because they can, and not because they should.

Corruption has become a major culture, no one is shocked by it, as Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has said “Corruption is becoming a cultural problem in South Africa. We need to fight the culture of corruption. A culture of easy money making and not having to think hard, work hard, be clever and find an innovative way of making money.” While gift giving is a central part of African culture, corruption has taken it to new levels. Levels that quite frankly are not acceptable on the global stage, the business environment on the continent might be new, but it will be held to the exact same standards as the rest of the world and it would be tragic if South Africa loses out on investors because certain individuals believe that “taking a bribe, isn’t really hurting anyone.”

Source: publicnewshub

Friday 12 July 2013

Bribery is not a cultural tradition

The human rights organization Transparency International published the annual research “Barometer of World Corruption”, according to which in 2013 the level of corruption grew in the world. 50% of interviewed respondents in Russia believe that the level of corruption in the country grew in last two years; 37% think that it increased significantly. 39% say that corruption in the RF remains at the same level. 79% of those interviewed think that corruption is a serious problem; only 1% don’t consider corruption to be a problem. 77% believe that the state acts ineffectively in the fight against corruption.

Russian citizens think that the most corrupt elements are bureaucrats and state employees – 92%; the police take second place with 89%. 84% of people don’t believe in the honesty of judges; 83% - in the honesty of MPs. 77% think that political parties are corrupt; 75% - healthcare workers. In a year, 49% of respondents bribed healthcare workers, 47% - educational sphere employees. Only 20% gave bribes to the police.

The majority of Russian citizens – 56% - don’t believe that ordinary people can effectively fight corruption. At the same time, 92% of respondents are ready to take part in the struggle against bribery.

“Corruption is a dynamic process. It extends and deepens,” member of the board of Transparency and International (Russia), Yuli Nicnevich, says. “There are some traditional things which used not to be considered corrupt. This only relates to Russia: in many African countries the tradition of giving a present, a tradition of foster care is a cultural tradition. But today a cultural tradition has turned into a corrupt scheme. This doesn’t mean corruption is a part of their culture. The story is the opposite. I will give you an example. In Soviet times there was a mechanism called “blat.” It means profitable connections. Today 70% believe that connections with representatives of power are very important. It is a transformation of “blat” into another form. Is this a cultural tradition? I don’t think it is a cultural tradition. It is an anti-cultural tradition. This is what the Soviet authorities imposed on society.

There was a time when experts thought that corruption at conversational level had some positive effect because it overcame bureaucratic barriers. Big studies were conducted showing that it wasn’t so. If we count all the costs, it will be more expensive than following a non-corrupt way. This should be explained to people.”

According to the deputy head of Transparency International (Russia) Antona Pominova, “corruption is an institutional problem. If we say it is cultural, it appears we are culturally closer to Somali and Congo than to Estonia and Finland. We think this is not true and the problem is in state institutes.”

“All countries can be divided into two big clusters,” Yuli Nisnevich says. “In some countries the state functions in the context of competition; when competition is gone, corruption replaces it. Unfortunately, Russia is a state where corruption is a foundation in various spheres.

Corruption is a dynamic process. It can start from something tiny and then extend and deepen. Almost all spheres are infected in our country. I don’t think it’s crucial whether the level grows or decreases, if we understand that the whole mechanism is based on corruption. People assess attempts at fighting corruption. Understanding that it is not a fight, but its imitation, has increased by 20%. We can confirm it. Granted the existence of untouchable people, corruption cannot be defeated.”

Source

Transparency International (TI) rates Nigeria 8th most corrupt

Anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International (TI) has ranked Nigeria as the eighth most corrupt in its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer.

107 countries were surveyed. Others in the first eight on the corruption ladder are,  Zambia, Paraguay, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Russia, with Liberia and Mongolia tying at the top of the table.

In continental distribution, two are domiciled in Asia, four located in Africa, and three in Latin America.

Nigeria is also one of the largest in size and population on the list, alongside Mexico and Russia, with each having over 100 million people.

According to the report, “Certain transparency groups also blamed politicians for encouraging corruption. In 2012, Nigeria had just the 37th largest GDP in the world, despite having the world’s seventh largest population. In Liberia, the majority of Liberians surveyed said they believed the country was run either largely or entirely by a few entities acting in their own self interest.

“A world-leading 86per cent of residents who spoke to Transparency International claimed their government had been either ineffective or very ineffective at fighting corruption, while 96 per cent of residents claimed Liberia’s legislature was corrupt, also the highest percentage of any nation.
A stunning 75 per cent of residents surveyed claimed they had paid a bribe to secure some service, trailing only Sierra Leone.

“In all, 80 per cent  of the population had at one point been asked to pay a bribe. Recently, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf fired the country’s auditor general for corruption. Many of those surveyed in the highly corrupt countries also felt their governments were not holding up their end of the bargain.

“In seven of the nine countries, more than half of those questioned felt their government was ineffective at fighting corruption. In Liberia, 86 per cent  of residents surveyed said their government was ineffective at fighting the problem. This was the largest proportion of any of the 107 nations Transparency International surveyed. While corruption appears to affect every part of the public sector, certain segments were much worse than the rest.

“Globally, at least 60 per cent of respondents claimed political parties and police were corrupt. Additionally, more than 50 per cent  of people stated their legislature, their public officials and their judiciary were corrupt.

“In the world’s most corrupt nations, those institutions were, naturally, even worse. In Nigeria, 94 per cent of people claimed their political parties were corrupt, the most in the world. Similarly, 96 per cent  of Liberians reported their legislature was corrupt, also the most in the world. In eight of the nine most corrupt nations, more than 80 per cent of residents considered the police to be corrupt.”

Tuesday 9 July 2013

Misconduct: Four AIGs, 191 seniors police officers face disciplinary panel

Four Assistant Inspectors General of Police and 191 other senior police officers are facing charges before the Force Disciplinary Committee for various cases of misconduct.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Administration, Suleiman Fakai, who heads the committee, made this disclosure on Monday at a media briefing in Abuja.

According to him, 17 Commissioners of Police, two Deputy Commissioners of Police and six Assistant Commissioners of Police would also appear before the committee.

“We have a total of 195 officers appearing before us for various cases of indiscipline, he said.
“We have four AIGs here to face us, 17 CPs, two DCPs, six ACPs and the remaining are from CSPs to ASPs.”

Fakai stated that one each of CP, ACP, and CSP and two SPs as well as eight CSPs had been dismissed for serious cases of misconduct in the last one year.
He said two CSPs, one SP and 13 ASPS were compulsorily retired, also for misconduct, while a DCP, three CSPs, seven SP, a DSP and 10 ASPs were demoted also in the same period.

He disclosed that the current police administration, upon resumption in January 2012 inherited over 3,000 cases of indiscipline, adding that most of them have been looked into.

Continuing, “The Force Disciplinary Committee comprise of all the Deputy Inspectors General of Police and the Force Secretary who serves as its secretary.
“The committee essentially reviews disciplinary matters involving officers from the rank of ASP and above who may have erred in the course of their duties.”
Fakai said that the committee was mandated to make appropriate recommendations to the Police Service Commission on all cases it handles.

“This is in line with extant provisions and Force policy guiding discipline and geared towards upholding professionalism, respect for the rule of law and human rights among senior police officers,” Fakai said.

The committee which meets every two weeks, will between July 8 and July 12 hear disciplinary cases against the 195 Senior Officers appearing before it.

Source: dailypost

Saturday 6 July 2013

Four AIGs, 191 other senior police officers face disciplinary panel

FOUR Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) are among 195 senior police officers facing charges before the Force Disciplinary Committee (FDC) for various cases of misconduct, DIG Suleiman Fakai, has said.

  Fakai, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Administration, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at a news conference.

  He stated that 17 Commissioners of Police, two Deputy Commissioners of Police and six Assistant Commissioners of Police would also appear before the committee.

  “We have a total of 195 officers appearing before us for various cases of indiscipline.
  “We have four AIGs here to face us, 17 CPs, two DCPs, six ACPs and the remaining are from CSPs to ASPs,” he said.

  Fakai, who chairs the committee, said one each of CP, ACP, and CSP, and two SPs, as well as eight CSPs have been dismissed for serious cases of misconduct in the last one year.

  According to him, two CSPs, one SP and 13 ASPS were compulsorily retired, also for misconduct, while a DCP, three CSPs, seven SP, a DSP and 10 ASPs were demoted during the period.
  Fakai said the current police administration had in January 2012 inherited over 3,000 cases of indiscipline, but added that the cases had been reduced to the barest minimum.

  “The Force Disciplinary Committee comprises all the Deputy Inspectors General of Police and the Force Secretary who serves as its secretary.

  “The committee essentially reviews disciplinary matters involving officers from the rank of ASP and above who may had erred in the course of their duties,” he said.
  He said the committee was mandated to make appropriate recommendations to the Police Service Commission on all cases it handled.

  “This is in line with extant provisions and Force policy guiding discipline geared towards upholding professionalism, respect for rule of law and human rights among senior police officers,” Fakai said.
  The committee meets fortnightly, except in emergency situations, to consider cases of misconduct forwarded to it.

  The committee is expected to meet between July 8 and July 12 to hear disciplinary cases against the 195 senior officers appearing before it.
Source: guardiannews

Monday 1 July 2013

Nigeria police officers unlawfully detain businessman, demand N300,000 bail ransom

A misunderstanding between two business associates of 7 years has resulted in the illegal arrest and detention of Francis Obi of Allied Drilling Company Ltd. Lagos.



He was arrested by some “ill identified” security operatives in Lagos on 26 June 2013. His arrest was arranged by one Ikenna Okoye of Great Lake Oil and Gas Ltd. Sokoto, a partner in the sales of drilling equipment, an NGO monitoring the case said.

Both businessmen had a disagreement over the quality of a Water Drilling Rig sold to the later by the former to the tune of N35 Million on May 23, 2013 in Lagos. This resulted in the arrest and detention of Mr. Obi in Sokoto State CID office till date.

A petition on the matter to the Inspector General of Police by Network on Police Reform in Nigeria, NOPRIN, said the officers who arrested Mr. Obi disguised their identity to transport Mr. Obi to Sokoto, after arresting him in Lagos.

They bundled him without announcing his crime, out of the jurisdiction of the alleged offence – he was later told about. They also denied him opportunity to speak with his lawyer and family.
More so, the arresting police officers have demanded a ransom of N300,000 for his bail, against police rules and regulations which stipulates that bail is free.

Mr. Ikenna, the mastermind of the illegal arrests, has then boasted of riding on the backing of “his friend” the Inspector General of Police to intimidate the victim, NOPRIN said.