As
reactions continue to trail the mild judgement of an Abuja High Court
in the case of John Yakubu Yesufu, a former Director of Police Pension
Office, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has also reacted, saying,
via his Facebook page, that the country’s Legislature needs to come up
with tougher sanctions for graft and corrupt practices, adding that only
such would successfully tackle the high rate of corruption in the
country.
According
to the statement, “There is a need for the Federal Government and
National Assembly to make the anti-corruption law stiffer to serve the
purpose of deterrence against white-collar criminals in the country… The
outrage that greeted the two-year sentence passed on a pension crime
convict has brought to light the major defects of the anti-corruption
law.
“Former
President Olusegun Obasanjo submitted a stiffer draft law which,
however, was watered down by the then National Assembly… Rather than
trading blames, Nigerians should also look at the weaknesses in these
laws and call for urgent review of the laws. The purpose of punishment
is deterrence and the ultimate desire to produce remorse in the hearts
and minds of offenders.
“This,
however, could not be achieved when the punishment is made so light as
to make criminality attractive… A situation where the majority believes
the law is designed against the poor or petty offenders is not too good
for the credibility of the anti-corruption war… The recent outrage over
the light conviction of the pension offender could send the wrong signal
to the international community about the seriousness or sincerity of
Nigeria to fight corruption.
“The
existing penal provisions of the anti-corruption law make it impossible
to impose punishments that fit the gravity of the offences committed by
white-collar criminals… Having played an active role in the formulation
of the anti-corruption laws and creation of the EFCC, I believe that
more than a decade after, it was about time the provisions of the law is
reviewed to strengthen the commission and the anti-graft war.”
TalkOfNaija
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