Probing Jonathan's Administration Exclusively For Corruption Is Selective—Says HURIWA

A pro-Democracy Non-governmental organisation-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has described the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to probe exclusively alleged corrupt acts that may have happened during the four year tenure of the immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration as selective and unfair and therefore must be broadened to include all successive Federal administrations since 1979 till May 29th 2015.

In a statement jointly endorsed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said that the laws of natural justice and morality are all against any governmental policy that would be targeted at a selected group of persons to the exclusions of all others particularly when public corruption and graft reportedly pervaded public and political spaces during the military regimes of General Ibrahim Babangida and late General Sani Abacha.

"Corruption indeed became a general theme of debates as far back as 1983 when some politicians abused import licences and waivers to import rice and even the national chairman of the then ruling party-National party of Nigeria (NPN) was accused of large scale insider abuses which included the importing of customised champagnes for his birthday bashes", HURIWA affirmed.

HURIWA recalled further that from the late General Sani Abacha's military junta several billions of USD of public funds disappeared into PRIVATE offshore bank accounts and were only recovered not too long ago when civil rule returned in 1999 but regrettably the Rights group stated that the federal administration of Olusegun Obasanjo was accused of allegedly diverting substantial percentages of the repatriated stolen funds to private accounts.

"If any sound, deliberate, articulate, forensic, all -inclusive, dispassionate and unbiased investigations of graft and alleged heist of public funds by government officials is to be conducted then this government should commence the probe from the Genesis of corruption in Nigeria and not focus exclusively on the immediate past administration of President Jonathan. Any investigations that are not all inclusive is nothing but selective and politically motivated and therefore renders any expected outcomes null, void and vindictive. "

The Rights group admonished the current government to adopt a comprehensive and broadbased nonpartisan approaches and anti -graft strategies and must fundamentally change the hierarchies of the anti- graft agencies of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)and the independent corrupt practices and allied offences panel (ICPC) for efficiency and effectiveness in the anti corruption war to be won.

"The current leaderships of the anti graft bodies are compromised, corrupt and ineffective and must be changed and replaced with independent -minded experts that will wage an all out anti corruption war devoid of partisanship and eye service as is currently obtained. You can't fight impunity with impunity", HURIWA averred.

HURIWA recalled vividly that the Presidency has confirmed that the Muhammadu Buhari-led government will not extend the administration's anti- corruption probe beyond the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Speaking recently in the U.S, the president said he would arrest and prosecute past ministers and other officials who stole Nigeria’s oil and diverted government’s money to personal accounts.

Buttressing the president’s position, his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Femi Adesina said Mr. Buhari will limit his anti-corruption war to the immediate past administration in the country.

According to him, President Buhari will not waste time in probing the administrations of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Abdulsalam Abubakar, Sani Abacha and Ibrahim Babangida.

But HURIWA said the current dimension of anti corruption war as enunciated by the Presidency aforementioned amounted to impunity and therefore immoral and selective.