Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has requested Mr
Sam Saba, Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau “to use your good offices and
leadership to urgently investigate current and immediate past high-ranking
public officers named in the Panama Papers and others that are maintaining
and operating or have maintained and operated foreign accounts in other
safe havens and secrecy jurisdictions, and to where appropriate refer such
officers to the Code of Conduct Tribunal for prosecution.”
The organisation said that, “We would be grateful if the Bureau could
begin to take these steps within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication
of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then as to the steps the
Bureau is taking to address the concerns raised in this letter, the
Registered Trustees of SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to
compel the Bureau to effectively discharge its constitutional and
statutory mandates in this instance.”
The letter dated 8 April 2016 and signed by SERAP executive director
Adetokunbo Mumuni reads in part: “SERAP believes that the Panama Papers
have shown the extent to which public officers in the country are
concealing their stolen wealth in safe havens and secrecy jurisdictions,
contrary to the Code of Conduct for Public Officers which prohibits public
officers from maintaining and operating foreign accounts.”
“SERAP hopes that the Code of Conduct Bureau will learn from the lessons
of the Panama Papers to combat the abuse of the asset declaration
requirements and not wait for further international disclosures that may
implicate even more public officers in corruption and money laundering.”
“SERAP argues that unless high-ranking public officers who use safe havens
and secrecy jurisdictions to breach the fundamental requirements of asset
declaration are sanctioned, named and shamed, the credibility of the asset
declaration regime as a tool of preventing and combating corruption will
continue to be doubted, and Nigerians will continue to witness climate of
lack of transparency and widespread impunity of corrupt public officers in
the country.”
“SERAP also believes that bodies like the Code of Conduct Bureau should
now seize the opportunity and use its mandate to react to this
international scandal by taking concrete and proactive steps to address
increasing breaches of constitutional provisions by high-ranking public
officers. This action will be entirely consistent with the Nigerian 1999
Constitution (as amended), the law establishing the Bureau, and will meet
demands by Nigerians for improvement in transparency regarding asset
declarations and sanctions of public officers for breaches.”
“Effective asset declaration regime can play an important role in
detecting illicit enrichment and preventing corruption and avoiding the
kind of international embarrassment that the Panama Papers represents for
Nigeria.”
“SERAP notes that the aims and objectives of the Code of Conduct Bureau
include the establishment and maintenance of a high standard of morality
in the conduct of public business and ensuring that the actions and
behaviour of public officers conform to the highest standards of public
morality and accountability.”
SERAP therefore asked the Bureau to:
1.Promptly, thoroughly and transparently investigate and where appropriate
and there is sufficient admissible evidence refer to the Code of Conduct
Tribunal for prosecution current and immediate past governors of the 36
states of the federation and the current and immediate past leaders of the
National Assembly that are maintaining and operating and/or have
maintained operated foreign accounts while in office, including in safe
havens and secrecy jurisdictions like Panama;
2.Promptly, thoroughly and transparently investigate and verify
high-ranking public officers’ asset declaration forms including those
submitted by current and immediate past governors of the 36 states of the
federation and the current and immediate past leaders of the National
Assembly to find out those who have made false declarations in order to
cover up assets illegally acquired in corruption or abuse of office;
3.Name and shame anyone found to have breached the Code of Conduct for
Public Officers through the use of safe havens and secrecy jurisdictions
like Panama, and refer such person to the Code of Conduct Tribunal for
prosecution;
4.Promptly, thoroughly and transparently investigate and prosecute former
governors who currently serve in the National Assembly after their
‘retirement’ as governors and continue to receive remuneration from public
funds in addition to their pension and emolument;
5.Promptly, thoroughly and transparently investigate, name and shame and
where appropriate and there is sufficient admissible evidence refer to the
Code of Conduct Tribunal for prosecution high-ranking public officers who
perform the functions of their offices before submitting their asset
declaration forms to the Code of Conduct Bureau. SERAP believes that since
the declaration of assets precedes the taking of oath of office and oath
of allegiance, a fortiori, a political office holder cannot, strictly
speaking, legally assume office before declaring his assets;
6.Work closely with other anti-corruption agencies to make it harder for
corrupt public officers to access the international financial system such
as Panama to hide and enjoy their ill-gotten wealth
7.Promptly, thoroughly and transparently investigate and where appropriate
and there is sufficient admissible evidence refer to the Code of Conduct
Tribunal for prosecution public officers using shell companies to hide
their identity and ill-gotten wealth. In cases of false declarations, the
Code of Conduct Bureau should publish an open list of the beneficial
owner/controller of all companies and trusts;
8.Share information on asset declaration forms submitted by public
officers with banks to prevent corruption-related money laundering
“SERAP notes that provisions on the declaration of assets by public
officers in Nigeria are entrenched in the Code of Conduct for Public
Officers, contained in Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Nigerian
Constitution. These provisions aim to prevent corruption and abuse of
office, to ensure transparency in public officers and to prevent
high-ranking public officers operating foreign accounts to hide their
ill-gotten wealth.”
“SERAP also notes that acts prohibited by the Code include a public
officer putting himself in a position where his personal interest
conflicts with his duties and official responsibilities; holding two posts
from which he is being paid from public funds; and operating foreign
accounts.”
“The Panama Papers are an unprecedented leak of 11.5m files from the
database of the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm, Mossack Fonseca.
The records were obtained from an anonymous source by the International
Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The ICIJ then shared them
with a large network of international partners, including the Guardian and
the BBC. The documents show the myriad ways in which corrupt public
officers including from Nigeria can exploit secretive offshore regimes to
hide their ill-gotten wealth.”
“Among national leaders and former and current public officers that are
reportedly mentioned in the Panama Papers are: Senate President, Senator
Bukola Saraki; Senator David Mark and the former governor of Delta State,
Chief James Ononefe Ibori. According to reports, Nigerian public officers,
their families and close associates are increasingly using safe havens and
secrecy jurisdictions like Panama to hide their stolen assets.”