Following recent disclosure of funds recovered from some high-ranking<\/p>\n
public officials and private individuals, Socio-Economic Rights and
\nAccountability Project, (SERAP) has sent a Freedom of Information request
\nto the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed asking him to use his
\ngood offices to \u201cwith 14 days of the receipt and\/or publication of this
\nrequest provide information about the names of high ranking public
\nofficials from whom public funds were recovered and the circumstances
\nunder which funds were recovered, as well as the exact amount of funds
\nrecovered from each public official.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we have not heard from you by then, the Registered Trustees of SERAP
\nshall take all appropriate legal actions under the Freedom of Information
\nAct to compel you to comply with our request.\u201d<\/p>\n
The FOI request dated 8 June 2016 and signed by SERAP executive director
\nAdetokunbo Mumuni was copied to the Attorney General of the Federation and
\nMinister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN. The request reads in part:
\n\u201cWhile we believe that suspects generally are entitled to be presumed
\ninnocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, SERAP
\nopposes blanket non-disclosure of names of high-ranking public officials
\nfrom whom some of the funds were recovered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP insists that the public interest to know is greater than any other
\nlegitimate interest that the government might wish to protect. The
\nNigerian government has an obligation to balance whether the risk of harm
\nto the legitimate aim (that is secrecy of ongoing corruption investigation
\nand presumption of innocence) from disclosure of the names of public
\nofficials is greater than the public interest in accessing the
\ninformation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to public interest test, even if the government demonstrates
\nthat the publication of the names of public officials would substantially
\nharm a legitimate interest, it is nevertheless obliged to disclose the
\nrequested information if, as it is the case here, the public interest in
\ndisclosure is sufficient enough to overweigh the harm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP believes that the recoveries, specifically from high-ranking public
\nofficials (and not private individuals), are matters of public interest.
\nPublishing the names of those public officials will provide insights
\nrelevant to the public debate on the ongoing efforts to prevent and combat
\na culture of grand corruption and the longstanding impunity of
\nperpetrators in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe gravity of the crime of grand corruption, the devastating effects on
\nthe socially and economically vulnerable sectors of the population, and
\nthe fact that recovery of huge funds from high-ranking public officials
\nentrusted with the public treasury raise a prima-facie case and therefore
\namount to exceptional circumstances that justify naming those high-ranking
\nofficials in the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP also argues that Nigerians are entitled to the right to truth
\nderived from the obligations of the government to carry out an
\ninvestigation of violations of human rights and crime of corruption
\ncommitted within its jurisdiction; to identify, prosecute and punish those
\nresponsible; and to ensure that victims have the simple and prompt
\nrecourse for protection against violation of fundamental rights, as well
\nas to ensure transparency in public administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP believes that the right to truth allows Nigerians to gain access to
\ninformation essential to the fight against corruption and in turn
\ndevelopment of democratic institutions as well as provides a form of
\nreparation to victims of grand corruption in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPublishing the names of public officials involved could go a long way in
\npreventing senior public officials from turning the public treasury into a
\nprivate cashbox. SERAP argues that the public interest in publishing the
\nnames of the high-ranking government officials from whom funds were
\nreceived outweighs any considerations to withhold the information, as
\nthere would be no prejudice against those whose names are published as
\nlong as the information is appropriately framed and truthful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a general public interest in promoting transparency,
\naccountability, public understanding and involvement in the democratic
\nprocess. While the government in some limited cases can legitimately place
\nrestrictions on the public\u2019s right to access certain information, attempts
\nof the Nigerian authorities to justify the total closure of information
\nrelated to the names of public officials from whom funds were recovered on
\nthe basis of \u201congoing criminal investigation\u201d and \u201cpresumption of
\ninnocence goes far beyond the limitations allowed under international law,
\nand would promote secret recoveries.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe information being requested is not related to detailed investigatory
\nactivities of anticorruption agencies regarding the recoveries so far
\nmade. Similarly, the mere fact that the information being requested is
\nrelated to ongoing investigation does not necessarily mean that the
\ninformation could not be disclosed. In addition, governmental agency has
\nthe obligation to prove that the disclosure of the names of public
\nofficials would disrupt, impede, or otherwise harm the ongoing or pending
\ninvestigations or presumption of innocence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best practices in international law include to the Recommendation
\nadopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe which
\nrequires states to ensure access to government-held information even if
\nthe disclose would harm one of the legitimate interests enumerated in the
\nRecommendation, if there is an overriding public interest in having the
\nrequested information. The Principle 4 (2) provides: \u201cAccess to a document
\nmay be refused if the disclosure of the information contained in the
\nofficial document would or would be likely to harm any of the interests
\nmentioned in paragraph 1, unless there is an overriding public interest in
\ndisclosure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Recommendation list includes the prevention, investigation and
\nprosecution of criminal activities\u201d as one of legitimate interests, thus
\nproviding that overriding public interest is a trump over any reason not
\nto name the public officials concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe principle that requested information should be disclosed if there is
\nan overriding public interest in having access to information, has been
\nreaffirmed in the Joint Declaration adopted by the UN, OSCE and OAS
\nspecial mandates on freedom of expression.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP argues that a confession or prima facie evidence of grand
\ncorruption and the staggering effects of grand corruption fall within the
\nNigerians\u2019 right to know as guaranteed under the African Charter on Human
\nand Peoples\u2019 Rights and the Freedom of Information Act.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP argues that in this case Nigerians are entitled to the right to
\nreceive information without any interference or distortion, and the
\nenjoyment of this right should be based on the principle of maximum
\ndisclosure, and a presumption that all information is accessible subject
\nonly to a narrow system of exceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn general, Nigerian laws and international law recognize the legitimate
\ninterest of society in having the names of the public officials published;
\nin knowing the truth about who exactly returned funds and under what
\ncircumstances. SERAP argues that the enjoyment of the right to truth in
\nthis case is essential to the efforts to end corruption and impunity of
\nperpetrators.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP uses \u2018public interest\u2019 here not as something to satisfy the
\ncuriosity of Nigerians but the interest of society as a whole in events
\nrelated to the exercise of self-government in a democratic state. This
\ncovers all matters of public concern and includes exposing misuse of
\npublic funds or other forms of corruption by public officials and debates
\non preventing and combating corruption in general. Therefore, the notion
\n\u2018public interest\u2019 covers all the legitimate interests of the public,
\nsatisfaction of which is the essential prerequisite for exercising
\neffective democratic control over governmental institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDetails of the recoveries, published by the Federal Ministry of
\nInformation, showed that the Nigerian government successfully retrieved
\ntotal cash amount N78,325,354,631.82, $185,119,584.61, \u00a33,508,355.46 and
\n\u20ac11, 250 between May 29, 2015 and May 25, 2016. Also released were
\nrecoveries under interim forfeiture, which were a combination of cash and
\nassets, during the same period: N126,563,481,095.43, $9,090,243,920.15,
\n\u00a32,484,447.55 and \u20ac303,399.17. Anticipated repatriation from foreign
\ncountries totalled: $321,316,726.1, \u00a36,900,000 and \u20ac11,826.11. The
\nministry also announced that 239 non-cash recoveries were made during the
\none-year period. The non-cash recoveries are \u2013 farmlands, plots of land,
\nuncompleted buildings, completed buildings, vehicles and maritime
\nvessels.\u201d<\/p>\n
SIGNED<\/p>\n
Adetokunbo Mumuni<\/p>\n
SERAP Executive Director<\/p>\n
8\/06\/2016<\/p>\n
www.serap-nigeria.org<\/p>\n
Lagos, Nigeria<\/p>\n
Twitter: @SERAPNigeria<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Following recent disclosure of funds recovered from some high-ranking public officials and private individuals, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has sent a Freedom of Information request to the Minister…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n