President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki has given a damning verdict of the
\nanti-corruption battle of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration,
\nsaying the use of extra-legal means and strong-arm tactics was against the
\nlaws of the land and would end up being counter-productive at the end of
\nthe day.<\/p>\n
The Senate president specifically berated the Department of States He also accused the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption Saraki gave these positions Thursday at the presidential villa during a Saraki who was represented at the event by Senator Chukwuka Utazi, On the DSS raid of the homes of judges, Saraki said: \u201cThe recent so-called Noting that the National Security Agencies Act of 1986 granted the DSS the \u201cIt is even more instructive that by Section 2 (1) (e) of the EFCC Act, On the work of the presidential committee, Saraki said: \u201cPACAC should not The Senate President proceeded to accuse the Committee of blackmailing the Hear him: \u201cCertain government agencies and civil society bodies (and PACAC \u201dThey deliberately cast institutions of state in unsalutary hue that is \u201cAs a critical stakeholder and partner in the mandate given to PACAC, it President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki has given a damning verdict of the anti-corruption battle of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, saying the use of extra-legal means and strong-arm tactics…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nSecurity Services (DSS) for the agency\u2019s midnight<\/span><\/span> raid on the homes of
\nsome judges in a sting operation last October, describing the action as an
\nillegality.<\/p>\n
\n(PACAC) led by frontline constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, of
\nblackmailing the legislature and propagating the adoption of illegal means
\nand extra-judicial tactics in the administration\u2019s anti-corruption war.<\/p>\n
\nNational Dialogue on the Fight against Corruption organized by PACAC which
\nhad in attendance, Acting President Yemi Osibanjo, the newly confirmed
\nChief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, and other top officials
\nof government.<\/p>\n
\nChairman of the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption, argued that the
\nadministration\u2019s style in the fight against graft is unsustainable, saying
\n\u201cthe end-result of any action of government is as important as the
\nprocess. The platforms for fighting corruption should not, themselves, be
\ncorrupt or be seen to be corrupted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nsting operation by the Department of State Security on the residences of
\nsome very Senior Justices, some without warrants, others without any proof
\nof incriminating body of evidence, leaves much to be desired.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nmandate to act in economic crimes of national security dimension, Saraki
\nargued that Section 6 (c) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Act of
\n2004, being a latter law, had vested the power for the co-ordination and
\nenforcement of all economic and financial crimes laws and enforcement
\nfunctions conferred on any other person or authority on the EFCC.<\/p>\n
\nthe Department of State Security sits on the Board of the EFCC and could
\neasily, in their meetings, point out the persons or bodies the EFCC needs
\nto investigate and prosecute backed up by the evidence it had
\nclandestinely gathered,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cThat sting operation was a
\nneedless violation of our laws and an aberration that democratic society
\nshould consider anathema. The EFCC should have been provided the necessary
\nintelligence to execute its mandate if the evidence disclosed a
\nprima-facie case against the Justices.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nlend itself to supporting extra-legal actions, if the fight against
\ncorruption will be sustained and ingrained in the body polity. A situation
\nwhere PACAC speaks in favour of patently extra-legal means of law
\nenforcement does not bode well for the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nNational Assembly by persistent labeling the arm of government as corrupt.<\/p>\n
\nis not innocent of this), have formed the habit of making a scapegoat of
\nthe National Assembly as a den of corruption.<\/p>\n
\ndivorced from reality. It does not help in confidence building, within
\ngovernment and across the civil population, when institutions of state are
\ndeliberately demonised in order to put the shine on others.<\/p>\n
\ndoes not feel right when you mount rostrums to say how badly the National
\nAssembly has performed; how they have left their duties derelict and how
\ncorrupt they are. Indeed, it is counter-productive for PACAC to do so
\nbecause its mandate of advising should be given across board to all arms
\nand tiers in order to promote the effectiveness of all government
\ninstitutions and strengthen anti-corruption measures in a comprehensive
\nmanner.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"