restraint and civil forfeiture of property derived from unlawful activity and any instrumentalities used or intended to be used in the commission of unlawful and to make provision for the investigation of benefit derived from corruption, money laundering and instrumentalities
In plain English, had this become law, any assets, wealth or property shown to have been the result/profits/proceeds of corruption and/or other economic and financial crimes would be forfeited by anyone convicted of said crimes, and seized by the EFCC on behalf (presumably) of whatever tier or branch of government the convict defrauded.
The legislators in the Representatives apparently want us to continue with the current system. The one where media sensationalism greets each corruption trial (they are so few, it is an "event" when one occurs), followed by prison sentences (that are mostly commuted to slaps-on-the-wrist the moment the public loses interest because the media circus has moved on) and fines (which are dwarfed by the amounts the criminal "allegedly" stole).
Yes, the current system where crime pays, where even a corruption conviction can not stop you from enjoying your ill-gotten loot once your slap-on-the-wrist is over.
I did not even know that such a bill had been introduced. It is the sort of bill that could and probably would attract mass support across the citizenry ... if only the citizenry knew the bill existed in the first place.
Alas, the Nigerian media and commentariat have spent the last few months inundating us with meaningless Prime People (abi Vintage People) stories about Umaru Yar'Adua, Turai Yar'Adua, Jonathan Goodluck and Patience Jonathan. Honestly, I do not see what difference it makes. President Yar'Adua's health is important in and of itself (we all wish him well), but there is no substantive difference between him and Goodluck Jonathan. If the excitement is tied-in to their respective ethnicities, regions of origin, and religions, then the fact is that does not substantively matter either. I am more interested in the fact that we still don't have credible elections in Nigeria. I want to be able to vote for the president, governor, federal, state and local legislators that I want. If I had that right, the National Assembly would have approved this bill. Conversely, the thing that stops the National Assembly from approving this law is the same thing that makes the Yar'Adua-Jonathan dichotomy tottally irrelevant, unimportant and insignificant to anything that matters to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment