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8 November 2009 By Akintokunbo A Adejumo
Since the
BIG news broke, I have been agonising. I don’t know
whether I should consider this as a victory, justice,
retribution, or insult. Like many Nigerians, home and
abroad who heard or read the news of Bode George and
his co-conspirators’ conviction and sentencing, the
news was met with mixed feelings.
On the one
hand, I was actually happy and felt good to know that
a man of Bode George’s standing and calibre in
Nigerian society and politics, could be convicted in
our corruption-ridden judiciary, coupled with the
normal inevitable bungling of the law enforcement
agencies involved in his investigation and
prosecution, knowing what we know of how they have
been deliberately bungling the prosecution of the
biggest thief of them all, James Ibori (pardon me for
the name-calling, but this is the mildest phrase I can
use for him here)
On the
other hand, I, like many Nigerians felt aggrieved at
the size of the punishment, that is, sentencing to
only 30 months imprisonment, stealing billions of our
money, Nigeria’s money, that belongs to you and I,
that is meant to develop our country, that is meant to
alleviate or poverty and other problems. We all feel
that the punishment is not commensurate with the
crime, for indeed, stealing of public funds is one big
crime in most parts of the world, but maybe not in
Nigeria. We really need good and severe examples to be
made in Nigeria in the fight against corruption. We
perhaps need to see some blood (not necessarily the
human blood, but maybe stiffer sentences and
punishments) that will endure as deterrents.
Truth be
told, many of us would like to see the likes of Bode
George, Peter Odili, many Northern ex-and present
Governors, some former Heads of State and Presidents
and Vice-Presidents, civil servants, etc, lined up
against a wall and shot, but we will not get that wish
in a very long time, not as long as their cabal of
evil still run the roost over our lives and country.
No, we won’t get that wish. Also, I don’t think we are
that blood-thirsty, though I believe it is about time
we got sanguine about this.
Look at it
this way. Since Yar ‘Adua was elected in May 2007, the
corruption war has waned, what with a corrupt Attorney
General and Minister for Justice in charge of fighting
the same corruption; what with corrupt ex-Governors
still calling the shots, either in the background in
the seat of power or in the legislative arms of
government; what with these thieves calling the shots
in their respective states.
In fact, in
Bode George’s case, it is a widely held belief that he
was only convicted and sentenced because he was an ex-Obasanjo
man who had fallen out of favour with the current PDP-led
Government. If he had been in the good books of
current PDP top hierarchy, like Ibori is, Bode George
would not even be arraigned in court, would he?
The Bode
George saga has made me take a very deep look at the
issues of the rule of law, crime, justice and
punishment in Nigeria.
The rule of
law may very well prevail in Nigeria on paper, but in
practice a quite different picture emerges - one of
arbitrary arrest, incompetence and indifference. This
begs the question as to whether Nigeria is a
democracy. We are not confronted here with a few
rotten apples spoiling the contents of the barrel but
with a system which tolerates corruption, where
massive bribery, embezzlement, looting and pure,
unadulterated incompetence and mismanagement of funds
meant for the public are accepted oiling of the
machinery and where an appropriate ethos of
professional pride is entirely lacking.
Citizens,
whatever their faults, should not be regarded as prey,
as easy game. Criminals, in this case, corrupt
government officials, should not be allowed to wander
about unpunished. A remedy must be found.
As we know
and have experienced thousands of time, not everyone
is equal before the law in Nigeria. The lust for gain
and the lack of brakes on the exercise of power on the
part of the government and the law enforcement agents
have always been a recipe for disaster. Yet another
flagrant abuse supplied to me on an anecdotal basis
concerns an infamous local part-time political thug
and part-time armed robber in a small town in South
Eastern Nigeria. Everyone knew him, as he drove around
in brand new cars, rubbing the noses of law-abiding
citizens in the sad truth that crime does pay with his
conspicuous and arrogant display of prosperity. When
he was finally arrested, he faced the prospect of
serving a lengthy sentence. The narrator of the tale
bumped into him before he was taken into custody, and
quizzed him over whether he was worried that his
beautiful cars might be stolen whilst he was doing
time. The reply came that it did not matter, as he
would be free within a couple of days. His prediction
was correct: a few days later he indeed resumed his
normal routine, cruising through the dusty streets.
When I was growing up in South West Nigeria, most
people believe that judges are honourable people.
Unfortunately, nowadays, we’re ruled by laws that are
controlled by those who hold power over us.
Furthermore, the judicial system that we placed so
much faith in isn’t set up to protect our rights. It’s
controlled by people who have turned the system into a
racket that benefits the politicians, the elite and
the crooked, not the people.
Corruption in the judiciary damages a range of
development goals: it denies poor people access to
justice, it undermines the credibility of the
political leadership, and it makes the country
insecure for economic investment. Corruption occurs in
numerous guises – bribery, nepotism, and influence
trading – and affects different parts of the judicial
process. Pliant prosecutors, judges and court staff
may ignore criminal acts of corruption or have them
improperly dismissed. Relevant evidence may
conveniently disappear, or prison sentences curiously
reduced. Corrupt appointments, promotions, and
disciplinary actions mean that justice sector staff
may be ill-equipped to handle complex cases, including
those involving international corruption.
Corruption, dishonesty and unethical behaviour amongst
public officials represent very serious threats to the
basic principles and values of government, undermining
confidence in the democratic process and threatening
to erode the rule of law.
Incidentally and ironically, Transparency
International, in a report published a few years ago
reported that despite widespread problems with
corruption in Africa, especially Zimbabwe, there are
examples in Nigeria where trial times have been
improved and judges are more rigorously screened
before being appointed.
At the time, the report made a number of
recommendations to strengthen judicial independence
and combat corruption:
-
Judicial appointments should be made
by independent bodies
-
Judges should be appointed on merit
-
Judicial salaries should reflect
experience and performance
-
Judges should be liable to
prosecution if corruption is suspected
-
Allegations against judges should be
investigated by an independent body
-
Judges should be removed or
transferred in a transparent manner according to
fair standards
The above recommendations, if adopted by our various
governments in Nigeria would surely go a long way in
restoring our confidence in the judiciary.
Having said these, we really must give credit to
Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Lagos High Court.
Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, mild as the sentences he
pronounced are, has served notice that a few judges
with courage and probity can still be found in
Nigeria’s citadels of justice. He must be commended.
Also worthy of commendation is the EFCC, who saw this
through with better results than expected. However,
they still have the Ibori matter hanging around their
necks like a stone mill. Perhaps this should spur them
on.
In our society's criminal
justice system, justice equals punishment. You do the
crime, you do the time. You do the time, you've paid
your debt to society and
justice has
been done. But justice for whom? Certainly not the
victim, who are the Nigerian people.
There certainly is a need for punishment for
corruption in Nigeria. It is perhaps more so because
it is corruption in high places that has created a lot
of the social problems we have today in the country.
Collective academic thoughts on punishment are of the
opinion that the need for punishment can be for three
main reasons (Marty
Price, 1997):
Punishment as a need to incapacitate.
Incapacitation, unfortunately, must continue until we
can learn how to generate change in such individuals.
However, the need for incapacitation must be
understood as separate and distinct from the need for
punishment. When we focus on punishment and
incarcerate offenders who are not dangerous, including
those who have committed victimless crimes, we consume
precious correctional system resources which should be
reserved for those offenders who must be incapacitated
for our protection.
Punishment as a deterrent to crime.
If punishment deters crime, we should be the safest
nation in the world. If punishment deters crime, then
the answer to our out-of-control crime problem must be
that we need to lock up more people still. How far
should we go with this approach?
Punishment for the purpose of rehabilitation.
Relatively few offenders are rehabilitated in prison.
The vast majority pass through the "revolving doors"
again and again. Offenders are "warehoused" in
institutions where violence, meanness, deceit,
manipulation and denial are rewarded by the culture
within. In most cases, offenders return to the
community as individuals who are then even more
antisocial than before they were incarcerated.
Then why punishment?
If punishment is not really about incapacitation,
deterrence or rehabilitation, then what is it about?
Punishment is primarily for revenge (or
retribution.)
Victims of heinous crimes commonly demand revenge. It
seems like a natural response. (And we must
acknowledge that the crimes of corruption perpetrated
on us by our leaders are indeed heinous – how many
lives have been lost directly or indirectly as a
result of their misdemeanour and flagrant abuse of
power?)
Price, 1997, further
pointed out that social research is suggesting that
for many crimes, sentences of from one to two years
are the most likely to be effective, while longer
sentences may be counter-productive to rehabilitating
offenders. He argued that what society should be
implementing is “restorative justice” rather than
“retributive justice”. A
restorative
justice
approach concerned with righting the wrongs to victims
and making amends, repairing the harm done (in
whatever ways possible, including victim compensation)
and restoring the lives affected by crime, offers us a
much more hopeful vision for the future.
Furthermore, wrote Shaswata Dutta, each society
has its own way of social control for which it frames
certain laws and also mentions the sanctions with
them. These sanctions are nothing but the punishments.
‘The first thing to mention in relation to the
definition of punishment is the ineffectiveness of
definitional barriers aimed to show that one or other
of the proposed justifications of punishments either
logically include or logically excluded by
definition.’ Punishment has the following features:
-
It involves the deprivation of
certain normally recognized rights, or other
measures considered unpleasant.
-
It is consequence of an offence
-
It is applied against the author of
the offence
-
It is applied by an organ of the
system that made the act an offence
The kinds of punishment given are surely influenced by
the kind of society one lives in.
The way I
see the Bode George punishment, much as I have argued
in the past that corruption in Nigeria needs to be
dealt with as strongly as possible, so as to serve as
deterrent to current and up-coming treasury looters,
is that the fact that an irresponsible, corrupt and
useless old man has been convicted, sentenced and
jailed is indeed cause to renew our belief that all
hope for redemption of our country is not lost. Tafa
Balogun got 6 months, Alamieyeseigha got about a year,
Lucky-boy Igbinedion was even given the option of fine
and a slap on the wrist, but the old fool Bode George
was not even given the option of a fine, and straight
to jail he goes. Of course, he has the right to appeal
against his conviction, but for now, the word
“Convict” will forever be etched in our memory of him.
We know this, as opposed to that of James Ibori, which
we are still finding difficult, for one reason or the
other, to prove.
Perhaps
Lagos-boy Olabode George should be ashamed, but the
Nigeria of nowadays does not recognise the word
“shame”, and thereby we saw his supporters in court
still hailing him. Fifty years ago, he would have been
hounded out of town in shame. That says a lot about
our societal norms and a departure from our cultural,
religious and moral values. This is why I will not
blame him, but instead blame our society. Why, in 2
years time, upon his release, he will go to his church
and do a thanksgiving service, attended by his family,
friends and other supporters, and his pastor will be
heaping praises and prayers on him, blaming his
detractors for his prison sojourn.
However, I still would not like to gloat about Bode
George’s travailsl, if indeed we can call it that,
after all, it can be said he brought it all unto
himself (as most thieving insincere politician in
Nigeria are wont to do), and believe me, he thoroughly
deserved what was coming to him, and more, but what
about
many past
corrupt governors who are still roaming the streets of
Abuja and Lagos. Tafa Balogun , the former Inspector
General of Police is free , James Ibori is free (and
actually surreptitiously running the affairs of this
country), Peter Odili has a court order that prohibits
the EFCC or any other law enforcement agency from
investigating or arresting him, Chimaroke Nnamani (he
of the over 200 properties in one city) is a Senator ,
Achike Udenwa is a minister , Luky Igbenedion is free,
Babangida is Free , Obasanjo is free , Tony Anenih is
free , Professor Egwu is a Fedreal Minister, Orji Uzo Kalu
is Free , Bola Tinubu is still making billions in
Lagos, David Mark is our Senate president . So why
would only Bode be the scapegoat? How much money did
he steal that Ibori did not exceed 100 times?
These people and many of their ilks got us in the mess
we are in today and actually are the causative agents
of the Nigeria’s bad international reputation. I don’t
know how you feel, but if thieves are ruling a
country, how do you want the international community
to view the ordinary citizens of the same country,
re-branding or no re-branding?
However, Nigerians have become cynics, and I don’t
blame them. This is because for the past forty-nine
years, we have come to realise that our leaders never
tell us the truth, or exhibit any behaviour which will
let us have any confidence, trust and faith in them.
Therefore, we view anything that comes from
governments, politicians, civil servants with a high
degree of cynical wit. Already, concerning the Bode
George issue, we have a lot of conspiracy theories;
some are of the view that he was only convicted
because he had fallen out of favour with the current
Presidency and PDP hierarchy because he was an
Obasanjo man; yet another theory is that it was just a
show from the Government to make people think that the
war against corruption is still very much on their
priority, and thereby a convenient scapegoat like Bode
George need to be made; another one is that PDP wanted
to sacrifice Bode George to launder their image;
another is that the trial judge was instructed not to
be too harsh on him and that was why he got only 30
months.
Well, who knows? In
Nigeria, anything sure can happen, or be made to
happen, especially when we are being ruled by
thoughtless, cruel, vicious, murderous, corrupt,
dishonest, insincere, inconsiderate, selfish,
insensitive, sadistic, Vagabonds in Power. Sadly, how
can we trust anybody in power?
Let the truth be said
always.
Reference:
Marty Price, J.D, 1997. “Punishment - What's in it
for the Victim? A Restorative Justice Discussion for
Crime Victims and their Advocates”. Published in
Kaleidoscope of Justice, Vol. 5, No. 1, March/April
1997 (Maine)
Shaswatta Dutta, undated “Theories of Punishment: A
Socio-legal View” quoted from Legal Service India.com
(http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/pun_theo.htm)
Akintokunbo Adejumo lives and works in London, UK. A
graduate of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (1979)
and University of Manitoba, Canada (1985), he also
writes on topical issues for newspapers and internet
media including Nigeriaworld.com, Nigeria Today
Online, Nigerians In America, Nigeria Village Square,
Champions Newspaper, ChatAfrik.com, African News
Switzerland, New Nigerian Politics, Gamji.com,
Codewit.com, etc. He is Codewit Favourite Author of
the Month, March 2009.
He is also the Coordinator of CHAMPIONS FOR NIGERIA, (www.championsfornigeria.org)
an organisation devoted to celebrating genuine
progress, excellence, commitment, selfless and
unalloyed service to Nigeria and Nigerians.
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