By Uche Mbah
Piqued by the recent allegation against him and his family for corrupt enrichment by some people, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called for the review of the country’s legal system to protect government officials against those who make wild allegations against them.
Osinbajo was recently, alleged to have received the sum of N4 billion from the embattled suspended Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu.
Magu is currently under investigation by a Presidential Panel which has remanded him in Police custody since he appeared before them on July 6.
It was also alleged that Osinbajo’s daughter bought a mansion in Abuja.
However, both allegations have been refuted by Osinbajo, Magu and the landlord of the said property occupied by the VP’s daughter.
In a speech, Tuesday, Osinbajo lamented that in recent times there has been a serious increase in allegations against persons perceived to be fighting corruption by paid agents.
According to him, such paid agents usually avail themselves of the social media to peddle lies because they know that the wheel of the Nation’s judicial system grind slowly, and the possibility that those who are maligned may not be willing to pursue litigation.
“The thing that we must take note of is that corruption fights back. And it is fighting back and it has the resources to do so. In recent times, we are seeing more frequently the use of unscrupulous individuals who are paid to use social media platforms to make outrageous allegations against persons perceived to be fighting corruption.
“The technique is not new, the idea is to tar everybody with the same tar so that you cannot recognize the truly corrupt or the truly corrupt activity and genuine whistle-blowing is discredited as a result.
“And because our court system is slow, they count on the possibility that these victims may not pursue litigation or prosecution: you must devise a new legal strategy to ensure that this dirty trick not only fails but is penalized.”
According to him, whistleblowers must be protected and the the veil over secret ownership of companies removed as it encourages people to use it to commit a crime and perpetuate corruption.
“For us in the developing world, and especially in Africa, breaking the wall of secret corporate ownership is crucial because secrecy around corporate ownership is implicated in our underdevelopment.
“Although anonymous companies are not always illegal, nevertheless, secrecy provides a convenient cover for criminality and corruption.
“Our experience in Nigeria as in other developing countries is that anonymous corporate ownership covers a multitude of sins including conflict of interests, corruption, tax evasion, money laundering, and even terrorism financing.
“Secondly, we must protect, even more, whistle-blowers – persons who come forward with information against corruption. We must protect those who are ready to fight against corruption and who are prepared to do so without necessarily disclosing their identities and even those who are ready to disclose their identities.“
It could not be confirmed if the Vice President thinks that the investigation of Magu, over allegations raised against him by the Attorney General of the Federation, and Minister for Justice falls into the category of corruption fighting back.
