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Immunity and the corruption war
(The PUNCH) |
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Kayode Ketefe
The fact that the anti-corruption fire ignited by President Olusegun Obasanjo is spreading was again underscored on Thursday when the news spread that three governors will soon face trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
The governors – Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja, Chief Orji Kalu and Alhaji Saminu Turaki - are said to be maintaining foreign accounts in contravention of Code of the Conduct Act.
The legislative intention for entrenchment of Code of Conduct for Public Officers in part 1 of the fifth schedule of the 1999 Constitution is to ensure that the very people we voted into power do not turn into enemies of the people through greed induced corruption.
The framers of the constitution imposed the concepts of probity, accountability and responsible governance on the public officers with the inclusion of code of conduct in order to prevent abuse of powers with all its incidental problems.
Paragraph 3 of this schedule expressly prohibits operations of foreign accounts by some specified public officers which include the President and his vice and governors and their deputies.
The first paragraph provides thus:
“A public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities.”
But the recent trend in our national life as regards prosecution of alleged offenders irrespective of class and status may, unfortunately not apply here.
I t is noteworthy that, Nigerians have been elated recently when, in a rare embrace of “no sacred cow” philosophy, eminent Nigerians have been made to face the wrath of law. But the big headache is that this may not be so in this case.
While nobody should constitute himself a “court” by pronouncing on the veracity or otherwise of the allegations against these governors, it is disturbing to realise that the immunity conferred by Section 308 on governors may never allow Nigerians to know the truth in this matter.
Governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau State had faced allegations that were far more serious than those leveled against these governors and had successfully invoked his invulnerability to judicial onslaught.
While it is admitted there are some advantages in protecting some officers of the state from judicial or quasi judicial embarrassment, the proponents of the abolition of the concept will certainly see the immunity concept as a debilitating clog in the wheel of our battle against corruption.
Certainly, the ongoing National Political Reform Conference will do well to revisit this issue of immunity in order to move the nation forward.
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