Is the Lagos State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission law based on the right thing to do and, or the common good? As a keen observer of Nigeria’s political climate, political expediency is embossed into and inosculated with this law. It looks calculated and crafted to help and advance the political fortunes of some powerful people in the State, and shield them from prosecution and accountability. Here is what is in the law. In section 13(3), it reads: “The commission shall upon the commencement of this law take over the investigation of all anti-corruption and financial crime cases involving the finances and assets of Lagos State Government being investigated by any other agency.” In addition, section 13(5) states that: “The commission shall have the power to the exclusion of any other agency or body to investigate and coordinate the investigation of corruption and financial crimes cases involving the finances and assets of the state government.”
While this law is valid, it reveals yet again, the sham the 1999 constitution is. The unwieldy document has lived up to its reputation as a bundle of inconsistencies and contradictions. The Lagos law is valid to the extent that the states and Federal Government can make laws on corruption. What is wrong with the Lagos law is that it is vast and conflicts with the functions and intent of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) Acts. The provision of the Lagos law is too far reaching, that it cannot coexist with the EFCC and ICPC Acts. This cannot work because the EFCC and ICPC Acts are already in effect.
Lagos State goes as far as making it a matter of law to, “take over the investigation of all anti-corruption and financial crime cases involving the finances and assets of Lagos State Government being investigated by any other agency.” By this, Lagos implies that the law is retroactive and the government can ask the EFCC and ICPC to hand over all previous cases of corruption to the new Commission, as long as Lagos State finances are involved. Furthermore, the law also provides that, “the commission shall have the power to the exclusion of any other agency or body to investigate and coordinate the investigation of corruption and financial crimes cases involving the finances and assets of the state government.” It is tempting to dismiss this as ill-thought through and uninformed, but I don’t think so.
Is this law a red herring? Why was it timed and calculated to extricate some actors, rather than the need to repair a broken system of extortion and conversion? As the calculation towards the candidacy of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu evolves, it will be foolhardy to dismiss the game at play. Lagos has the finest legal minds in Nigeria. The Lagos Attorney-General has depth. What if their plan is to bait the Federal Government and ensnare it in a long drawn litigation? Governor Babajide Sanwoolu has signed the bill into law. The Federal Government will file a suit against the Lagos State government to stop it, as well as prevent other states from following suit. If the Federal Government goes to court, the suit will be fought all the way to the Supreme Court. I expect the suit will run its course for years, by which time Asiwaju Bola Tinubu will be able to contest, as the law will be held in litigation up to the Supreme Court.
What this tells me is that shame has taken leave of us. It is very sad that we are living through this. We live at a time when those who are under investigation for massive corruption feel no shame in making laws to shield themselves from prosecution. Soldiers are getting killed by terrorists, students are being slaughtered by bandits, kidnappers are on rampage, the country is on fire, yet they care not except for themselves. From Yenagoa to Nguru, government has abandoned our collective right to live free from harm and protected by institutional commitments to liberty, equality and justice.
While those in power feather their cushy nests, Nigerians are systematically stripped of their agency, dignity and capability for doing anything other than survival in the face of mounting existential threats. This democracy is not representative, it is not open, it is adversarial. We don’t feel represented, protected nor recognised as deserving of a good life. Daily, we are robbed of a higher sense of principled, collaborative urgency; a sense of pride in a country once with promises of greatness. Long suffering Nigerians are sufficiently disillusioned and in too much despair to build a strong virile nation because the forces of disunity are too powerful.
Time will tell what this law was designed to achieve. Whatever happens, it is wrong to use, cause to use or attempt to use, the instruments of government to cover misdeeds or seek to punish some persons or groups. Legislating to suit some powerful interests is a vicious tendency. It is inappropriate and unacceptable that those who should work for common good, are finding clever ways to work against the values of accountability and responsibility. Before it is too late, we must, in unison, call for fairness, equity and justice for all.
Credit: Bamidele Ademola-Olateju