Nigeria

Equality before the Law in Nigeria (Justice and Injustice) by Ugboma Maureen Ndali

Introduction

Nigeria is located in the West Africa and is referred to as the Giant of Africa because of its economy and population and it comprises of 36 states and Abuja as her Federal capital territory. The country has approximately 174million inhabitants and most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous in the world. The country is inhabited with over 200 ethnic groups of which the largest three are Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo and religion are roughly divided in half between Christians and Muslims.

The national flag of Nigeria which has green and white, the green symbolizes forest and its abundant natural wealth of Nigeria while the white ban represents peace. Nigeria still practices the 1999 constitution which was enacted on May 29, 1999, inaugurating the Nigeria Fourth Republic. However, the law making bodies which are; Legislature which implements the Law, Executive carries out the law while the Judiciary interprets the law. They are abiding by the constitution of the Nigeria and any law that is implemented shall pass through different stages before it can be recognized as a law.

Furthermore, it is seen that the rate of high crime in Nigeria is mostly done/committed by the while collar jobs (government workers) and the street crime. . Both the white-collar crimes and Street crimes constitute incalculable threats to the state. But while the street-crime is after a few people, the white collar crime targets the well-being of the entire populace and threatens the state to its very foundation. Nigeria is a case study of unbridled scramble for the commonwealth by public and civil servants. Recently, Nigerian Orient News investigations showed that some of the funds that have either been embezzled or alleged to have been embezzled or diverted into private accounts in Nigeria since the return to civil rule in 1999 are done by top government officials. The revelation was startling, justifying that corruption, like chickens, has come home to roost. At the end, very few of the corruption cases we examined revealed that almost 8 trillion Naira ( About 48 billion US Dollar) has disappeared into thin air from Nigeria’s treasury, frittered away by people in government in the past 13 years. This stupendous volume of unchecked stealing by public servants and political office holders has contributed significantly in impoverishing a larger percentage of the population. Our position is that findings or investigations of agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the World Bank, the United States Congress, etc., should be taken with a grain of salt. Nigeria has the label of having one of the world's highest levels of corruption. This is mainly seen within the public sector including stealing public funds and accepting bribes. It is estimated that between 1999 and 2007, Nigeria has lost around $4 billion to $8 Billion yearly due to corruption Ubah (2004) stated that politicians often siphon public funds to further their political careers and they also pay gangs to aid them in rigging elections. The elections since the end of military rule occurring in 1999, 2003, and 2007 were bloody affairs and were openly rigged. In 2007, ballot boxes were visibly stuffed by paid gangs and in some cases, electoral results were simply made up. The Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 300 were killed due to the 2007 elections and that is considered to be a conservative estimate as cited from a Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Derrick Marco, Nigeria country director in March, 2007. These measures of violence and intimidation discouraged the general public from voting. Those who did come out were subject to attacks by gangs Nigeria put measures in place to reduce the corruption levels. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission were established in the early 2000s. They have been attempting to combat the issue but they have not been very heavy handed in terms of punishment. Former Edo State governor, Lucky Igbinedion pleaded guilty to embezzling 2.9billion Naira which translates to about $24.2 million. He had a plea bargain with EFCC and was fined 3.5million Naira ($29,167) and did not serve any jail time. Despite the overabundance of human and material resources majority of Nigerians continue to live below breadline. In all these the apex leadership of the ruling class undoubtedly complicit in corruption has done little or nothing to stem the tide. But for few high profile convictions, majority of the people allegedly involved in the lootings still walk free and most times in corridors of power. Nigerian Orient News investigations revealed that no sector of the Nigerian social life has been left unconquered by these marauders. There is a catalogue of travesty and complicity of Nigeria’s judiciary in dealing with high profile corruption cases in Nigeria – the case of Olubode George, a former chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority, who committed a fraud of over 85 billion Naira which is about (513 million USD )and was only given 2 years and five months imprisonment. Mrs. Cecilia Ibru (former MD/CEO of Oceanic Bank Nigeria PLC) was jailed 6 months for stealing N54billion Naira. Former Nigerian Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun was convicted of N20 billion naira frauds, and was sentenced to only 6 months in prison. Both Tafa Balogun and Cecilia Ibru had their sentences spent in their homes or chosen hospitals. Another Ex Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero was caught trying to smuggle N200million naira out of Abuja. Sunday Ehindero was not even sent to court, so the case died like that. So many Ex Governors, between1999-2011, have been granted bails on their alleged corrupt cases, some, like Peter Odili former Governor of Rivers State, even has court injunction stopping his trial on corruption cases. James Ibori (Former Governor of Delta State Nigeria) was discharged and acquitted in a Nigerian court, but was sent to jail in UK, for the same offences he was acquitted from in Nigeria. The list is endless. Moreso, on November 19, 2013, an Effurun high court, sentenced a 24 year old secondary school student, Moses Akatugba, to death by hanging for stealing GSM handsets and recharge cards, just as a commercial motorcyclist, popularly called ‘okada’ rider was also jailed 15 years imprisonment for robbing a female passenger of her GSM handset. Moses was convicted on a two-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery contrary to section 6 (b) and punishable under section 1 (2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act Cap R11 Volume 14 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. Prosecution told the court that the convict with others now at large “robbed one Mrs. Akpor Mazino of the sum of N113, 930 cash, 3 GSM handsets, 54 various denominations of MTN recharge vouchers, 28 Econet vouchers and 25 GLO vouchers valued over N100, 000 at Number 30 NNPC Housing complex road, Effurun, Nigeria. With the above analysis one actually gets confused about what actually constitutes a crime in Nigeria. Now the question is: is the real criminal the person who steals billions of dollars and creates the atmosphere for other crimes to thrive or the person who exploits the atmosphere already created to steal in thousands out of frustration? In conclusion, white collar crime is as detrimental to the economic well-being of a nation as is street crime and therefore requires stringent measures to uproot it. Stamping out white collar crime must be the concern of all.

However, while the former is often punished severely in Nigeria, the latter is often treated with glove hands. Most Nigerians are aware of street crime such as robbery, burglary, theft, rape, arson, murder, and assault among others because of their widespread publicity by the media. The same cannot be said of white collar crime which is equally pervasive but hardly detected and reported. The LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English defines white collar crime as: “crimes involving white collar workers, for example when someone secretly steals money from the organization they work for.” The US Justice Department also defines white collar crime as: “nonviolent crime for financial gain utilizing deception and committed by anyone who has special technical and professional knowledge of business and government, irrespective of the person's occupation.” For those who may not know, white collar workers are those who work in offices whether private or public. Some of these workers may have unmonitored access to the funds of their organizations and may through deceit or abuse of trust diverts funds for their personal use and benefit. It is not uncommon to hear that a cashier or accountant has disappeared with funds belonging to their organization. The most common forms of white collar crimes in Nigeria are tax evasion, embezzlement, bribery and corruption, bank fraud, cyber fraud (computer and internet related crimes), money laundering, fraud against the government, copyright violations, international, national and regional organized crime, forgery and theft of funds, inflation of contract, etc. Evidently, white collar crime is just as dangerous if not more dangerous than street crime. White collar crime is committed by various professionals in the line of duty. It is even more difficult to detect if senior management is involved. Such criminal activities can deprive an organization or the state of much needed funds for development. White collar crime is the bane of most developing countries especially in Africa. It is a leading cause of Africa's underdevelopment with its concomitant effects of poverty, squalor and disease. White collar crime thrives on weak institutions, bad leadership and bad governance. Something urgently needs to be done to nip in the bud the increasing incidence of white collar crime before the economy collapses. Institutions that have been set up to fight economic crimes have not been effective because they have not been truly independent; there may be political interference. This category embraces activities by people of high social status who commit their crimes in the context of their occupation. This includes embezzling (stealing money from one’s employer), insider trading, shoplifting, political corruption, tax evasion and other violations of income tax laws. It is undoubtedly a phenomenon of the gravest concern, costing society untold billions of dollars-far more than street crime. To the extent that such crimes appear to go unpunished, they breed disrespect for law (justice) and cynicism about our criminal justice institutions. Yet, as costly and corrosive as such crimes are, they do not instill the kind of fear reflected in the recent explosion of public concern. Although white-collar criminals do not directly cause physical harm or relieve people of their wallets, they can still end up doing considerable harm. The harm done by Nixon’s aides threaten the integrity of the U.S. electoral system. Every embezzler, corrupt politician and tax cheat exacts a toll on our society. Individuals can be hurt in more tangible ways by decisions made in corporate boardrooms: Auto executives, for examples, have approved design features that have caused fatalities. Managers of chemical companies have allowed practices that have polluted the environment with cancer-causing agent. And heads of corporations have presided over industries wherein workers have been needlessly killed or maimed.

Difference between Japanese Law system and Nigeria

The head of state is Japan is regarded as the prime minister which is appointed by the Emperor and elected by the Diet. In Nigeria, the head of the state is appointed by the political party popularly known as the top most ruling party (PDP) and elected by the people by voting. Before people can vote for the appointed candidate, the candidate must read the manifesto and if people are convinced enough, he would be voted for. The first tenure for any political position in Nigeria is 4years and the candidate can still be voted for and the maximum regime is 8years. While in Japan, the position is 2years and the candidate can also be elected again. Japan has this kind of criminal cases, but those found guilty faces the law as it is while in Nigeria, the vulnerable suffers the most while the rich goes its way without being judged.

Conclusion

White-collar crimes are committed by the middle and upper class, by people who look like one’s next-door neighbor. These people do not, by and large, threaten our physical safety or the sanctity of our home. These are those politicians who see nothing wrong in stealing from the public treasury, inflating contracts, and engaging on other forms of corrupt practices. These people are often not targeted by the law enforcement agencies. The question is why is the constitutional law that says no one is above the law? Where is the human right we seek for? Why is it that the vulnerable suffers because of a common act and the rich are enjoys the privileges? This all comes down to corruption which is seen all over the world.

Reference

1. http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfTheFederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm

2. https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=Nigerian+flag&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=GjW9U-bOPMGn8AW0r4H4Cw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=667#facrc=0%3Bnigerian%20flag%20waving&imgdii=_&imgrc=_

3. http://www.npa.go.jp/syokanhourei/hansyuu.pdf