A Niger Delta activist, Mr. Zik Gbemre, has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to publish the names of alleged treasury looters in the country.
Gbemre said that the antigraft war would not be complete if those who looted public funds were not named publicly.
The activist, who spoke with The Point in Warri, Delta State, said that with the recent reports that the Federal Government’s whistleblower policy had so far led to the recovery of $151 million and N8 billion in looted funds, the fight would be meaningless if the identities of the looters were not made public.
He said, “While we completely agree with the government that it would not disclose the identities of the whistle blowers (for their safety and security), or make public when they would receive the 2.5 to 5 per cent reward promised, as stipulated in the whistleblower’s policy aimed at encouraging anyone with information about a violation, misconduct or improper activity that impacts negatively on Nigerians and government, the identity of those who looted these recovered funds should no longer remain a secret.”
While stating that if the whistleblowing policy was well managed, it would boost the fight against corruption so that the nation’s resources could be used to develop the country rather than allowing corrupt political leaders and elite to siphon them for their families and cronies, Gbemre noted that it had become expedient to identify all those involved in the looting of the nation’s treasury.
He stressed that without identifying the looters, Nigerians and the international community could not say that the present administration was transparent in its anti-graft war, adding that a transparent government should disclose the amount recovered so far and those the monies were recovered from.
“These public funds’ looters/ thieves are best described as wicked and mindless for having stolen the collective wealth meant for the development of their people and as such have created abject poverty in the country, which has led to the increase in the poverty in the land and violent crimes across the country.
“These public thieves deserve to be shamed for escalating poverty in the country. These public funds looters/thieves should be treated like armed robbers and kidnappers or like every other violent criminal.
They have caused a lot of poverty and hardship in the land and this has pushed many of our younger generations into all kinds of criminal activities. They deserve no mercy or soft landing for the crimes they have committed.
The Presidency should be brave enough to publish the names of these looters. With this, the President Buhari government would become more credible in the eyes of the Nigerian public.
“The Federal Government should realise that Nigerians want to know the details and the names of these exposed looters. We cannot be talking of fighting corruption without knowing the looters’ identity and how much each of them stole so that Nigerians will not give them another opportunity to serve in any public office.
“The anti-corruption fight only works and thrives on transparency and accountability. Once this is not seen to be there, then the whole anti-corruption war is pointless,” Gbemre added.
