The House of Representatives recently adopted a report to amend the Code of Conduct Bureau [CCB] Act which is meant to compel the Bureau to furnish accused persons with details of the charges against them for response before they are made to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL view the adoption by the legislators as one of the means corrupt persons use to maneuver and create unnecessary obstacles of the path of justice, in the war against corruption as war is getting fiercer.
The Executive Chairman of CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran said that the Senate had tried to do the same thing prior now but had to jettison the idea following public outcry against the apparently pro-corruption and that it is glaringly to protect and also to buy time in favor of the corruption criminals.
He explained further that CACOL is convinced that the ongoing trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki for corruption is directly linked to this development. It represents an attempt to provide security net or immunity for legislators whose corrupt tendencies are yet to be exposed and to prepare the way for the Senate to exhume the amendments it had already stood down.
Adeniran added that the public and civil society organizations should reject the diabolic amendments, because the move is a way of protecting the interest of political office holders who have embezzled the public funds and might soon suffer similar fate of the Senate President. It will encourage people to continue committing crimes and embezzling of public funds.
The CACOL leader said “after all it is a traditional practice in our judicial process to read charges to accused persons when they get to court where the accused will have the right to plead guilty or otherwise. And we should not forget that ‘accused persons’ are simply ‘accused persons’ until they are convicted and they can even claim damages where they have been accused wrongly”
In conclusion, Adeniran said “the House of Representatives should abandon the adoption of the amendment and concentrate on issues that are more important to the country’s National Development and to correct the impression already on the mind of the people that the legislature is deeply corrupt.”
Wale Salami
Media Coordinator, CACOL
080141121208
June 2, 2016
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