You are not fighting corruption genuinely, Falana tells Buhari

A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of not genuinely fighting corruption in the country.

He spoke at the weekend when Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin held its third annual registry lecture series.

Falana, who spoke on “University Autonomy in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges,” condemned the Federal Government and the Attorney General’s attitude to herdsmen’s killings in the country.

According to him, “If you are genuinely fighting corruption, you must put in place mechanisms and measure to discourage people from embracing the act.

“There is no way that you pay people starvation wages, or make it impossible for them to receive their pensions and gratuities when they retire, and expect that they will not engage in corrupt practices.”

He lamented that a committed public officer often has nowhere to lay his head after retirement, and also has no money to educate his children.
 
He added that under such setting, if the person has access to government funds, he might be tempted to steal.”

He, however, noted that since 1999, the Buhari’s regime has fought corruption more than previous regimes, but described the anti-corruption war as “recovery attempt to recover some looted wealth.”

Falana argued implored the Federal Government to provide social protection services as cheap and affordable housing scheme, and education support for poor Nigerians, to demonstrate its commitment to the fight.

He also tasked government on the expansion of health insurance scheme to cover all citizens and address the basic problems confronting the people.

The rights activist tasked government to address the issue of herdsmen’s killings, and prosecute those involved on illegal possession of firearms.

He stressed that the killer herdsmen have no licence for the arms that they carry, hence they must be charged for culpable homicide, murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery.

Falana vowed to challenge government to be alert to its responsibilities, adding that there was the urgent need to tackle these mindless killings.

He revealed that he, alongside other human right activists, had taken steps to ensure that Col. Dasuki Sambo, Sheik Ibrahim Zakzaky, his wife and a detained journalist were granted bail.

He stressed that: “Disobedience to court order is alien to democratic practice. It is more painful to me than most Nigerian lawyers, because I got court orders obeyed under the military regimes, including the Buhari-Idiagbon junta.”

He expressed concern at the selective approach of the Federal Government to, which court order it should obey.