By Douglas Anele
It must be remembered that official corruption has been a leitmotif in governance at all levels since independence in 1960. Major Chukwuemeka Nzeogwu, leader of the first military coup in Nigeria, cited corruption as one of the main reasons why the army decided to wrest power from the government of Alhaji Tafawa Balewa. Since then, coup plotters had been using it as their number one excuse for taking power by force.

But corruption cases, particularly when the rich and powerful are involved, is not easy to handle. For example, Ibori case, according to foreign media reports, took the British authorities up to seven years to unravel, a clear demonstration of the seriousness with which the relevant authorities in Britain took the matter.

It is a sad commentary on the horrible state of Nigerian judiciary that a character like Ibori was severally cleared of charges of theft, corruption and money laundering by different courts, only to plead guilty to similar charges in a London court.

The retinue of lawyers, especially senior attorneys with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria that helped Ibori to escape justice should hide their faces in shame because they are a complete disgrace to the legal profession.

Also indicted in the saga is the EFCC, because it can be argued that the anti-corruption outfit did not do its homework very well, which means that they might have mishandled the relevant investigations required to successfully prosecute the former Delta State governor.

However, assuming that the EFCC did a good job but failed to get a conviction simply because the judges handling the cases were seriously compromised by corruption, then the latter do not deserve to sit on the bench and adjudicate. That the stature of our judiciary has been plummeting since 1985 cannot be controverted.

Indeed, most Nigerians believe that the third arm of government, like the executive and the legislature, is now dominated by individuals of low moral fiber.It is therefore not surprising that Christopher Hardy, presiding judge of the court where Ibori would be sentenced in April, upbraided the Nigerian judiciary for allowing itself to be influenced by the former governor; he also described the effort by government to tackle corruption as half-hearted.

And this is the key issue. Military and civilian administrations in Nigeria have over the years initiated programmes for fighting corruption. But the quantum of corruption and the audacity with which top public officials loot the treasury has increased exponentially.

It follows that Nigerian leaders have been deceiving the people with empty slogans pretending to be against graft whereas they, their cronies and family members are neck-deep in it. The entire justice system is ripe for reform in order to reduce the influx of scoundrels into the judiciary.

Again, the Nigerian Bar Association must begin to explore the possibility of sanctioning its members who collude to bribe magistrates and judges, or connive in any way that allows high profile thieves to escape justice. One of the disgusting ways judges have permitted thieves in high places to evade justice is granting of perpetual injunctions against prosecution by anti-corruption agencies.

A few former governors are not being prosecuted at the moment simply because of the despicable practice of frivolous perpetual injunctions. Another ploy is “plea bargain”, by which corrupt members of the ruling class are allowed to give up a tiny percentage of their ill-gotten wealth to government so that they can enjoy the remainder without disturbance.

However, although there are practical reasons that might justify plea bargain, the abominable level of corruption in Nigeria makes it thoroughly unacceptable at this time, and judges that allow it are unfit for the high position they occupy.

We believe that the EFCC should expeditiously vacate such injunctions so that those involved in corruption can be brought to justice. Corrupt judges who protect corrupt public officers are morally frozen and completely impervious to the grievous harm which diversion of public funds into private pockets has done to all aspects of our national life.

The moral and spiritual fabrics of our society have been damaged almost beyond repair because of corruption by the ruling cabals. Definitely, the intractable infrastructural problems weighing us down are due to misappropriation of public funds.

Yet some so-called judges have the audacity to pass judgments, which amount to vote of confidence and endorsement of corruption, in favour of corrupt top public officials. If not for Judge Hardy, Ibori would have been enjoying his loot without qualms.

Most times when I contemplate the fact that Nigerian public officials now embezzle billions, not millions, I wonder what a sane human being needs billions for. A contented lifestyle devoid of avarice is quite possible. One does not need billions of naira to meet the basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, health, education and recreation.

All the mansions, cars, cash and other assets Ibori acquired by subjecting fellow citizens to suffering will be completely useless to him at death. In fact, such wealth could be the cause of bitter fights for inheritance among members of his family and relatives. Therefore, it is definitely unwise to accumulate what one does not really need.

The culture of excess, the craving for primitive accumulation, is a symptom of self-alienation and spiritual ossification. It is a misguided attempt to fill existential vacuum in the erroneous belief that the more material things one has the more the person is.

On the contrary, those with sound spiritual insight know that the best way to deal with existential emptiness is to live a productive life anchored on a healthy indifference to material possessions. In otherwords, the good life entails seeing material possessions as means to an end, which is the promotion of happiness and diminution of misery.

Public officers like Ibori that exploited their elevated positions for self-enrichment are the scum of the society who do not deserve the positions they occupied in the first place. In that regard, the former Delta State governor is learning the hard way that “no condition is permanent.”

I ardently hope that in due time all those responsible for the pathetic state of Nigeria today and their accomplices will receive the Ibori treatment, and worse. CONCLUDED.