…Charges Anti-graft Agencies To Beam Search Light On Professionals
Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana has decried the rate at which professional bodies aid and abet corruption in the country.
While calling on anti-graft agencies (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to beam their search light on professional bodies, saying, without this, we cannot end corruption.
He equally charged professional bodies to abide by their ethical standards and sanction any erring members to serve as a detriment.
Falana made this known in Wednesday at the 24th Anticorruption Situation Room (ACSR) organised by HEDA resource center in partnership with the Technical Unit on Governance and Anticorruption reform (TUGAR), Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), National Orientation Agency (NOA) and AFRICMIL with the theme:” Role of Professional Associations’ Ethnic, Codes of Conduct and Sanctions in the Fight Against Corruption”.
According to him; ” No government in the whole world can successfully fight corruption with out the involvement of the he citizens. We must mobilise the people to own the fight and demand accountability from public officers and those who render public services in the private sector .
“The anti-graft agencies particularly the EFCC and ICPC have largely been on usually kind to professionals who have aided and abetted their clients to commit gracious corrupt practices. For instance, If a fat cat is being charged for corrupt practices, when you investigate you will find out that in the course of buying properties, he would have gotten some Estate agent friends to carry out due diligence to ensure that the property is free from incumbrances since he is a public officer, I cannot afford to buy properties in my name, can you help me (talking to a lawyer) register a company or buy a company (using a director or underage children). From there he moves to the Bank where he maintains an account that does not bear his name. Bank Manager, a professional Accountant will aid in withdrawing huge amount of money from the bank and the property will be bought.
“When investigation is been carried out, the anti-graft agencies are always silence on the collaborators who aided the corrupt official in the deal but for straight for their target. In order parts of the world, professional WHI disobeyed the ethical standards are dealt with some get seven years jail term or five years jail term as the cases may be.
“Professionals should be held for criminal action of their clients. Our professional body has to wake up, Doctor who issued a medical report must be sure that the patient is actually indisposed, because if you are caught given a fake medical report that might be the last you will write”, he added.
Meanwhile , the Chairman, HEDA Resource Centre, Mr Olanrewaju Suraju said professionals must comply fully with their ethical standards.
He said that professional bodies should sanction erring members to serve as a detriment to others.
He lamented that, how a cyber criminals get there money from the bank if they undergo the rigorous exercise of opening an account.
Suraju also hinted that a public office holder will be fit and sound but when he is been charged to court ,by his next appearance, he will come with a and a broken neck and medical report.
