The Senate is debating a bill that would penalise family members who have been proven to have benefited from the proceeds of corruption, particularly by a civil or public servant.
The Proceeds of Crimes (Recovery and Management) Bill, 2021, sponsored by Senator Yusuf Yusuf of Taraba Central Senatorial District, intends to create a commission to oversee confiscation of assets obtained via criminal and illegal actions.
Yusuf, who talked to press in Abuja about the law, recommended punishing corrupt Nigerians’ spouses, children, siblings, and parents who benefited from the spoils of corruption.
The sponsor said, “I am really very concerned about the future of the country in the sense that many of us are joking and playing with the extent to which corruption has entered into the fabrics of our polity. President Muhammadu Buhari has warned us that if we do not fight corruption, corruption would definitely not only fight us, but kill us a nation.
“Corruption, unfortunately, is in every sector of the economy. Some people say drug peddling is not corruption, but it is. There is an allegation that one of our topmost police officers in the country, DCP Abba Kyari, who had been arrested, was conniving with drug peddlers. Every corrupt person, his spouse, children, siblings and parents are all beneficiaries of corruption.
“So, while the law is criminalising an individual for corruption and he is in jail for 10 years, his wife, children, siblings and parents would all be enjoying the fruits of his corruption. It is possible for someone to be corrupt and others may not know but by and large, every corruption has its own beneficiaries. The law should also be extended to all the beneficiaries of corruption, especially the criminal aspect.”
Yusuf added, “There are countries where corrupt persons are jailed for as much as 100 years. There are nations which have death penalty as punishment for corrupt people.
“It is very disturbing when you consider how far corruption had destroyed the country in all aspects, including the National Assembly, civil service and in the academia.
“I believe that creating an agency that would be saddled with the responsibilities of confiscating proceeds of corruption is better than making it the duty of the anti-graft agencies.”