It is not often that one understands the actions of our law makers, people who we elected to take care of our collective interest at the National Assembly. Sometimes, by their actions and decisions, they come across as a bunch of elite who are out of tune with the national reality. At other times, decisions taken by them appear to be motivated by interests other than the well being and good governance of Nigeria. Or how do we place their recent decision, rejecting the Asset Forfeiture Bill?

  Considering its importance to the anti graft campaign, I had considered the passage of the Asset Forfeiture Bill a fait accompli. There were no indications to the contrary.  Almost any one that is somebody in the national assembly had spoken in favour of the legislation which, I understand went through several reviews by the proponents before being presented to the National Assembly. I am not aware that any law maker publicly condemned the bill.

Instead, it comes across as a law whose time had come going by the attention it received from Nigerians of all social standing and members of the international community. There appears to be a consensus that this was a damn good piece of law that is destined to make a difference to efforts at checking endemic corruption in Nigeria. But alas, the House through a voice vote on February 24, 2009, killed the bill.

The action is worrisome and a major set back to the anti graft war in Nigeria, considering the efforts and resources that have been committed to the process of securing the passage of the law thus far. Most painful is the fact that the bill was upturned at the second reading stage. Even if the bill is represented, it will take several months if not years to get to this stage again. It also means that the conditions that warranted the introduction of the bill subsists as long as our law makers continue to vacillate and dilly dally over its passage.

This state of affairs is completely out of sync with both national and international expectations on the anti graft war. With our country’s global perception as one of the most corrupt nations, and the deliberate efforts in recent years to address this scourge, the general expectation is that issues of anti graft war must command greater urgency and seriousness from all stakeholders and institutions, including the national assembly.

But this was not what was demonstrated in the dismissal of the Asset Forfeiture Bill. For those who don’t know, the assets forfeiture bill is a piece of legislation that was expected to empower the anti graft agencies, especially the EFCC to seize any assets believed to have been illicitly acquired from the proceeds of corruption and economic crime. The bill was designed to make provisions for the investigation of benefits derived from corruption and money laundering; give effect to request to and from foreign states for the restraint and confiscation of property used or derived from unlawful activity as well as extend the powers of law enforcement agencies in the handling of such crimes. It is largely predicated in the belief that confiscating the proceeds of financial crimes will deter political office holders from indulging in money laundering and primitive accumulation of wealth.

Nigerians would want to know why such a piece of legislation would be thrown out after second reading by the House. Such explanation will serve several purposes. But most importantly, it may provide insight into misgivings about the proposed law and enhance the process of representing the bill.

However, my concern is that no cogent reason was offered for the dismissal of the bill except that it failed a voice vote.   Yet all the law makers claim to support the law, prompting the speaker, Hon. Dimeji Bankole to declare: “This is an experience for me because almost everybody spoke in favour of the bill." Then, how come it failed the vote? This is the million dollar question that could shape any further action on this bill.

Unfortunately, no one is offering any explanations. Could the House’s position have been informed by certain information or factors that are not within the public domain? In which case it behoves on them to educate members of the public on the reason why the bill failed. In the same vain, I would disagree with the position of the Deputy Chair of the House Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes. Hon. Bassey Etim, that the ill-fated bill was the victim of inadequate publicity and enlightenment from its promoters, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. If ordinary Nigerians claim not to understand the implication of the law, the same excuse would be untenable for members of the national assembly who have had the benefit of several presentations by the proponents and the privilege of asking questions.  In deed it would be an embarrassment of national proportion if federal law makers do not know what an asset forfeiture law entails.

Most Nigerians who are as concerned about the fate of this proposed law as me, notice a pattern in the house in which pro-people legislation never get passed. Another case is the freedom of Information bill which, more or less, has become an Abiku. The piece of legislation which was almost passed by the last national assembly has been rejected severally by the house even when members continue to state its importance to transparency and accountability in government. It is more than coincidence that both bills that the House has made a tradition to reject are crucial to the success of the anti graft war. I hate to think that the reason law makers are foot dragging over these bills is self preservation. They simply fear that they might one day come to be haunted by these laws.  In which case, it is better to keep the laws perpetually in abeyance. Valid supposition but were this the motivation, it will be one that is purely guided by personal interest. But as patriots, our law makers’ actions and decisions should be guided by nothing other than the national interest of our country. 

As far as I know, the Asset Forfeiture Bill is one baby that cannot be thrown away with the bath water. It is central to the fight against corruption in Nigeria. With the situation in the courts where corruption cases are stalled endlessly while the accused persons, having secured bail, freely enjoy the gains of their indiscretion; only an assets forfeiture law offers the country any hope of denying the corrupt the gains of their enterprise. People who should be in jail for stealing from the commonwealth must not be allowed to live in unconscionable affluence while the vast majority of our people wallow in penury. It is important to have a law which will deny the corrupt access to their loot when caught. Such a law will check the compulsive acquisition tendencies of our ruling elite and help the cause of the anti graft war.

The time has come when we should take extraordinary measures to check the menace of corruption, which is widely acknowledged as the greatest impediment to our national development. The current national assembly would have written its name on the scroll of history if it summons the courage to do the right thing by passing the asset forfeiture bill. It is heart warming that the leadership of the House Committee on Financial Crimes have promised to work with the EFCC to represent the bill. When that is done, all necessary steps must be taken to ensure that the bill scales through.

Collins Egharevba, Public Affairs Analyst, lives in Benin City