Finally, Senate okays Buhari’s anti-corruption bill

…Wants concessioning of Port Harcourt refinery placed on hold

The Senate yesterday approved and passed the Bill on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between Nigeria and other countries.

The executive bill presented to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2016, provides for the repeal of the Money Laundering Act of 2011 (as amended in 2012) to prohibit money laundering activities.

This is also as the Senate has asked the executive to put on hold the planned concession of the Port Harcourt refinery to Agip and Oando.

The Mutual Assistance Bill also expands the scope of money laundering offences, provide protection for employees of various institutions, provide appropriate penalties and other purposes.

The Bill according to President Buhari, “Seeks to get relevant international assistance on money laundering cases while providing framework for “other countries to assist in provision of and obtaining of evidence, making of arrangements for persons to give evidence.”

The President also wrote that the “The bill also hopes to elicit international assistance in criminal investigations, recovery, forfeiture or confiscation of property in respect of offences.

“The restraining of dealings in property or the freezing of asset that may be recovered, forfeited or confiscated in respect of offences.

“The execution of request for search and seizure, the location and identification of witnesses and suspects,” the President wrote to the Senate.

A joint Report on the bill had earlier been presented by the Senate committees on foreign affairs, chaired by Monsurat Sunmonu (APC-Oyo); judiciary, human rights and legal matters, chaired by David Umaru (APC-Niger) and anti-corruption, chaired by Chukwuma Utazi, PDP-Enugu.

However, the Bill having been passed by the Senate is now awaiting concurrence by the House of Representatives to become law after the assent by the President.

In his comment after the passage of the Bill, Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, said: “This anti-money laundering legislation is a key component of President Muhammadu Buhari’s war on corruption agenda.

“This act will facilitate the needed cooperation with other states to prevent individuals from escaping prosecution by fleeing to another country.

“Under the passed Bill, the Nigerian government may request that any country where a money launderer is hiding out to aid in the prosecution of such person, or such person may even be prosecuted in accord with the law of the host country. Nigeria would also be able to supply the country with evidentiary support to aid a conviction.

“This is the kind of innovative and cooperative anti-corruption scheme that will truly discourage money laundering,” Saraki said, adding, “I and my colleagues applaud the President’s creativity and determination to discourage this kind of corruption.”

Meanwhile, the resolution asking the executive to put on hold the planned concession of the Port Harcourt refinery to Agip and Oando followed the consideration and adoption of a motion to that effect sponsored by Senator Sabo Mohammed representing Jigawa South.

Senator Mohammed explained that the Federal Government recently entered into an agreement with Nigerian Agip Oil, a subsidiary of ENI to construct a fifteen billion dollars refinery in the Niger Delta region, a deal which also includes repairs of the Port Harcourt refinery.

According to Mohammed, the concession arrangement did not follow open and competitive bid as relevant stakeholders were not included in the process.

The Senate also resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to carry out a holistic investigation to determine how and why such a deal was sealed and the criteria used to select Agip and Oando.