NIGERIA: ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION'S PROGRESS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 002871

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR INL AND AF
.
JUSTICE FOR OPDAT--SILVERWOOD


E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2017
TAGS: KCRM PGOV KJUS NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION'S PROGRESS

Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter. Reasons: 1.5 (b)
and (d).


1.(C) SUMMARY: The two year-old Independent Corrupt
Practices and Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) recently
obtained its first conviction of a public official under the
2000 Anti-Corruption law. The number of ICPC cases under
investigation or submitted to courts for prosecution has
doubled in the last six months thanks in large measure to new
staff and USG-provided training. Additional funding is
needed to expand the Commission,s work outside of Abuja;
this will be a key indicator of GON support for a sustained
anti-corruption drive. END SUMMARY.


2.(C) During an October 11 meeting with RNLEO, Ali Aku, the
Special Assistance to the Chairman of the ICPC, provided an
update on the Commission,s activities. Aku disclosed the
Commission has 127 cases it is handling. Court proceedings
have been completed in 10 cases (verdicts rendered in three;
decisions pending in the other seven). 19 cases are
currently in court or close to trial. The remaining cases
are in various stages of investigation.


3.(C) Aku allowed RNLEO to review some ICPC internal
documents on the status of current cases. Police
investigators assigned to the Commission have done work in
100 cases. The remaining 27 cases are deemed politically
sensitive, involving serving Governors or Police officials,
and are being investigated by agents of the State Security
Service (SSS) assigned to the Commission. Nine state
Governors -- one fourth of the total -- are being
investigated for misappropriating state funds, according to
the documents. These are the Governors of: Kogi, Ondo,
Anambra, Niger, Zamfara, Bayelsa, Edo, Nassarawa and Lagos
states.


First Three Prosecutions Concluded
--------------


4.(C) The first three verdicts of ICPC prosecutions were
handed down by High Courts in the last month. Aku
highlighted news of the Commission,s first conviction ) the
conviction of a Local Government Area (LGA) Chairman in Kogi
state for misappropriating state funds. The LGA Chairman was
sentenced to three years in jail and fined 100,000 naira
(equivalent to USD 800),mandated by minimum sentencing
guidelines in the 2000 law. The Commission had two other
cases that produced acquittals at the same time. A High
Court Judge in Kano, charged with receiving bribes to
influence his judgments, was acquitted by a fellow Kano
judge. Similarly, a separate Kano High Court judge acquitted
a LGA Chairman of Kano State charged with misappropriation of
government funds. Aku stated the Commission is appealing
both decisions and he blamed the acquittals on corruption
among the judges handling the cases.


Shooting High
--------------


5.(S) Documents produced by Aku revealed that the Commission
is investigating the President and Vice President for alleged
corruption related to contracts. The Commission is also
investigating Speaker of the House, Ghali Umar Na,Abba, for
corruption. News of the latter investigation appeared
recently in the local press, prompting angry outbursts from
the Speaker, a letter from him to the ICPC Chairman demanding
an explanation, and an injunction he filed against the ICPC.
Na,Abba,s theatrics notwithstanding, the Commission
continues the investigation, according to Aku. (Note: All
members of the National Assembly, like the Governors, Vice
President and President, are immune from prosecution under
the 2000 Corruption Act, but only so long as they hold
office; once out of office, they can be prosecuted for prior
crimes. End Note)


New Staff to Build Capacity
--------------


6.(C) The Commission has had to delay and modify its
recruitment of additional staff originally planned for
December 2002, Aku disclosed. The unresolved FY02 GON budget
impasse, which allows for the disbursement of only 50% of
agencies, funds, has forced the Commission to delay the
recruitment until the first or second quarter of 2003. To
save funds, the Commission will not have a new testing and
interviewing process for candidates, but rather will draw
from the list of 1,000 (out of 27,000) candidates that passed
the 2001 exam and were interviewed.


7.(C) Aku relayed expressions of gratitude from the ICPC
Chairman, Justice Mustapha Akanbi, for the continued USG
support to the Commission in the form of INL-funded training
provided by DOJ,s Overseas Prosecutorial Development,
Assistance and Training (OPDAT) Program and the U.S.
Treasury,s Office of Technical Assistance (OTA). Aku stated
that the Commission is ready to received the third phase of
OPDAT/OTA training ) to focus on advance criminal
investigative procedures ) in November. A fourth phase in
December or January will offer select ICPC investigators or
instructors a comparative exchange with Hong Kong,s
Anti-Corruption Commission. RNLEO queried Aku about a recent
press report that quoted ICPC Chairman Akanbi as expressing
appreciation for the provision of USD 300 million in
assistance to the Commission by an unidentified foreign
donor. Aku laughed, explaining that the figure was a
misquote and meant to be USD 300,000 and the donor to whom
the Chairman was referring was OPDAT/OTA and INL but the
Chairman has difficulty citing correctly the several long
names of USG agencies involved.


Comment
--------------


8.(C) If the Commission could actively move on its
high-profile cases in a non-partisan manner, it might begin
to silence criticism that it is a tooth-less body lacking the
bite to bring senior-level officials to justice, unless at
the behest of the Presidency. The conviction of a LGA
Chairman is a symbolic first step. Nigeria,s 774 Local
Government Areas receive significant federal funds for local
development but corruption at this level is serious. A key
test of the President,s and National Assembly,s commitment
to a sustained, serious anti-corruption drive will be whether
the Commission is provided the critical funding to open and
staff its new zonal offices, so that the Commission can
really take its anti-corruption campaign outside of Abuja.
So far, Chairman Akanbi has succeeding in blocking attempts
to politicize the Commission, though there is an effort by
those involved in the current Presidential impeachment
contest to use the Commission for political ends, and this
includes accusations against the Chairman himself.


JETER