As countries worldwide commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day, an anti-graft group has said the passage of the Terrorism Prohibition and Prevention Act is crucial to the anti-graft war.
The Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch, CFTIW, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the passage of the Terrorism Prohibition and Prevention Act, Money Laundering Prohibition Act and the Proceeds of Crimes Act, saying the acts have strengthened the institutional and legal frameworks in the nation’s fight against corruption.
CFTIW disclosed this on Friday in a statement issued and signed by Victor Agi, the group’s Public Relations Officer.
It said that International Anti-Corruption Day presents a unique opportunity for stakeholders to reflect and recommit to the fight against public sector corruption and entrench the culture of transparency and accountability across the board.
Recall that President Buhari, in May this year, signed the Terrorism Prohibition and Prevention Act, Money Laundering Prohibition Act and the Proceeds of Crimes Act.
However, the Centre noted that feedback from its recent workshop points to the need for more advocacy and improved capacity of stakeholders for proper domestication and operationalization of these legal instruments.
Part of the statement read: “The auspicious occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day every year presents a unique opportunity for stakeholders and the Center, especially to reflect and recommit to the fight against public sector corruption and the entrenching of the culture of transparency and accountability across the board.
“In the past year, Nigeria has made progress in line with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and other regional and international commitments through the signing into law of anti-corruption legislation. The passage of the Terrorism Prohibition and Prevention Act, Money Laundering Prohibition Act and the Proceeds of Crimes Act has no doubt firmed institutional and legal frameworks in the nation’s fight against corruption.
“For us at the Center, these legislations are crucial to the work that we do, which revolves around strengthening the anti-corruption environment; hence, apart from leading the advocacy that led to the passage and eventual assent by President Muhammadu Buhari in May this year, the Center, alongside its partners in the criminal justice sector, has continued to build the capacity of key stakeholders drawn from Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) towards the effective implementation of these laws.
“Nevertheless, feedback from our recent workshop points to the need for more advocacy and improved capacity of stakeholders for proper domestication and operationalization of these legal instruments. This year’s Anti-Corruption Day commemoration, therefore, affords us the opportunity to remind stakeholders of their commitments to the fight against corruption, which must now go beyond yearly rhetoric to action-based commitments.
“Consequently, and as the Sub-Saharan Africa representative at the Board of the UNCAC Coalition, we are pleased with the direction the Coalition is taking its conversation at this year’s International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC). Indeed, stakeholders must move from commitments to implementation, and entrenching anti-corruption monitoring mechanisms to increase government accountability is pertinent. The Center’s Transparency and Integrity Index (TII) is one such corruption monitoring tool which has proven an important instrument for assessing and improving public sector transparency and accountability in government business.”