Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan; and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila to urgently publish all reports of completed public hearings and corruption probes by the National Assembly (NASS) since the return of democracy in 1999.
The organization also urged them to disclose the number and details of public hearings and corruption probes by NASS that have resulted in any indictment of suspects, and to name such suspects.
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“The reports should be sent to appropriate anti-corruption agencies to consider if there is sufficient admissible evidence to pursue prosecution.” the group asked.
In the FoI requests dated 25 July 2020 and signed by SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said publishing the reports of hearings and probes would bolster public trust and confidence in the oversight functions, and dispel the perception that many of these hearings and probes are politically motivated and serve personal interest, rather than the general public interests.
SERAP said: “The most effective way to deter corruption is to make the cost of engaging in these types of acts higher than the rewards. This end can only be accomplished by making public the reports and pursuing public accountability for corrupt acts. Doing so would also give Nigerians greater confidence that their lawmakers can use their constitutional oversight functions to address corruption in Nigeria.”
