Domesticate Rome Statute to Help Track, Recover Proceeds of Corruption Across the Borders, Group Urges NASS
The leadership of the National Assembly, both the Senate and the House of Representatives, has been urged to domesticate the Rome Statute without further delay, to enable the country track and recover illicit transactions and proceeds of corruption across the borders.
The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) made the call last week, after rising from a oneday International Conference, which was held in Lagos.
The Conference, with the theme ‘Situating Jurisdiction of ICC over Cross-Border Corruption and Illicit Asset Recovery: Evolving Global Understanding and Partnership’, was organised by HEDA in partnership with the Nigerian Coalition on International Criminal Court (NCICC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) with the support of MacArthur Foundation, at the Radisson Hotel, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.
The conference drew participants from international anti-corruption stakeholders, local anti-corruption activists, anti-corruption agencies, judicial officers, legal practitioners, researchers, scholars, academics, students, community leaders, faithbased organisations and journalists.
The conference received solidarity cum goodwill messages and presentations from Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Integrity Initiatives International, representatives of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and other civil society platforms.
The conference was enriched with an avalanche of highly resourceful personalities, including four Senior Advocates of Nigeria; namely, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, Dr. Muiz Banire, SAN and Mr. Edmund Chinonye Obiagwu, SAN, Prof. Itse Sagay, SAN, the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC - who was ably represented, Prof. (Mrs) Ayo Atsenuwa of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Dr. Oni of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Ibrahim Magu; the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) (ably represented) and Mr. Paul Hoffman, Director, Accountability Now and Integrity Initiatives International. The immediate past 2nd Vice President of the NBA, Monday Ubani, Esq.; Dele Oloke, Esq., Chairman, NBA Ikeja Branch; Malachy Ugwumadu, Esq., President, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR);
Omoyele Sowore; a presidential candidate, Nurudeen Ogbara, former Chairman, NBA Ikorodu Branch and many other Nigerian patriots and stakeholders, including distinguished members of the fourth Estate of the Realm.
The conference received a keynote address, two other leading and highly resourceful, insightful cum engaging presentations, and concluded with a democratic evaluation session. The conference’s methodology incorporated both the didactic and interactive, participatory approaches. The Conference elaborately deliberated on the rationale for the call, relevance and application of jurisdiction of the ICC in prosecuting, curtailing and punishing crossborder corruption, and in enhancing recovery of illicit assets.
The conference also examined and deliberated extensively, on the legal frameworks relevant to international jurisdiction on cross-border corruption and recovery of illicit assets. Issues relating to the confinement, possible contemporary challenges and limitations of the ICC in the prosecution of trans-border corruption and illicit assets recovery, were subjected to analysis and the possible solutions were highlighted.
The conference received the keynote address from Mr. Paul Hoffman, the Director, Accountability Now and Integrity Initiatives International on ‘Corruption as Crime Against Humanity: ICC and Compelling Challenge of a Global Monster’. Justice Mark Wolf, Founder of Integrity Initiatives International and Judge of a United States Court, delivered an opening remark at the conference.
In his welcome address, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, Chairman, HEDA Resource Centre informed the participants that the conference was informed by the disturbing phenomenal implications of stolen capital flight from developing countries, to self-styled safe havens in developed States; and the laundering of resources through bribery and corruption, in the conduct of international businesses.
According to Suraju, the international conference was convened, to deliberate on the dimensions and challenges of tracking and recovery of illicit transactions and proceeds of corruption across borders to developed countries.
The conference however, resolved amongst others that, stolen assets from developing countries especially Nigeria, continue to find their ways into foreign countries, and this has escalated poverty in African and other developing countries; civil society groups need to intensify efforts in engaging the ICC on the need to expand its jurisdiction to cover cross-border corruption cases; corruption can no longer be isolated as a local challenge to be left to the government of the home countries, as it has become a transnational phenomenon requiring the partnership of, and with, the international community; stolen assets from most African countries are kept in foreign countries with the collaboration of, or in connivance with, international partners and laws and enforcement mechanisms in most African countries are weak in identifying, tracing, investigating and recovering the proceeds of corruption.
They noted that, corruption has now assumed the status of serious international crimes considering the high degree or intensity of its negative implication or consequences on the citizenry, thereby necessitating the activation of the jurisdiction of the ICC even within the scope of the Rome Statute and case-laws emanating therefrom.
According to them, corruption should be regarded as economicide (i.e. massive violation of the social and economic rights of the citizens through corrupt activities of public office holders, thereby endangering the welfare and economic wellbeing of the citizenry), and should either be inserted by way of amendment of the Rome Statute or should be incorporated thereto by way of expansive definition, such that corruption or economicide is regarded as a crime against humanity, as provided for under Article 7 (1) (k) of the Rome Statute.
They recommended that, global advocacy should be stimulated and deployed, at deepening the demand for the activation of the ICC’s mandate to frontally combat global corruption, and prosecution of corrupt activities that constitute grave violation of human rights and exacerbation of crimes against humanity.
They also called on the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the ICC, to forthwith commence its own preliminary examination of information and decide if it would initiate an investigation proprio motu.
“The OTP should be more pro-active, and be open to building a formidable alliance with anti-corruption stakeholders in the task ahead.
“All anti-corruption stakeholders and agencies should not relent in their pro-active investigation and prosecution of corrupt activities, including money laundering and illicit assets recovery.
“All anti-graft agencies, should be strengthened to deal with all cases of corruption at the national level.
“The leadership of the National Assembly (both the Senate and the House of Representatives), to domesticate the Rome Statute without further delay”, they added.