… Considers Bill to Close Gaps in Drug Law
The Senate on Tuesday considered a critical bill, which when passed and signed into law, would uncover and prevent the occurrence of financial fraud in government agencies and private institutions in Nigeria.
The bill was sponsored by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi (APC – Kebbi North).
Leading debate on the piece of legislation titled: A bill For An Act to Establish the Chatered Institute of Forensic And Investigative Professionals in Nigeria, the lawmaker, said the bill would assist government in promoting transparency and accountability by putting in place sophisticated mechanisms to prevent fraud and white collar crime, with the use of advanced audit technology.
According to the Abdullahi, the establishment of the Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals to develop and train Investigative Professionals in Nigeria, as provided by the bill, would afford government access to home based forensic and Investigative Auditors that “will save Nigerian government the cost of inviting Foreign Forensic Professionals Auditors for fraud investigation as it were in the case of NNPC missing Twenty billion Dollars ($20b) in the year 2014.”
“Amongst its basic functions and objectives, this Bill seeks to create a platform which will produce qualified, dedicated, skilled and professionally trained individuals in the use of Forensic Science and Technological tools and the techniques of forensic and investigative audit in public and private sectors, using international best practices and skills in the discharge of their function
“Mr President, distinguished colleagues, going by its objectives therefore, this Bill will promote high professional standards, ethics and etiquettes amongst her members in a bid to wipe out cases of compromised auditing process and reporting and camouflaging of Accounting facts, figures and fraud prevention which is currently one of the banes of many practitioners in Nigeria.
“Interestingly, this Bill when passed will make provision for the training of professionals from other disciplines like Lawyers, Criminologists, and Security Experts, Judicial Officers, Court Registrars, amongst others that are desirous to become skilled in this unique practice of financial fraud prevention, detection and investigation. This is because Forensic and Investigative Professionals involve litigation support, court testimony and expert witness,” the lawmaker said.
Abdullahi added that, “this Institute has been actively involved in training of professionals from different fields, and has trained about 11,600 professionals within and without, and we have a total number of 9,600 qualified members from different fields like Internal Auditors, External Auditors, Lawyers, Criminologist, Security Experts, and Judicial Staff since its establishment in Nigeria.
“Prominent Nigerians like Accountant General of the Federation, Auditor General for the Federation etc. are part of the present membership. The institute has about 3,600 students across the country. These students are expected to undergo qualifying examinations from stage one -stage three.
“Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, the Institute which this Bill seeks to establish is already in existence in many anti-fraud leading countries such as Canada, America, Australia, India amongst others, thereby making it to have partners and associates to work with closely in areas of training, information sharing and exchange of ideas.”
The lawmaker noted that the Institute is a branch of Association of Forensic and Investigative Auditors of Canada, affiliated to Association of Forensic and Investigative Auditors of Asia Pacific, and is also in affiliation with Institute of Forensic Accountant and Investigative Audit of India and affiliated to Institute of Forensic Auditors USA.
Reeling the benefits of the Bill, Senator Abdullahi said, “one major advantage that this body would bring to our anti-corruption fight and crusade is that, it will not only partner with relevant government agencies, it will also help to train their agents and certify them on the use of science and technology of forensic and investigative audit skills in preventing frauds in their various organizations.”
He added that when the Bill becomes law, it would strengthen the nation’s institutional frameworks in line with global standards and competitiveness; stimulate public confidence, and enhance transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s economic system and our national lives; guarantee safety and Direct Foreign Investments (DFIS) in our the country;
The Bill, among others, also seeks to leverage on the skills already acquired by thousands trained forensic experts in Nigeria and Africa at large, to offer training and retraining of personnel in order to broaden and ensure active participation from various relevant organs of government; popularize the art and use of science and technology of forensic for fraud prevention; and create employment opportunities.
Contributing to the debate, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, said the passage of the bill “will do a lot in uncovering fraud in our financial system.”
According to him, the establishment of the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals would uncover funds hidden in banks across Nigeria.
“Today, Mr. President, many funds are hidden in our financial institutions running into trillions of naira, but because the technology required to uncover these frauds are not in place, the establishment of this particular professional body will go a long way to uncover most of these funds.
“Mr. President, I want to commend the leader of the Senate, for presenting this bill at this material time, when the nation’s economy is in a state of tenterhooks.
“We can no longer fund our budgets, but some Nigerians are richer than this country, and the monies are hidden in the banks for no use.”
The bill which scaled Second Reading after consideration, was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters for further legislative input.
The Committee which is Chaired by Senator Ibrahim Shekarau (APC – Kano Central) is expected to turn in its report in two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Senate has commenced an ammendment to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act 2004 with a view to close the loopholes in the drug law.
The move began in earnest on Tuesday with the consideration of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act 2004 (Amendment) Bill, 2021, presently before the National Assembly.
The bill which scaled Second reading, according to its sponsor, Senator Dinka Hezekiah Ayuba (APC – Plateau Central), seeks consistent sentencing for convicted offenders, and “to put a stop to the illegalities being perpetrated by certain Federal High Court Judges by closing the loophole in the Law.”
Leading debate on the bill, the lawmaker said, “The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap. N 30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 provides for stringent penalties for persons involved in the importation and exportation of hard drugs such as cocaine or heroin. These penalties range from life imprisonment to 15 years which is the minimum penalty.
“A gramme of cocaine sells for over N4 million naira in the market. In spite of the fact that the Supreme Court in the case of Odeh V Federal Republic of Nigeria (2008) 3-4 Supreme Court Cases page 147 has held that the minimum penalty for those dealing in such hard drugs is a term 15 years, for some unknown reasons, some judges of the Federal High Court have continued to pass ridiculously light and illegal sentences on those convicted.
“Rather than a term of imprisonment of 15 years, the maximum sentence passed on any convict was a term of 3 years for heroin.
“Some of these have been as low as 4 months imprisonment for 1.44Kgs of cocaine.
“Worse still is the fact that when some of the Judges pass these light terms of imprisonment, the convicts are further given options of fines which are not provided for under the NDLEA Act. These options of fine have ranged from N150, 000 to N 500,000.
“Where a person caught with cocaine worth N4million is given an option, to pay a fine of N200,000 as was done in one case, what signals is the Country sending to the drug Barons, their Couriers, our youths and the International Communities?
“Furthermore, because these penalties have been decided by some judges based solely on their arbitrary rather than the law, there has no consistency in the sentence passed on the various convicts with regard to the quantity of Hard Drugs found on them.
“For instance, one person found with 844gms of cocaine was given a term of 2years imprisonment while another person found with 2.2g of cocaine was given a term of 11 months imprisonment with an option of N500,000 fine.
“Again, another person found with 160grammes of cocaine was sentence to 18 months imprisonment with an Option of N500,000 fine, while a convict found with 4.8kg of cocaine was given a term of imprisonment of 8 months.
“The arbitrariness that is being perpetrated by the trial judges by not following the provisions of the NDLEA Act clearly can lead to corrupt practices and encouragement of the drug trade.”
The lawmaker, therefore, attributed the increase in drug trafficking activities in the country as a consequence of illegal and light sentences by trial Judges of the Federal High Court.
“Mr. President, my Distinguished Colleagues, you may have noticed that there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of drug couriers apprehended at our Airports, this is a direct consequence of these illegal sentences invented by some judges,” he said.
According to Ayuba, the rather expensive and rigorous process for the NDLEA to appeal such cases of illegality may take a long time – somewhere between waiting for seven (7) to ten (10) years for final adjudication.
The lawmaker added that, “the proposed amendment to the NDLEA Act will close any loophole by having a clear, unambiguous and unequivocal provision that Judges cannot vary the sentences provided by the Act by reducing the penalties or giving options of fines which the NDLEA Act has not provided for.
“The urgency of the proposed amendment is underscored by the fact that within the first eight (8) months of last year, 94 cases fell within this category.
“As the news of these light sentences spread, more people are encouraged to go into the drug trade, hence the phenomenal rise in the number of person apprehended at our airports, and the continued damage to the lives of our youths and our images in the international Community.”
On other aspects of amendments to the Act, he said, “there is equally a minor but significant error in the principal Act. The word ”heroine”. The two words mean different things and are not synonymous.
“An amendment is therefore being proposed to change the word ”heroine” which means a girl or woman who does something brave or good to ”heroin” which means a powerful illegal drug made from morphine which is intended in the Act.
“The last amendment being sought concerns the penalty for obstructing the Agency or authorized officer of the Agency in the exercise of any of the powers conferred on the Agency. The principal Act imposes a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years or to a fine of N 20,000 or both.
“The amendment is seeking to increase the option of fine from N 20,000 to N 100,000 because the economic reality in Nigeria today has rendered the N 20,000 fine, paltry and unrealistic.”
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, thereafter, referred the bill for further legislative work to the Committee on Drugs and Narcotics.
The Committee is expected to submit its report in two weeks during plenary.