The U.S. Department of State in its 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on Nigeria released by the department on Tuesday said that corruption was still high in Nigeria despite efforts by the Muhammadu Buhari government to curtail it.
The reports said “although the law provides criminal penalties for conviction of official corruption, the government did not consistently implement the law, and government employees frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.”
The report added that “massive, widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government, including the judiciary and security services. The constitution provides immunity from civil and criminal prosecution for the president, vice president, governors, and deputy governors while in office. There were numerous allegations of government corruption during the year.”
The report added that “during the year there was a high-profile investigation involving the acting chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu. In July authorities arrested Magu and charged him with embezzlement. Magu was suspended as acting EFCC chairman. The ICPC led a raid in August 2019 that resulted in the arrest of 37 federal road safety officers and five civilian employees on charges of extortion.
“As of December 2019, the EFCC had secured 890 convictions, a record during the year. Through court-martial, the military convicted and fired a major general in connection with the 2019 reported theft of 400 million naira (more than one million dollars) in cash.”
The report echoed the sentiments of most Nigerians that the bulk of ICPC and EFCC anti-corruption efforts remained focused on low- and mid-level government officials.
The report also exonerated the military in the infamous #EndSARS shooting at Lekki tollgate in Lagos, stressing that Nigerian security forces fired shots “into the air” to disperse #EndSARS protesters at the Toll Gate in Lagos on Oct. 20, and did not shoot directly at protesters as claimed in some sections of the media.
Although Amnesty International reported that 10 persons died during the incident, the reports says there is no “accurate information” on the fatalities.
It says: “On Oct. 20, members of the security forces enforced curfew by firing shots into the air to disperse protesters, who had gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos to protest abusive practices by the Nigerian Police Force’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
