FG Is ready To Publish Names Of Looters -Malami

The Federal Government has announced plans to publish names of treasury looters as ordered by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council meeting.

Malami said the government was aware of its responsibility to disclose relevant information but that due process must be followed.

“I want to place to on record that we have in place the freedom of information act and the government is fully aware of its responsibility arising from that legislation,” he said.

“The issue that is fundamentally worthy of consideration is the fact that the government will definitely be alive to its responsibility as far as those disclosures are concerned.

“You have to take into consideration that there are a lot of factors that are to be considered as far as making those disclosures are concerned.

“So the government will at the appropriate time make necessary disclosures perhaps intermittently against the background of the prevailing conditions relating to the tendency of certain suits and associated things.”

The Federal High Court Lagos had ordered the Federal Government to “immediately release to Nigerians, information about the names of high-ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered and the circumstances under which funds were recovered, as well as the exact amount recovered from each public official”.

The judgment was delivered Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari following a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/CS/964/2016 brought by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

Malami told reporters in Abuja that government is in agreement with the ruling and will carry out the order as long as it does not amount to subjudice.

Malami also spoke on how matters that are pending in court had been restricting government from making some disclosures.

“There are matters of reconciliation, compilations and associated things,” he said.

“On need and compliance basis, the federal government has been making necessary statements public, and then courts in their own rights, in the course of adjudication of cases, keep making judgements and statements as they relate to the parties.”

He also hinted that the Council has approved a roadmap for the implementation of the newly developed anti-corruption strategy.

The Attorney-General explained that the policy was geared towards enhancing enforcement and sanctions in the ongoing anti-corruption war in the country.