Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Professor Bolaji Olufunmileyi Owasanoye (SAN), has painted a picture of how the annual negative report by the Transparency International (TI) on corruption status of Africa countries, especially, Nigeria has simmered down without the Commission being confrontational.
He said: “some of you must have noticed that this year, TI’s (Transparency International) release did not have much grounding or impact. This is not a Nigerian phenomenon. A lot of developing and European countries are beginning to interrogate TI reports as to why the countries that are victims of corruption always run poorer than the countries that are the recipients of the proceeds of corruption.”
Professor Owasanoye spoke yesterday, June 19, at the opening of a two-day training which ICPC organised to equip journalists from no fewer than 50 different media outlets across the country, with necessary wherewithal for the reportage of the Commission’s anti-corruption crusade.

He said that the training is a device to enable Nigeria to have the capacity to tell it’s story the way it should be, as counter narrative to the one being presented by the Transparency International to the world.
He emphasized that the training is borne out of the need to balance the narrative which the Transparency International always come up with about Nigeria, adding that the body had been in the habit of presenting gloomy picture of corruption status of the country without taking into account, the nature of the country as a developing nation.
“TI used a strategy to complicate its report. We needed a strategy to respond.
“For those of us who have a duty to report, like you (Journalists), you are always under the pressure to report the news as it is.
The ICPC boss admitted that Nigeria as a developing country, has its own challenges, regretting that when there are prospects to make progress, there are frustrations mounted that are not visible to observers.
“It is therefore time for us to begin to get involved in the narrative, at least to present our own side of the story the way it ought to be presented, so that there would be a balance in the information exchange.”
Professor Owasanoye insisted that the legal framework under which ICPC was established did not allow it to embark on media trial of suspected corrupt public officers, appealing to media men therefore, to bear with them if they fail to publicize suspect before investigation is concluded.
He explained that the Commission is not permitted by law, to go public with matters that are under investigations, until they go for prosecutions.

Lectures were delivered by some Directors in the Commission. They are Muhammed Ashiru Baba, who spoke on ICPC Initiatives: sexual harassment, moral reorientation and others; Professor Elijah Okebukola on Measuring Progress in the Fight against Corruption; Ebenezer Shogunle on Understanding the Process of Prosecution of Corrupt Cases and Terminologies and Jude Okoye on Overview of ICPC Achievements (2019 – 2023).

The training continues and ends today, June 20 at the ICPC Headquarters in Abuja.

President Bola Tinubu has terminated the appointments of the Chief of Defence Staff, other service chiefs, the Inspectors General of Police, Usman Baba, and the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, retired Colonel Hameed Ali.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, in a statement today, June 19, said: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has approved the immediate retirement of all Service Chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police, Advisers, Comptroller-General of Customs from Service as well as their replacements with immediate effect.

“Tinubu consequently appointed Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as National Security Adviser; Major General C.G Musa, Chief of Defence Staff; Major General T. A Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admirral E. A Ogalla, Chief of Naval Staff; AVM H.B Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff, DIG Kayode Egbetokun, Acting Inspector-General of Police and Major General EPA Undiandeye as Chief of Defence Intelligence.

“President Tinubu also approved the following appointments: Col. Adebisi Onasanya, Commander, Brigade of Guards; Lt. Col. Moshood Abiodun Yusuf, 7 Guards Battalion, Asokoro, Abuja; Lt. Col. Auwalu Baba Inuwa 177, Guards Battalion, Keffi, Nasarawa State; Lt. Col. Mohammed J. Abdulkarim, 102 Guards Battalion, Suleja, Niger state; and, Lt. Col. Olumide A. Akingbesote, 176 Guards Battalion, Gwagwalada, Abuja.

“Similarly, the President has approved the appointments of other Military Officers in the Presidential Villa as follows: Maj. Isa Farouk Audu (N/14695), Commanding Officer, State House Artillery; Capt. Kazeem Olalekan Sunmonu (N/16183), Second-in-Command, State House Artillery; Maj. Kamaru Koyejo Hamzat (N/14656), Commanding Officer, State House Military Intelligence; Maj. TS Adeola (N/12860) Commanding Officer, State House Armament; and, Lt. A. Aminu (N/18578), Second-in- Command, State House Armament.

“Finally, the President has approved the appointment of Adeniyi Bashir Adewale as the Ag. Comptroller General of Customs.

“It is to be noted that the appointed Service Chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police and the Comptroller General of Customs are to act in their positions, pending their confirmation in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

A prominent leader and ex militant in Niger Delta, Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo has opened fire on the Nigerian military, especially Arm and Navy, saying emphatically that 99 percent of oil thefts in the region are carried out by them.
Dokubo, who spoke to newsmen today, June 16, shortly after a private audience with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Aso Rock presidential villa, Abuja, stressed that the sophisticated ways in which the thefts are being carried out could only be done by highly placed security operatives, with the backing of officialdom.
“The military is at the centre of oil theft and we have to make this very clear to the Nigerian public, that 99 per cent of oil theft can be traced to the Nigerian military, the Army and the Navy especially,”
He promised to support the government of Tinubu to bring oil theft to “zero.”
Dokubo said his discussion with the president revolved around oil theft and security.
“Myself and my brothers have assured the President that there will be zero oil theft and vandalization in the Niger Delta.
“We’re going to work with NPPCL and the IOCs to make sure that oil tapped is brought to zero.”
It is instructive to know that the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative had said in April this year that Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at N16.25 trillion to oil theft between 2009 and 2020.