BY Mayowa Tijani
Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria, says Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), lacks the moral integrity to recover Nigeria’s loot locked in foreign countries.
Speaking at the Osun State University, Ifetedo, on Wednesday, Falana highlighted the issues Lagarde herself was facing in her home country.
“The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde stated that a loan from the IMF was not discussed with the federal government but that a team from the institution would visit the country to study the economic crisis and make appropriate recommendations,” he said.
“She also promised that IMF would help Nigeria in the recovery efforts. It is doubtful if Nigerians are aware that the IMF boss in under investigation in her country, France over her handling of a €405 million (£322m) state payout made to Bernard Tapie, a disgraced tycoon, in 2008 when she was France’s finance minister.
“Apart from lacking the moral integrity to recover loot for Nigeria the IMF and World Bank as well as western government are complicit in the promotion of capital flight and looting of the treasury of Nigeria.”
In the paper titled “the justiciability of socio-economic rights in Nigeria”, Falana said Nigeria had recovered more than what Okonjo-Iweala, former finance minister, put together in her “tissue of lies”.
“Notwithstanding the frustration of western banks the federal government has recovered not less than $4 billion from the Abacha loot.
“But the World Bank and a former Managing Director of the bank, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala recently produced a report which gave the false impression that only $500 million had been recovered.
“A 700-page tissue of lies which listed phantom projects executed with the recovered loot was produced by the bank. Instead of relying on the foreign financial institutions governments that have fed fat on the corrupt practices of Nigerian leaders the federal government should commission a panel of experts to ensure that the $150 billion is recovered and repatriated to the country.”
Falana called on President Muhammadu Buhari to seek the consent of the national assembly to establish a court for anti-corruption trials.
“With the ongoing investigations into serious allegations of massive corruption in the office of the NSA, NNPC, CBN, NIMASA, NPA, it is clear that the regular courts cannot cope with the trial of the many suspects that are likely to be indicted and recommended for prosecution.
“It is high time the executive sponsored a Bill for the establishment of an anti-corruption court.”
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