Former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari, to invite suspected looters of the country’s treasury for talks.

He said the President’s efforts to retrieve looted funds would be made easier if looters were allowed to return their loot without castigating them publicly.

Okogie, in an interview with our correspondent, said it was also cheaper to recover loot through dialogue than charging suspected public fund thieves to court.

He said, “I agree with the National Peace Committee that the President should tread softly and should set criteria that he is going to use. Corruption is endemic in Nigeria. That is why they are asking for caution: ‘Look at it properly,’” he said.

The cleric urged President Buhari to invite those suspected to have looted government treasury “to speak to their conscience.”

He warned that it would be difficult for the government to retrieve the loot as the suspects would use their financial resources to create legal hurdles for their prosecutors.

Okogie said, “People like that, when they go to court, they don’t look right and left before they do things. If I have a man like that and I know he has the money, I will weigh the options; ‘will it profit the nation if I take this man to court. If I take him to court, he is going to get a lawyer. The lawyer will be employed with part of the money I am looking for.

“The lawyer will now start to ask for adjournments and all what not. I may not get this money until after four years. And the judge too, in the mean time, is getting (part of the loot); you will not know. He won’t just adjourn anyhow.

“The lawyer will invite his brother (the judge) to come and get part of the cake until half of it will be gone. We have to look at the issue from that angle. And you may end up getting nothing.”

When asked if such would be possible in a sanitised judiciary, he asked, “Is it sanitised?”

According to Okogie, these are the areas the President ought to have started his anti-graft war by “sanitising and purifying” the judiciary first. “At least, you will know that three-quarters of the place is tight, and then you can start (the probe),” he added.

The fiery cleric, who decried the spate of moral decadence in the society, stated that it was the responsibility of the family to bring up the child well.

He lamented that parents were no more disciplined as before, saying, “These days, they don’t care anymore. That is not right; that is not how they were brought up.”

Okogie attributed the increasing spate of corruption in the country to declining moral upbringing of children.

He said, “Look at the probe that is going on now, for example; how can one person manage to get (steal) one-point-something billion; not even million but billion, and very soon you will hear of trillions? Where did he get it from? That is how it is going on, and he is from a family.

“And if his conscience worried him, he will run to his pastor to say ‘I want to pay tithe — 10 per cent; this is my tithe.’ The pastor collects the tithe. Seeing that it is huge money, the pastor will ask him, ‘what can I do for you?’ ”

http://www.punchng.com/news/buhari-should-invite-looters-for-talks-okogie/ lalasticlala

He said the President’s efforts to retrieve looted funds would be made easier if looters were allowed to return their loot without castigating them publicly.

What? Is cardinal okogie for real?? How in the hell is pmb even supposed to deter his own cabinet from sticky fingers if anti corruption war is treated with levity & shrouded in secrecy to protect the thief's reputation & help him/her save face !!!

Black people!! We are a very different bunch!

Hope he invite all, not selective invitation.

and wat happens when d looters say no?

we no go gree? no secrete settlement even if it will take ten years to nail a looter we will wait because it's not just about the money it's about creating a new part it's about a paradigm shift.its about changing the mind set of our people that corruption is evil and must be killed else it will kill us all

hehehe, cardinal if na u se u go show face say u loot

I won't totally castigate or disregard the cardinal for what he is saying. Corruptn cases somtymz tk a vry long tym due to tactics of all dx lawyers nd somtymz incompetent judges. If he ends up probing dem all dx administration may end without retrieving one quarter of it. Pls let GMB explore evry option available to get the monies bck if ders enof proof dy were stolen

Adesiji77:



http://www.punchng.com/news/buhari-should-invite-looters-for-talks-okogie/ lalasticlala

Whst nonsense

mccoy47:
and wat happens when d looters say no?

We take paid AD in the dailies & beg them!!

They didn't steal, they were only warehousing the funds for the Nation in their personal bank accounts, they are good people!!

Hmmmm

Can a thief accept that he/she is a thief? The answer is capital NO! after all stealing is never a corruption in their eyes.
Let PMB castigate them publicly if they don't return the loot at least we've known our thief. If there's anyone from my community we ll place curse on him to his future generations.

that's the fact, with the current laws we are operating no major looter will ever go to jail. with our Senate going on recess every month I don't know who will make those new laws. for those myopic ones castigating kukah oya start castigating okogie. buhari and apc are just making noise. gej saw this and decided to block all places the looters can loot. but apc and gullible illiterate Nigerians where shouting jail. oya let them start jailing.

With the large scale probe and allegation of corruption, its important to adopt plea bargain method.

modath:


We take paid AD in the dailies & beg them!!

They didn't steal, they were only warehousing the funds for the Nation in their personal bank accounts, they are good people!!

That is to say they kept it for PMB

wat has men of God turn into? when they were stealing did de invite the president b4 de did it? Is it because CAN President is involved? and cos part of dia loots are used to develop 'religious' houses in the name of God? well they can as well honor his invitation at the court of law. The masses and elites are just asking for too much from PMB yet criticize every move he makes. Senseless opinion!

tyson99:

That is to say they kept it for PMB

Yes ooo my bros, they were only safeguarding it.

It's even better to invite them for talks than to be making noise everywhere he goes without any meaningful prosecutions.

My take also,but we have a vindictive president who would go all out to pull down his predecessor.

War against graft must begin with the judiciary, only then can Mr. President make headway.