The Vice-President-elect, Prof.Yemi Osinbajo, on Friday explained how the Muhammadu Buhari administration would prosecute the anti-graft war, saying that Nigerians must question sources of wealth of the rich.

Osinbajo, while delivering the keynote address at the Abuja edition of The Platform, said the incoming administration would ensure zero tolerance for corruption by reforming the Justice system.

He said within the last few years, what the country had experienced was a situation where people got away with corrupt practices, noting that going forward; the incoming government would make sure that corrupt people suffer the consequences of their actions.

He said when people are made to suffer the consequences of corrupt practices; it would send a strong message to everyone that the era of looting of the treasury was over.

He said, “We have always talked about zero tolerance for corruption but it is also important that people are made to understand that there will be consequence for corruption.

“What we have seen so far is that there is hardly any consequence and people simply get away with it and if you get away with it often, it sends a message to everyone that there is no problem, and we need to fix that whole thinking that there has to be a consequence for corrupt practices.

“People have to explain, for instance, if you are a public servant, that how come you have 50 houses. Somebody needs to ask you those questions and some of the reasons people get away with that is our criminal justice system.”

He said in view of the fact that the incoming administration would be taking the fight against corruption seriously, one of the reforms that would first be carried out is in the judicial system.

The Vice-President- elect said the nation’s judicial system as presently constituted was slow, adding that this had made it easy for people to get away with criminal acts.

He said, “Our criminal justice system needs to be fixed. The system is slow and it almost always ensures that people who have been charged with offenses would not be tried forever and after a while people forget that people are on trial.

“We have to fix that criminal justice system to ensure that criminal trials are speedy and that anyone who is guilty of an offense will be punished for that offense.

“So there are so many initiatives around what we need to do in that area. The United States has 300 million people and they have 2.2 million people in jail. We have 170 million people and we have convicted people of just 12,000.

“Now if you add those awaiting trials, it comes to about 50,000 but actual convicted people are just 12,000. Truly it shows you that there is a failure somewhere of our criminal justice system, practically every one of us knows somebody who has stolen something.

“The truth is that the system of protection, investigation and trial of people is wrong and the truth is that everybody gets away with criminality in Nigeria and I think there is a need for us to review the system such that it begins to work.”

In the area of policing, Osinbajo said a country as big as that of Nigeria needed community policing.

He said it would be difficult for the Nigerian Police Force in its present form to fight crime in an effective manner owing to what he described as structural problems.

He said, “We need to look at law and order. The question of policing our society, how do we police this country? At the moment we know that policing is ineffective.

“If the police want to deal with the criminals, you and I know that they are hampered from doing so, they are hampered structurally, they are hampered by the fact that they are not as well equipped as they ought to be, and they are not resourced as they ought to be but the structural problem is the major one.


“A country of this size needs some form of community policing because criminality is always local, we need to have policemen who understand the local language, who live in the local community, who understand the language. So there is logic in it to have community policing.”

The event powered by Covenant Christian Centre had the theme: “Business and governance.”

barcanista:
Other VPs are talking of how to create sane environment for their citizens, our own VP-elect is talking about "Prison" and how to jail everybody. Anyway, Osinbajo start with Tinubu, then to Amaechi, Saraki, IBB, Barnabas Germade, Sylva etc then to Yourself.



Btw: Also question the source of your campaign funding.

Princecalm:
More than 48percent of Nigerian politicians have foreign bank accounts.

Princecalm:
More than 48percent of Nigerian politicians have foreign bank accounts.

politricks:
Has Sambo ever made any speech that made sense like this?. Thank GOD there is CHANGE now.

barcanista:
Other VPs are talking of how to create sane environment for their citizens, our own VP-elect is talking about "Prison" and how to jail everybody. Anyway, Osinbajo start with Tinubu, then to Amaechi, Saraki, IBB, Barnabas Germade, Sylva etc then to Yourself.



Also question the source of your campaign fund.

Rxpetite:
.

Pls what is impressive about this speech?
it is time Nigerians start asking questions instead of noddig in approval like lizards anytime someone makes a speech.
Nigerians please learn to ask your leaders 'how?', 'when?', 'who?', 'why?'.
Any i.diot can make a speech. How many times have you people elected presidents based on speeches and promises. Its no wonder they consider you people as f.ools, take you for granted and ignore those promises later. Some even go as far as denying ever making promises.
But iits okay. If one fails we can always insult him later and find someone else who is good at reading speeches.

As for for the op, I have no comment until you show a video of him making the speech.

politricks:
I know you cant elect a person based on speeches but that doesn't mean you should be dull. If Obama was like Sambo, do you think he would have won any election.

Rxpetite:

did you watch obama's debate? stop being impressed by medocrity. Every Nigerian thinks he knows what this country needs. What they dont know is HOW to achieve it. you think we dont know there is corruption in Nigeria? you think we dont know Nigeria will be better if corruptioon disappears?

A president and his vice should know the HOW even if we dont. I'm sick of everyone telling us what needs to be done and not how they intend to do it.

politricks:
The first step in tackling a problem is defining it. About how to tackle this problem, it is contained in their manifesto if you care to read them.

Rxpetite:

okay. you will just have to pardon me if I dont jump and clap in admiration.

barcanista:
Other VPs are talking of how to create sane environment for their citizens, our own VP-elect is talking about "Prison" and how to jail everybody. Anyway, Osinbajo start with Tinubu, then to Amaechi, Saraki, IBB, Barnabas Germade, Sylva etc then to Yourself.


Also question the source of your campaign fund.

simpleseyi:



The PDP government prosecuted Tinubu through the Code of Conduct Tribunal and Tinubu came out smiling. All other PDP office holders that were prosecuted were convicted including Bode George, DSP Alams, Lucky Igbinedion e.t.c. Now tell me if PDP could not find any evidence to jail Tinubu after investigating him for several years, how do you expect APC to do that? More prisons will be built for PDP treasury looters. Below are two links to how Tinubu floored his enemies including you.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/12/tinubu-floors-fg/

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/conduct-tribunal-quashes-charges-against-tinubu/104033/

barcanista:
Tinubu was tried by CCB for "operating foreign account" and not for mismanagement/looting of public funds. Note the difference