By Chijindu Emeruwa
A pro-democracy group, National Youth Organisation, Nigerian Youth Patriots (NYP), has demanded a thorough investigation and prosecution of past Nigerian leaders and companies implicated in corruption within the country’s oil industry.
In a statement released on Thursday by the President, by Amb. Timothy Nwachukwu, the President, the NYP expressed deep concern over the widespread poverty and hardship facing Nigerian Citizens occasioned by illicit financial activities, mismanagement of resources, and collusion between government officials and private entities.
He lamented that under past Nigerian Leaders, oil blocks were almost given freely to individuals who are highly connected to those in power while these individuals re-sell the oil blocks to International Oil Companies and earn substantial income.*
He recalled that in a news publication by The Punch newspaper on March 7, 2010: 1-2, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, a former Minister of Defense and former Chief of Army Staff publicly disclosed at a forum in Abuja that he realized $500 million as profit from the total of $1 billion sales of an oil block located at Port Harcourt, River State, which was allocated to him by late Gen. Sani Abacha.
The group stated further that a South African based news print, Business Time in October 31, 2004 exclusively reported how “a former Nigerian President was alleged to have awarded a $1 billion oil block in the nation’s most prized oil-producing zone to his wife’s hairdresser’’.
The group Stated further that a news report by The Nation Newspaper, dated Thursday June 19, 2008, Pp. 1–2, former President Olusegun Obasanjo as minister of Petroleum from 1999-2007 embarked on “oil block bazaar’’, arbitrarily and unilaterally allocating oil block to his cronies and political associates as “a parting gift’’ for those who supported his failed “third term’’ agenda without due process.
The Nigerian Youth Patriots called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the process that led to the sale of the nation’s resources and bring those responsible for unethical acquisition of the nation’s oil block to justice.
The group urged the international community to support Nigeria’s efforts to combat corruption and recover stolen assets. They called on foreign governments and financial institutions to cooperate with Nigerian authorities in investigating and repatriating illicit funds.