EFCC
Kaduna Primary: Diaspora group petitions EFCC, calls for arrest of Adam Namadi, others
Nigerians in diaspora on the platform of the Global Coalition for Security and Democracy in Nigeria(GCSDN) have sent a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissionn(EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for the arrest and prosecution of Adam Namadi, who publicly stated that he bribed the Kaduna North delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) to influence the outcome of the primary elections for the ticket of the House of Representatives, Kaduna North Federal Constituency.
Namadi claimed that he bribed 38 of the delegates with N2 million (N76m) and promised additional N1.5 million if given the ticket. He lost the primaries and requested for refunds.
In the petition signed by Dr. Frederick Odorige, the Global Coordinator of the group stated that “bribery in any form or shape to corrupt elections and misdirect the will and expectations of the people for personal gains, is a criminal offence .
The ICPC Act ss. 8-26 criminalizes (1) accepting gratification, (2) giving or accepting gratification, (3) bribery of public officers, (4) use of office or position for gratification…..
Dr. Odorige said “elections are the cornerstones of democracy. Must we continue to allow the machinations of a few persons to impose unpopular and unacceptable candidates on the people?
“This form of corruption is the genesis of bad governance in Nigeria. The corrupt politicians you are dealing with today are manifestations of those that bribed their ways into public offices. When they come into office, they desperately fight to recoup what they corruptly invested into the electioneering process.
“Bribing party delegates is an offence that is similar to the offence of bribe received by INEC officials who were prosecuted and jailed for their corrupt roles in previous elections.”
“We hope that this petition will be an opportunity to investigate and arrest all other persons who paid and received money as aspirants and delegates respectively in this election and other elections involving other political parties.
“Sirs, if this culture of commercializing and corrupting our electoral system is allowed to continue, elections in Nigeria will definitely lose its true values and result in international disgrace as the world watches. Please do not allow this to happen under your watch. We look forward to your prompt response.
