Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has requested the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abukabar Malami (SAN), to develop and adopt public registers for corrupt state governors and other high-ranking public officials charged with and convicted of grand corruption since the return of democracy in 1999.
The request was contained in an open letter to the minister dated August 23, 2019 and signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
The organization said the proposed registers would be a proportionate response to the grave crime of grand corruption and impunity of perpetrators and have a deterrent effect.
There can be no reasonable expectation of privacy in matters already exposed to public viewing such as prior arrest, charges and conviction records.
It said the register would also serve as a public interest purpose similar in some respects to the recently disclosed names and details by the United States Department of Justice of 80 defendants, most of whom are Nigerians, that have been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft and other charges.