The federal government on Sunday vowed to release the names of more persons alleged to have looted public funds.<\/p>\n
Two previous sets of lists released by the government have been criticized for containing only the names of the members of the main opposition party, PDP.<\/p>\n
None of those named have been convicted with some of them being prosecuted and others not being tried for any offense.<\/p>\n
Persons mentioned in previous lists, as well as civic groups like the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), have criticized the government for releasing the names.<\/p>\n
However, in a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said since the release of the first two lists of the alleged looters, there have been overt and covert attempts to intimidate and blackmail the federal government into discontinuing the release of more looters\u2019 names.<\/p>\n
\u201dHack writers have inundated the social and traditional media with articles casting aspersion on the lists, while some newspapers have even resorted to writing editorials against the federal government over the release of the lists. Most of the write-ups have accused the government of politicizing the anti-graft war by releasing the lists. We strongly disagree with them.<\/p>\n
\u201dWe do not have the power to try or convict anyone. That is the exclusive preserve of the courts. But we have the power to let Nigerians know those who turned the public treasury into their personal piggy banks, on the basis of very concrete evidence, and that is what we are doing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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