Corruption is still endemic in institutions of government in Nigeria, the United States of America has claimed.
The claim, among several others, was part of its focus report on Nigeria in 2023.
The report, packaged by the United States Department of State, was titled: ‘2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Nigeria’. Other African countries were also captured, as well as other countries of the world.
Speaking on respect for the integrity of the person, the report claimed that: “There were reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings.
“There were numerous killings reported similar to the following examples. In January, the Police in Katsina opened fire after responding to a call at a wedding party, killing two and injuring three. On April 5, a Police officer in Delta State killed a man for reportedly refusing to pay a N100 ($0.16) bribe at a checkpoint. The officer claimed the shooting was accidental. The officer was dismissed from the Police Force and faced prosecution for alleged murder.
“On July 2, three soldiers were reported to have opened fire on community neighborhood watch guards as the guards responded to reports of a bandit attack in Enugu State. Two guards were killed and four injured, while the military accused the guards of being bandits them- selves”.
The report alleged that the cabinet of President Bola Tinubu was harbouring official corruption.
A portion of the report said: “Although the law provided penalties for corruption by officials, the government did not consistently implement the law. There were numerous reports of government corruption. Massive and widespread corruption affected all sectors of government, including the Judiciary and security services.
“In August, President Tinubu appointed former governor Abubakar Bagudu the Minister of Budget, despite Bagudu’s widely reported history of helping then-military ruler, Sani Abacha steal hundreds of millions of dollars from the Government in the 1990s”.
The report didn’t stop at that, knocking the Judiciary, in the review of administration of justice as well as the nation’s prisons’ deplorable situation.
The opening part of the executive summary reads: “There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Nigeria in the past year.
“Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary and unlawful killings, including extra-judicial killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; serious abuses in a conflict, including reportedly unlawful or widespread civilian deaths or harm, enforced disappearances or abductions, torture, and physical abuses”, were listed against the Nigerian State.
America also claimed Nigeria committed “serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists and enforcement of criminal libel laws to limit expression; serious government corruption; extensive gender-based violence, including domestic or intimate partner violence, sexual violence, child, early and forced marriage, female genital mutilation/cutting, and other forms of such violence; and existence of any of the worst forms of child labor”.
“During the March 18 States’ election in Lagos, All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters reportedly intimidated and suppressed voters in Igbo-dominated areas, which Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, an ethnically-Igbo Peter Obi, won in the February 25 national election.
“Viral videos on social media showed APC supporters in Ojo area threatening to attack ethnic Igbo voters presumed to be pro-Obi”.
