The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), a civil rights advocacy group, slammed presidential spokesman Garba Shehu on Friday for defending the theft of stamp duty proceeds estimated at N89 trillion.
According to a statement from HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and private investigators or auditors must find the main players or cartel, which Garba Shehu said was responsible for the stamp duty fraud.
The group also rejected Shehu’s claim that all stamp duties are being recovered and transferred into the stamp duties central account by a committee led by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
HURIWA questioned if a jury could be a judge in its own case and claimed that no truth could emerge from a committee where the accused is looking at itself.
The theft of stamp duty earnings totaling N89 trillion has been reported by Muhammed Kazaure, a member of the House of Representatives. He says that he has legal proof that the money is in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He insisted that the bank only gives the government 60% of the money from stamp duties, and that the other 40% goes to private pockets. He also said that the top bank has not done this.
The legislator said that Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, had held an additional N171 billion in stamp duty earnings in the bank’s private investor account.
Although the total amount of foreign exchange traded as of April 2020 was approximately $171 billion, Shehu defended Emefiele, claiming that this does not mean that Nigeria has $171 billion stashed away in some vault or saved in any account. Instead, Shehu made a protracted but illogically balanced statement in support of Emefiele.
In the same statement, Shehu said that a committee led by AGF Malami is “working to reconcile, recover, and transfer all Stamp Duties into Stamp Duties Central Account” and that “the work is ongoing, it is not done yet, and the President will continue to show his keen interest in the matter of Stamp Duty collection.”
The presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, offered a feeble defense that left any sane Nigerian in awe, said HURIWA’s Onwubiko. Shehu said in one statement that there is no fraud in collecting stamp duty and in another that a committee has been set up to find lost stamp duties and make sure they are paid.Such a fraud! Great deception and coverup!
“HURIWA disapproves of Shehu’s inadequate justification. If federal government officials are telling us this cockamamie tale of consultants plotting to steal stamp duty payments belonging to the general public, they should hide their faces in shame. It’s absurd that the government is informing us about some fake consultants. The main thieves must prepare for life in prison if the government does not cough up this massive sum of money.
“This situation should be investigated by the EFCC and private investigators and auditors, not the office of the AGF, which is also involved in the alleged scam or mistake by virtue of being a part of this government.” The Malami committee cannot provide anything accurate.
“President Muhammadu Buhari should dismiss Emefiele without delay in order to conduct a thorough and unbiased inquiry into this significant accusation made by Kazaure. Anything else is ridiculous and won’t be accepted.
