Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has backed Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka’s rejection of the centenary award, and said that “any public award to indicted corrupt public officials sends a wrong message and amounts to a triumph of corruption over public probity and integrity.”
The organization also “wants the Federal Government to explain to Nigerians how much exactly it spent on the centenary celebration.”
In a statement today signed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni the organization said that, “The award to the late military dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, considered one of the most corrupt leaders the country ever had, cannot be justified on any ground whatsoever, and in fact sends the message that corruption pays. It also suggests that tacking high-level official corruption and impunity of perpetrators is not as high on the list of this government’s priorities as it should be.”
The group also said that, “Granting awards to indicted corrupt public officials represents an attack on the country’s international anticorruption obligations and commitments, and can only further encourage corrupt politicians to continue to pursue personal interests with impunity, instead of catering to the Nigerian public.”
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