Coming Amended Constitution should give clarity on Legislature’s oversight on security, defence votes, says HURIWA

Oru Leonard 

Foremost Civil Rights Organisation, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has called on the National Assembly’s constitution amendment joint Committee of the National Assembly to provide clarity by way of including specific provisions regarding legislative oversight over security and national defence budgetary votes in the coming amended Constitution.

Submitting that the prolonged deep- rooted executive recklessness and unbridled fiscal improprieties in the corridors of power in Nigeria, are the driving forces that instigated widespread corruption and lack of governance; HURIWA noted that procurement corruption in the national security and defence system is the reason for the prolonged war on terror and the apparent demonstration of incapacity of the armed forces of Nigeria to decisively defeat terrorists and checkmate the unprecedented rise in violent crime in the Country.

The Rights group argues also that due to widespread insecurity inhibiting the safety of farmers in the country, the nation has been plunged into adverse food insecurity leading to mass hunger and absolute poverty which pervades all facets of life in the country and especially amongst the commoners of Nigeria. HURIWA therefore averred that stopping the pervasive corruption in the national security and defence sector holds the magic wand towards bringing to an end the vicious circle and hydraheaded monster of mass hunger and social dislocation.

In a media statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA stated that it is disheartening that the extant
1999 Constitution as observed by constitutional scholars, gives the president almost absolute control over the defence and security sector without serious consideration to the legislature, which constitutes the eyes of the people in the governance process. There is not a possibility that good governance can ever be experienced in Nigeria if this systemic lack of transparency and accountability in the administration of public finances in the national security and defence sector is sustained without any efforts to checkmate it through constitutional reform as a matter of a national emergency.

HURIWA agrees with credible legal minds that the lack of clear provisions in the extant 1999 Constitution on the issues of the military accountability to the people and their elected representatives indeed poses significant setback to any kind of attempt to wage war against corruption and misappropriation of public funds by the different layers of government at both the national and the sub-national.

“The truth is that as it is, the extant Constitution does not sufficiently empower the National Assembly to effectively check the excesses of the executive arm of government especially concerning the control and governance of the most critical domain of state power – the defence and security sector. We are of the opinion that as the members of the 10th National Assembly has set their minds towards conducting another round of amendments of some provisions in the Constitution, there is the overriding public interest which dictates that the greatest source of corruption in Nigeria which is classified under the opaque security votes should come under the legislative oversight of the National and state Houses of Parliament in the country. Then the state Houses of Assembly must accept funding and operational autonomy to free the state legislative bodies from the suffocating controls of dictatorial governors of the 36 states of the federation. These critical aspects of the law and constitutional reforms must be successfully replicated in the current amendment of the Constitution.”

The Rights group which affirmed that for many years, procurement corruption has become a hydraheaded monster in government of Nigeria, recalled with shock that only few years back, precisely on
Sept. 5th 2014, South Africa seized arms worth US 9.3 million purchased by two Nigerians and an Israeli citizen on behalf of Nigerian Security Services. It didn’t follow parliament approval.

The Rights group rated the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari’s government as the most corrupt in the political history of Nigeria, recalled that in December 2017, Buhari withdrew US $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for military procurement without parliamentary appribal.

“HURIWA recalled too that in 2018, there was a show down between the National Assembly and the Executive over withdrawal of US $496 million from ECA by the executive for purchase of military equipment including Tucano Helicopter, without parliamentary approval. Those withdrawal and procurement that do not go through legislative budgetary approval create fertile ground for corruption in the defence and security sector.
Recall also that USD 2.1 billion was allegedly misappropriated by the office of National Security Adviser in 2012 instead of purchases of arms to fight Boko Haram”.

HURIWA recalled that recently, in January 2024, Transparency International Defence & Security welcomed the seizure of $8.9million that was siphoned off by corrupt Nigerian officials from funds meant to be used to equip the country’s military in its fight against Boko Haram.

The Royal Court in Jersey, a British Crown Dependency, in January 2024 ruled that the funds were illicitly obtained by Nigerian officials in 2014.

Instead of being used for legitimate purchases of military equipment, the funds were moved out of Nigeria to a bank account in Jersey. The true source of the funds was obscured using foreign bank accounts and shell companies but the money ultimately benefited family members of Nigeria’s former ruling party.

Cuting the report by Transparency International, HURIWA recalled that Nigeria received an ‘E’ in Transparency International Defence & Security’s Government Defence Integrity Index, indicating a very high risk of corruption. Our assessment from 2018/19 showed Nigeria still faces considerable corruption risk across its defence institutions, with extremely limited controls in operations and procurement.

HURIWA insisted that corruption has become even more pervasive in the defence and national security related sector which is why it has become necessary that the National Assembly endeavours to include in the coming amended Constitution, clear provisions that would give clarity to the powers of legislative oversight over security and national defence budgetary votes to the legislature both at the national and state legislative levels to improve accountability and transparency in the procurement of arms and ammunition for the armed forces and for the use of the different security forces in both the federal and state levels.

(HURIWA Media)