Prosecute Nigerian public officers involved in GLENCORE bribery–CISLAC

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), has challenged the Nigerian authorities to, as a matter of national interest, thoroughly investigate allegations that some public officials demand and collected about $80 million in bribes from GLENCORE, a multinational mining and commodity trading company.

CISLAC noted that GLENCORE had admitted that it paid bribes to Nigerian officials in connection with deals involving the purchase of oil and petroleum products from Nigeria’s state-owned company.

The Executive Director of CISLAC, Mr Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, who stated these in a message in Transparency International (TI) Annual Newsletter in Berlin, said it was time the Nigerian authorities investigated the allegations and held those responsible to account.

Rafsanjani noted that despite the fact that GLENCORE was facing repercussions for bribery, Nigerian public officers on the receiving end had not been made to face any consequences.

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He therefore called on the US lawmakers to pass the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) to help check the excesses of some public office holders.

The CISLAC boss said; “The same can be said for over US$1billion paid in bribes by Eni and Royal Dutch Shell for the rights to the OPL 245 offshore oilfield, to members of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

“Nigeria could lose as much as US$5 billion because of the questionably negotiated fiscal terms under the deal, in addition to the US$1.1bn that it already lost due to corrupt payments, according to Italian prosecutors.”

Rafsanjani, who is also the head of Transparency International in Nigeria, urged the US lawmakers to adopt the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) to support anti-corruption efforts in their countries.

He stressed that FEPA would provide a valuable tool to help countries like Nigeria combat corruption and hold their officials accountable for accepting bribes. (WIth Forefront report)