By George Mgbeleke<\/p>\n
Corruption is Nigeria\u2019s enemy number one. Citizens\u2019 righteous pressure on the EFCC must grow louder until justice is done.
\nThe Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) is sounding a national alarm: Nigerians must stop treating corruption and impunity as ordinary features of politics. They are a direct assault on the people, a drain on public resources and a grave obstacle to good governance.
\nWe call on Nigerians to demand answers\u2014forcefully, peacefully and persistently\u2014from political parties that give tickets to former governors and other public office holders facing unresolved corruption allegations or ongoing prosecutions.
\n The APC, in particular, must explain its choices to the Nigerian people. Any other party that fields candidates in similar circumstances must answer too.<\/p>\n
Who decided these candidates were fit to seek public office? What standards did the parties apply? What message do they send when they ask citizens to entrust public power to people whose cases remain unresolved? Nigerians deserve clear answers before they are asked for their votes.
\nLet there be no distortion of HURIWA\u2019s position: an allegation is not a conviction, and every accused person is entitled to the presumption of innocence and a fair hearing. But that principle cannot be twisted into a shield against public questions. Parties that choose such candidates have a duty to explain their decisions. Citizens have every right to scrutinise them.<\/p>\n
EFCC: Nigerians will keep asking about Yahaya Bello
\nThe EFCC says it cannot act as judge in cases it brings to court. HURIWA understands that the Commission does not control the judiciary or decide when a court delivers judgment. But Nigerians are entitled to ask what is happening in high-profile cases\u2014and to expect clear, factual updates from the institutions handling them.<\/p>\n
The Commission itself says the cases involving former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello are before two courts. The public has watched this case and others with mounting frustration. The answer to that frustration cannot be to tell Nigerians to lower their voices. The EFCC must keep the public informed, pursue its cases diligently and explain any delays within its own responsibility.
\nThe judiciary must ensure fair hearings and timely proceedings.
\nIf the EFCC calls these demands \u201charassment,\u201d then HURIWA calls them righteous harassment: the unrelenting, peaceful pressure of citizens who refuse to let powerful people and public institutions bury questions of accountability. Nigerians must keep asking. Keep demanding. Keep watching. The louder the public demand for justice, the harder it becomes for impunity to hide.
\nThis pressure must remain lawful and peaceful. It must not threaten anyone or interfere with court proceedings. But it must not stop.
\nCorruption steals from every Nigerian
\nCorruption is not an abstract political argument. It is stolen opportunity: the unsafe classroom, the neglected hospital, the insecure community, the unemployed young person, the failing power supply and the public project that never serves the people. Every naira diverted from public service deepens hardship and weakens trust in government.
\nNigerians have been urged to speak against bad governance, insecurity, poverty and corruption. HURIWA fully supports that call. Citizens must reject indifference and make accountability a national demand\u2014not a campaign slogan wheeled out at election time and abandoned once politicians gain power.
\nHURIWA therefore calls on:
\n\u2022\tThe APC and every other party concerned to publicly defend its decision to field candidates facing unresolved corruption allegations or ongoing cases.
\n\u2022\tThe EFCC to pursue its cases without fear or favour and provide timely, factual public updates where the law allows.
\n\u2022\tThe judiciary to safeguard fair hearings and ensure that cases are not left to drift without reason.
\n\u2022\tNigerians to keep demanding answers from political parties and public institutions, peacefully and without fear.
\nCorruption is Nigeria\u2019s enemy number one. Nigerians must reject corruption\u2014loudly, collectively and without exception. No party should be allowed to hide behind political slogans. No public institution should be beyond scrutiny. No one is above the law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke Corruption is Nigeria\u2019s enemy number one. Citizens\u2019 righteous pressure on the EFCC must grow louder until justice is done. The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) is sounding a national alarm: Nigerians must stop treating corruption and impunity as ordinary features of politics. They are a direct assault on the people, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19709"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19710,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19709\/revisions\/19710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}