The Anti-Crime Programme Coordinator of the United States Embassy in Nigeria, Diane Kohn, says corruption is affecting Nigerian security.
Second Republic presidential candidate Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, has criticised the immunity clause in the constitution, saying it encourages corruption.
Kohn, who spoke at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, noted that Nigeria was not the only nation where corruption exists.
She challenged the authorities to do more to deal with proven cases of corruption among officials even as the United States continues to provide support.
Kohn said, “One thing that we have found and is very apparent in Nigeria is that corruption affects not only your economy, it directly sucks money out of your economy.
“Things that the government should be doing like building of roads, providing, power, all these things they are sucking money out of all of these things.
“In addition, because of the high exposure to corruption, foreign companies are nervous about investing in Nigeria because they are afraid they are going to be approached for bribes and they know what will happen if they pay the bribes when they are found out. We've already seen what happens to companies that pay bribes.”
While making a case for better funding for the police, the envoy said, “The police should be fully funded to protect Nigerian citizens. Their training facilities are in very poor shape, the police are not being trained to do everything they are supposed to do to keep Nigerians safe.
“It is in the interest of every person and those in official positions to want those portions to be funded as much as they should be so that everybody is kept safe here.
“Corruption also takes away opportunity for young people and as we've seen, when young people don't have economic opportunity that is legitimate, they will go for what ever opportunity that will present themselves.”
Braithwaite, who spoke with one of our correspondents at the International Conference of the Establishment of the United Nations Conflict Mediation Commission at the Redemption Camp of the Redeemed Christian Church of God along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, decried poverty and insecurity in Nigeria.
The lawyer said, “There should not have been an immunity clause at the first instance. Because of immunity, a lot of people have complained that the country has been stolen dry. If it were possible for them to steal a country, they would have stolen Nigeria; they would have stolen different states like Delta, Lagos, Rivers and Bayelsa.
“If you look at the Arab Spring, which will be two years in January, the central thing is that where there is no justice, there can be no peace. Dictators and oppressors can find nowhere to hide anymore.”
