Some lawyers have cautioned President Goodluck
Jonathan to stop differentiating between the acts of
stealing and corruption. He had during his presidential
media chat on Wednesday maintained that there was a
difference between the two acts. This came months after
he first made a similar statement.
“If somebody is a thief, he is a thief. We should not use the
word ‘corruption’ to cover a case of stealing. Thieves
should be called thieves,” the President had said.
But a lawyer and human rights activist, Prof. Itse Sagay,
said that there was no technical difference between the two
acts and that persons involved in either should be made to
face the wrath of the law.
He said, “In a broad legal sense, they are the same.
Stealing is taking what belongs to another person without
the consent of the owner with the intention of keeping it
permanently.
“Corruption is using an office to acquire the resources of
an organisation without working for it and without the
organisation’s awareness. Looking at it, using an office as
a political office holder to acquire what belongs to the state
results to stealing.
“Ultimately, every act of corruption is an act of stealing.
There is no question about it. There is no moral or ethical
difference between them. Both are criminal, immoral and
anti-social acts and nobody should attempt to make one
look lighter than the other. People who commit either
should be dealt with seriously.”
A civil rights lawyer, Fred Agbaje, said Jonathan’s
differentiation between the acts was clear evidence that the
President’s government is very corrupt.
He said Jonathan is just trying to give two terms for same
offence.
In his words, “Defence of stealing as different from
corruption is indicative of the fact that President
Jonathan’s administration is morally bankrupt. What the
President has said is an admission of guilt and that his
government is corrupt. It is a distinction without
substance. It is calling one object two different names.
"The nomenclature may differ, but the substance of both
allegations is the same.
“Which of them is allowed in our law whether he calls them
in different names? They are both punishable under our
penal laws. Stealing is even worse than corruption. Both of
them carry a legal element of deliberately taking what does
not belong to someone with the intent of depriving the
taxpayers.” CLICK HERE TO READ FULL AND TOUCHING NIGERIAN CELEBRITIES BIOGRAPHY AND SCANDALS
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