Investigate Nigerian Exposed, Implicates in Pandora Papers, FG Urged



By Aviashima Toom, Abuja
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Transparency International (TI) and Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, (PTCIL), have urged President Mohammedu Buhari and Federal Government of Nigeria to investigate Nigerian Exposed and implicated in the Pandora papers.

Convener of the group, Executive Director, Civil  Society Legislative Advocacy Center, Musa Rasfanjani, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja, said that, since it's release in October 3, 2021, Nigerians have read in awe details of financial transactions and practices of politicians and influential individuals that exploited and, in some cases, violated and undermine extant financial guidelines, policies and threaten the collective and wellbeing of Nigeria.

"The Pandora papers is one of the biggest ever corruption leaks led by ICIJ and over 600 journalists from 117 countries, including journalists from Nigeria's Premium Times following the pattern of two previous leaks, the Paradise and Panama papers, release in 2016 and 2017"

According to Rasfanjani, the Pandora paper confirmed therefore the continuing weakness in the  Nigeria financial system and regulatory deficiencies that have been at the root of the annual loss of $18billion to illicit financial flows out of Nigeria.

He noted that, the Pandora paper release is coming when the country is reeling under the deleterious impact of the COVID-19 and the debt pileup that has continued to stoke serious concern across political divides and amongst Nigerians and it's development partners.

The group however called on president Mohammedu Buhari, Minister of Justice and  the Attorney General of the Federation and all anti-corruption agencies to immediately commence actions to investigate all the people and companies indicted in the revelations of the dirty financial deals so far published by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism.

Meanwhile the Programmes, PTCIJ Officer, Jessica Odudu, called on civil society organizations in Nigeria to urgently came together to track and document the reports and commence effort to ensure the exposures does not go the way of the 2017 and 2016 paradise and Panama papers.

"We urged the federal government to consider policy reforms and institutional strengthening necessary to curbs the abuse of financial systems and ease the prosecution of violators" she said.

Similarly, the Programmes officer, Transparency International Nigeria, TI, Temilade Onilade, added that, the federal government should reopen the Voluntary Assets Income Disclosure Scheme (VAID), and the Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularization Scheme (VOARS) to enable Nigerians with underclosed Offshore Assets to declare them and pay taxes where they are liable.

She said, the national assembly should ensure that it continue to play it's constitutionally mandated  oversight functions on the relevant Government agencies to ensure that they carry out their mandate.

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