Legal practitioner and President of Centre for Leadership and Justice, Mr Emmanuel Umohinyang, has called on the United States, United Kingdom and other nations of the world to extend visa ban on politicians, who loot public funds so as to serve as deterrent.
In the build-up to the governorship election in Edo State on September 19, the US had issued a visa ban on some politicians over their roles in the rigging of elections in the country.
Shortly after that, the UK announced that politicians in this category risked forfeiting their assets in Britain on top of visa bans.
Commending the move, Umohinyang asked these Western powers to go a step further by banning looters of public funds in Nigeria from making it to their shores.
According to him, the stealing of public funds had denied citizens of Nigeria quality living conditions and badly needed infrastructure to drive development.
He said, “While we agree that our friends in the West are here to help us through our democracy, it is hypocritical for them to continue to create an impression that it is only by election rigging that things are done upside down in our country.
“When you place a visa ban on politicians who rig but how do you then justify keeping your backyard as a place for housing looted funds. They should also place a ban on those who steal our common patrimony and house them in the West.
“I expect the US Government, who is in custody of our several billions of dollars stolen by politicians to hold the victim. So you want to place a visa ban on election riggers but you are comfortable in keeping looted funds of the same politicians in your country.
“It is hypocritical for them to continue to throw this at us when the real thing is with them. They should place a visa ban on anyone that steals from Nigeria. They should go beyond election rigging and begin to tell politicians that the era where they steal and go free was over.
“I believe this will send a strong message to those stealing our commonwealth. I think that’s the way to go.”
