From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye Abuja‎

The Federal Government  is set to release policy to prevent and eradicate illegal ownership of small arms and light weapons.

The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement said the rules of a whistleblower mechanism to throw a spotlight on the regime of gun ownership and control in the country were being drawn up.

Shehu said in line with presidential directives, the National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen. Babagana Munguno (retd) has began work on a template for the discovery and recovery of illegal weapons through a reward system following the success of the whistleblower policy under the Ministry of Finance.

“In the last few days, we had discussed the efforts the administration is making to strengthen the whistleblower mechanism in the Ministry of Finance, which, to date has proved to be very effective in bringing the attention of the government to stolen assets and unexplained wealth.

“The ONSA Initiative may be an independent line of inquiry or in active collaboration with what the government is doing in finance. This will be a sort of searchlight on weapons ownership in the country. Whatever form or shape it takes, the administration wants to take a tough line to curtail the large number of illegal weapons in circulation used in intra and inter-communal conflicts. The aim is to disarm communities especially those with proclivity to violence.”

Shehu disclosed that the ONSA decided to adopt the whistleblower approach to eradicate mass shooting incidents and remove the harassment of law abiding citizens by holders of illegal weapons.


…Magu challenges accountants

From James Ojo, Abuja.

A wake up call has gone to accountanåts in the country to ensure that they play active role in the war against corruption, by reporting any suspicious transactions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies.

Following the introduction of the whistle blowing policy by the Federal Government late last year, the EFCC has recovered several millions in foreign and billions in local currencies believed to be proceeds of corruption hiding in unusual locations.

The latest in the harvest of recoveries by EFCC was at the Osborne Towers in Ikoyi Lagos where $43.4 million, N23.3 million and £27,800 were discovered in a private residence.

Acting chairman of the commission, Ibrahim Magu made the call at the 2017 Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) Week/Award Day, held in Abuja, according to its spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren.

As a trained accountant before joining the Nigeria Police, Magu urged his fellow colleagues, not to allow themselves to be tools in the hands of looters and money launderers.

While reminding the accountants of the obligation imposed on audit firms, tax consultants, accounting firms, among other designated non-financial institutions, DNFIs, he admonished them to always report suspicious transactions to the EFCC.

“Without you fulfilling this obligation, DNFIs commit a crime, and this is necessary to enable us monitor and investigate such transactions, to uncover cases of corruption,” he said.

He also urged them to key into the whistle blowing policy of the Federal Government as part of measures to curb corruption in the country, noting that the policy has yielded positive results in discovery looted funds.

Beside recovery of looted funds, Magu said the commission under his watch has recorded 62 convictions in the first quarter of the year.

In a paper he presented at the occasion, read on his behalf by Dr. A. Bello, Magu lamented that the society has chosen to esteem “thieves and looters” of the commonwealth.

In the paper was titled: What would it takes to be a corruption free Nigeria,” Magu said: “The moral values of honesty, integrity and hard work, has been overtaken by greed and crass materialism,”

He noted that this was evident in the fact that the society “now recognizes thieves and looters of the common treasury, by rewarding them with chieftaincy titles and other high positions of authority”.

To free the country from the shackles of corruption, Magu stressed the urgent need “to go through the process of reorientation and regeneration”, adding that “the process must start from our homes”.

He lauded the Federal Government’s whistle blowing policy which has led to the discovery of N521,815,000,  $53,272 747, £122,890 and €547,730.00,and urged accountants to buy into it.