Frauds & Scandals | |
Frauds & Scandals | |
2899 VIEWS | |
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Tuesday,
August 27, 2019 / 10:29AM / OpEd by Reuben Abati
/ Header Image Credit: abc.net.au
This is not the best of times to be identified as a Nigerian,
especially if you are a Nigerian in diaspora. It is indeed the worst of times
to be Nigerian because of the kind of daredevilry that our compatriots have
demonstrated in recent times, in criminal pursuits of such scale, texture,
volume, and depth, not at intervals but at an alarming pace and regularity, not
just in one country or continent, but from continent to continent, country to
country, giving such impression that perhaps apart from the traditional Cosa
Nostra, the Italian Mafia, or the Russian Mafia, or the Colombian Mafia,
Nigerians probably run some of the most notorious underground crime networks in
the world today. In the last few weeks alone, there have been so many reports
of Nigerians being involved in one crime or the other, and apprehended for the
same reason, and these are reported cases from Singapore, Malaysia, Ethiopia,
Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and the United States. There may well be
many other cases that are yet unreported or that may never be reported. Nigeria
is thoroughly embarrassed. The Nigerian brand is damaged. Our national identity
takes a bashing, even if the crimes are committed by a minority. "What a
country?", you may ask? The sharp increase in the frequency and scale of these
international crimes involving Nigerians is something worthy of closer
interrogation. What is wrong with our people?
The Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) reports that in
2018, 73 Nigerians were sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug-related
offences. When the figures for 2019 are collated, that number is likely to be
higher. In Sao Paulo, Brazil, there are 144 Nigerians serving various jail
terms for drug crimes; and according to the NDLEA, all 144 convicts are from
one Nigerian village - "Nnewi in Anambra State". In Thailand, 650 Nigerians
(650!) are in prison for drug trafficking. In Saudi Arabia, there are,
according to reports, 23 Nigerians currently on the death row, again for
drug-related offences. Saudi Arabia is a religious and spiritual destination
for many Nigerians. It is shocking that some of those Nigerians who go to that
country for pilgrimage also carry on them narcotic and psychotropic substances.
Saudi Arabia has a very strict death penalty law. Not a few Nigerians have been
executed in the Kingdom for drug-related offences.
Many Nigerians live and work in the United Kingdom. Perhaps for
reasons of historical affinity, Nigerians troop to the United Kingdom in search
of a home away from home. But our compatriots are also gradually becoming far
too notorious in that country. In March 2019, six Nigerians were members of a
10-man gang of fraudsters who were found guilty of online fraud, hacking
software, in a total of 228 diversion frauds over a period of four years. They
were convicted and sentenced. The gang was led by one Bonaventure Chukwuka.
They robbed their 69 victims of a total of 10.1 million pounds. In May, a
28-year old Nigerian, Gloria Makanjuola, described in the UK media as a "Nigerian serial robber" was also convicted. Her specialization: theft of bank
cards which she used to make contactless payments. There is also the report on
three siblings (the Nakpodias) who in August 2019, were jailed in the UK for a
total of 16 years for helping "the Black Axe syndicate" to launder about one
million pounds through the UK banking system. The trio and their patron also
face criminal charges in Greece for advance fee fraud.
In the last decade alone, more than 10 Nigerians have been
executed in Indonesia for drug-related crimes, four of them by firing squad in
2015, despite pleas for leniency by Nigeria, the United Nations and Amnesty
International. About 153 others are still on the death row in Indonesia. Across
Asia, it is reported that about 16, 500 Nigerians are in prison, and in South
East Asia alone, up to 600 Nigerians are on the death row.
But perhaps the most shocking report of criminal conduct by
Nigerians would be two major cases reported by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) in the United States. The first case involves Obinwanne
Okeke, 31, also known as "Invictus Obi" who has been arrested by the FBI over
an alleged $12 million fraud. Okeke's case is interesting in that he seems to
fit perfectly into the typical profile of those Nigerians refer to as "Yahoo
Boys". These are young men who live large, and conspicuously, and who may on
the surface run what looks like legitimate businesses as cover for the wire and
internet fraud that is their main occupation. Obiwanne Okeke, especially,
just 28, when he launched out, cultivated the image of a role model for young
persons in Africa. In 2016, in recognition of his investments in real estate,
oil and gas and the construction industry in Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia,
he was listed by Forbes Magazine among Forbes 100 Most Influential Young
Africans. He was also nominated for the All African Business Leaders Award. In
2017, Okeke was recognized as a panelist at the Wharton Africa Business Forum.
In 2018, he gave a TEDx talk in Lagos. Okeke was also later featured on BBC's "Focus on Africa". The BBC described him as “an inspiring entrepreneur". Forbes
must be ruing its error of judgment. The BBC must be wondering what is still
inspiring about the guy. It is up to Obiwanne Okeke to defend himself.
The second topical case is the indictment again by a US Federal
Grand Jury of 77 Nigerians on August 22, 2019, for their involvement in massive
conspiracy to steal millions of dollars through Business E-mail Compromise
(BEC) scams, romance scams and other fraudulent schemes. The FBI has already
arrested many of these persons while the remaining suspects are believed to be
at large, in Nigeria and elsewhere. This is said to be one of the largest scam
busts in the history of the United States, involving victims from about 11
countries. In the past, Nigerians talked about 419 (Section 419 of the Nigerian
criminal code dealing with fraudulent advance payments and obtaining by
pretense), but the scammers soon raised their game and began to engage in
online scams, (the yahoo boys as Nigerians call them), then of course, there
was the growth of romance scams, and now, the proliferation of of hackers and
business account compromise scammers. Nigerians scammers are determined; some
of their antics are unbelievable. One Amos Paul Gabriel, a 48-year old Nigerian
was jailed for money laundering in Singapore. He went to jail but he remained a
criminal even in prison. He has now been convicted and jailed again for
defrauding a fellow inmate of $37, 800. He remained active even in prison!
Obviously, imprisonment was not enough deterrence for him.
In all of these cases, Nigeria's name gets dragged in the mud.
The collateral damage is collosal. It explains why for example, in South
Africa, Nigerians are looked down upon and treated with utter contempt by
persons who were beneficiaries of Nigeria's generosity and solidarity during
the fight against apartheid. South Africans accuse Nigerians and other Africans
of coming to spoil their country and steal their women and businesses. In Ghana,
next door, Nigerians are not popular either. When stories are told of how a
group of Nigerians once robbed a bank in Dubai, and all these other stories of
internet scam come up, security agencies, diplomatic missions around the world
and other persons are likely to latch on to a stereotype about the Nigerian
brand and identity, even if unfairly. Days after the arrests by the FBI hit the
airwaves, the US Embassy in Nigeria cancelled all appointments for visa by
Nigerians and by that effect also abolished its "Drop Box" policy for visa
applications. There has been no public uproar among Nigerians. What can we say?
The Nigerian Government through its agencies has made it clear
that it frowns upon any form of misdemeanor or criminal conduct by Nigerians
either at home or in diaspora. It affirms its readiness to co-operate with
international security agencies to track down any Nigerian, complicit in
international criminal allegations. The Nigerian President, we are told, may
also sign an Executive Order to address the issue of online fraud. But while
government may have been hitting the right notes on this matter, the emergent
public conversation has been dominated by ethnic and religious name-calling,
further reflecting Nigeria's fault lines and moral turpitude.
The arguments that have been put forward in this heavily
conflicted public conversation are as follows: (i) that it is not fair to tar
all Nigerians with the same brush because the Nigerians indicted, convicted and
punished abroad represent only a very small fraction of Nigeria's 200 million
plus population; (ii) some other Nigerians insist that it is mostly Igbos, that
is Nigerians of South Eastern extraction, that are usually guilty of
international crimes. They insist that all the 77 Nigerians indicted in the
recent FBI case in the US are Igbos, and most of the drug cartels are led by
Igbos; (iii) Igbos retort that crime has no religious or ethnic face. There are
criminals in every community, and in every religion and so it would be unfair
to put the blame on Igbos, and that in any case, the FBI failed to observe
Federal Character which is a constitutional requirement for everything
Nigerian! (iv) Nigerian Muslims have pointed out that most of the arrested
and/or identified suspects in the US are Christians and Southerners, but they
are also immediately told that Nigerians on death row in Saudi Arabia are
basically Muslims and they are not Igbos, but Northerners, Yoruba and other
ethnic groups; (v) some other commentators argue that Nigerian drug dealers and
internet fraudsters get caught because they are petty fraudsters who can be
easily caught. They argue that the biggest criminals in the world are not in
Africa, but in Europe and the US, and that the FBI and similar organizations
should focus more on the big scammers instead of trying to harass small-time
fraudsters; (vi) there are other Nigerians who try to strike a moral tone and
advise that crime does not pay, all that glitters is not gold and that every
criminal should expect to be caught someday.
Nigerians always find it difficult to form a consensus on
anything. Football used to be a unifying force but with many Nigerians now
addicted to European football leagues, teams and players, even football has
become a source of division. Certain points need to be made. Nigerians behave
like aliens in their own country. When they travel abroad, they are worse.
Since the civil war, 1967-1970, there has been an abiding sense of alienation
between the state and the people and the gradual erosion of a sense of what it
means to be Nigerian. The country's value system and ethical codes have failed.
The leaders, military and civilian, have not set good examples, the
institutions function at habitually sub-optimal levels, civilian rule has not
led to expected rise in standards and values. Under the military, theft and
impunity became the order of the day, under civilian rulers in the last 20
years, the threat of impunity has doubled, the collapse of morality has
tripled.
Nigeria is one country where gain without work is acceptable as
long as everything glitters. It is one country where a man or lady, who had no
job in January can suddenly become a multi-billionaire in dollars in August and
nobody will ask questions. He or she doesn't even have to pay tax or declare
the source of income. He will get the best women, the best cars, the largest
circle of friends, chieftaincy titles, national honour, and a government
appointment. He will dine with the high and mighty, childhood friends in high
places whose election campaigns he would have funded anyway, and in addition,
he will enjoy massive police and military protection. The media will celebrate
him or her. If the police try to arrest him, the military will set him free! To
play big in this kind of a-normative environment, where the state itself is a
criminal enterprise, where credibility is on decline, many Nigerians resort to
criminality on a bigger scale, locally and internationally. When they get
caught abroad, in places where the systems work, even if they are convicted or
executed, they may still be treated as heroes by their relatives and kinsmen
back home in Nigeria who will simply argue that they were just unlucky to have
been caught. Nigerians are likely to blame a Pastor or shamanist for failing in
his or her spiritual duty to the convict. One drug trafficker who was executed
abroad was given a lavish burial in his community in 2016, in a golden casket
and hailed as a savior!
Nigerian leaders need to provide good leadership and lead by
example. Institutions in Nigeria have to be strengthened. Religious leaders,
who wield so much influence over the Nigerian public mind, must stop acting
like rogues and teach the truth. Nigeria needs a Ministry for Ethical
Re-orientation! Unemployment drives young Nigerians to the Devil's
workshop. We must do something about that. In April/May, Zainab
Habib Aliyu, 22, and one Ibrahim Abubakar were saved from being charged in
Saudi Arabia in a drug-related matter after the Nigerian Government intervened.
In Singapore, another Nigerian, Adili Chibuike Ejike, 39, barely escaped the
death row because the court acquitted him. It is not every Nigerian criminal
suspect abroad that will be so lucky. The rest will be punished, they will
tarnish Nigeria’s image and they will inconvenience the rest of us.
Previous
Posts by Dr. Reuben Abati
1.
When
Soldiers Do Police Work: Disaster
3. The Speech
Buhari Didn't Make
4. The People's
Revolt in Algeria and Sudan
5. The Obasanjo
Bombshell - Abati
6. Ogun 2019
Politics And Deployment Of Violence - My Encounter, Reuben Abati
7.
Chief Anthony
Anenih: A Personal And Political Portrait
8. The "Oshiomhole
Must Go" Coalition
9. Beyond Fayose: The Future Of Ekiti State
10. The "Spirit Of Error" In Nigerian Politics
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