Sanusi warns political influence can undermine Nigeria’s corruption cases

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has warned that political connections can enable people to evade accountability in Nigeria. Sanusi made the remarks in an interview with Channels Television in Lagos during the public presentation of “Unexplained Wealth: A Trilogy of Nigerian Financial Law”, written by anti-corruption lawyer Wahab Shittu. He said reviewing laws on unexplained wealth was important, but argued that better implementation was equally necessary.

Nigeria, he noted, already had institutions and courts responsible for identifying and prosecuting corruption cases. According to Sanusi, the effectiveness of those laws depended on the conduct of political leaders, public office holders, the judiciary and the agencies responsible for enforcement. He alleged that some corruption cases had been dropped because defendants belonged to the right political environment or had political support.

He also said some legal proceedings had raised questions about whether they represented genuine anti-corruption efforts or political persecution. As an example, he referred to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, whom he said had been denied bail and held for seven months without conviction. The emir said such cases could cause the public to question the purpose of the legal process.

He argued that institutions needed to apply the law consistently rather than allowing political considerations to determine outcomes. “Until the politicians and those who control political office and the judiciary decide that they are going to use these laws for the purpose for which they are set up, we’re not going to get anywhere,” Sanusi said. He maintained that law reform alone would not resolve the problem.

In his view, progress also required attention to the institutions that promote and enforce the law, alongside a commitment to use anti-corruption provisions for their stated purpose.