Our age offers more knowledge than the previous. From knowing that mangoes ripe, we have come to know that a reigning Supreme Pontiff can resign. This is knowledge for its own sake. Some knowledge can be consequential. Knowledge of evil leads to practice of that vice. We have come to know that abuse of power can be a habit of people selected to tend and prune collective destiny. Knowledge of this kind corrupts values and erroneously ties success with abuse.
The increasingly habitual abuse of office among both public and civil servants in Nigeria is becoming worrisome. People are on watch out to defraud government, colleagues or institution that catches their fantasy. Many believe that abuse is the only route to greatness. Those who have heard of the misfortunes of those who had abused office and learnt from its humiliation instead of taking a cue from them walk away with a consolation thought that it can never happen to them. One of them is Mr. John Yakubu Yusuf, the former assistant director in the Police Pension Office, in charge of Police Pension Fund.
Mr. Yusuf is a heartless kleptomaniac who stole billions of naira belonging to aged, retired, sick and weak police officers, something which in many cultures is the height of wickedness and a curse upon the generations unborn. Learning how to steal always has its own curse. It puts a recurring behaviour of stealing on the person. For the victim, steal becomes a habit and only operative act; and everything around becomes an attractive object to steal. This is what a school of psychology calls ‘Obsessive Compulsive Disorder’. Failure to steal makes the victim sick and each stealing escapade reassures the disorder and whole process is rehearsed.
Take politicians for instance. Stealing public fund has placed amazing curses on a good number of them. From stealing public fund, they steal extramarital love and attempt to steal public conscience and truncate history. They steal from themselves more than they steal from outsiders. Another example is the Nigerian Police. From stealing N20 on the highways, they graduate to stealing family land, they cheat on their wives, friends and colleagues. One needs a correct time-piece, to be sure that a compliment of the day from a politician or police officer reflects the actual hour. Apologies to sincere ones!
When Yusuf’s scandal broke out, he wanted to shield investigation but following victims’ outcry EFCC broke in dragging him to temple of justice. But with money Yusuf went to court pleading guilty but stole justice and walked majestically away with his historic loot. But there comes a time when every stealing is not a success. This is the stage that saw Yusuf moved from proverbial frying pan to fire.
Nigerians were literally frozen when on January 28, 2013, Justice Abubakar Talba of the Abuja High Court delivered a watery judgment in favour of his kinsman, Mr John Yakubu Yusuf, who was standing trial alongside six others for stealing the sum of N27.2 billion belonging to Nigeria Police pensioners, despite pleading guilty to stealing N23.3Billion comprised in three counts.
The Temple of Justice Minister ignored public interest, deflected victims’ mood and sentenced Yusuf to two years imprisonment on each of the three counts to run concurrently with an option to pay N250, 000 fine in each of the three charges. Typical of one who had a pre-judgment knowledge, like a conqueror, Yusuf doled out N750, 000 to buy his freedom, paid a tithe of N50, 000 to the boys in the court, walked into his Mercedes Benz, and drove off with eyes on his conjugal bed. Only in Nigeria!
The message this passed when it relayed on cable news is that justice in Nigeria is a product of politics, religion, money, safety, and vested interests. The EFCC was dumbfounded and could not contain it. Minutes later, they revisited his file and opened a new chapter of trial for him under the EFCC Act which prescribes a harsher punishment. Innocently acting under a plea bargain deal, the EFCC had preferred to charge Yusuf and his co-criminals under Section 309 of the antiquated Penal Code Act, Cap 523 Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja as opposed to EFCC Act. Section 309 states: Whoever commits criminal misappropriation shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both”. This was the only legal excuse need by Justice Talba to absolve Yusuf of all his crimes.
With new charges, Yusuf has seen a different ball-game. The public attention has been turned to him as his crimes have also multiplied. The accused is now alleged to have knowingly failed to make full disclosure of his assets and liability in the declaration of assets form, which he filled last February. Besides, he is said to have failed to declare his interest in a company known as SY-A Global Services Limited, which is solely owned by him and members of his immediate family. Yusuf is equally alleged to have failed to declare his interest in a N250 million fixed deposit account in the name of the said company and maintained by Zenith Bank Plc. The company is also alleged to have a N10 million fixed deposit account it maintained at First Bank of Nigeria Plc and fixing another N29 million through one Danjuma Mele’s company, Jidag Technical Services Ltd, in Diamond Bank Plc. His first fresh arraignment almost ended in tragic note as he slumped in the dock during argument for bail application thereby forcing a bewildered Justice Adamu Bello to abruptly adjourn proceedings to April 22.
With public eyes on Justice Adamu Bello and punishment clearly prescribed in section 27(3) of the EFCC Act (2004), Yusuf should prepare to take his cubicle in any Nigerian prisons, perhaps, Abakaliki. But his successes and failures present a lesson to many Nigerians who believe that stealing is the only way to success and that with money falsehood will always prevail against truth. Public naira is like a deity; and like nose, you can’t sit on deity and balance well. It pays better not to sit at all.
