The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has raised the alarm over persistent revenue leakages in the country.
The alarm, contained in a statement made available to DAILY POST on Thursday in Jalingo, Taraba State, by the conference’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, James Ezema, alleged that this troubling development is the reason for the increases in taxes and incessant hikes in petrol pump prices.
They also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to establish a special court to accelerate the trial of suspected crude oil thieves, corruption, and economic sabotage in Nigeria.
“Until a special court is established to address these issues, Nigerians will continue to bear the burden of the government’s failure to address these challenges,” said CNPP.
The proposed special court, as suggested by the conference, should be mandated to limit the period of prosecution to no more than six months.
The suggestion, they believe, will go a long way in ensuring that justice is served swiftly and efficiently.
“The agency responsible for the new court should also deploy advanced technology to tackle crude oil theft, economic sabotage, and corruption.”
They also insist that Nigerians should not fund the luxury of offenders who have reduced accruable revenues to near zero and misappropriated funds meant for the masses.
Adding that an improvement in Nigeria’s legal framework is necessary to minimize trial duration and prevent innocent persons from remaining on awaiting trial lists endlessly without conviction.
While expressing concern that oil theft cases have gone on for over ten years, and some corruption cases have not been concluded for about twenty years, they emphasised that no country can progress with a defective justice system that runs at a snail’s pace.
CNPP also admonished President Tinubu to urgently order an end to the burning of vessels with suspected stolen crude oil and direct security agencies to prosecute suspected crude oil thieves and other offenders instead of destroying evidence against them.
