Fight Against Corruption: Why we conceal certain information, ICPC tells journalists
….calls for collaborative efforts
….faults Transparency International’s ratings
Joel Oladele, Abuja
As part of efforts to fight corruption, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has offered explanation on why certain information sought by journalists from the Commission are been withheld.
The Commission gave the clarification at a 2-day training it organised for journalists on its activities to enhance effective reportage of the it’s activities and programmes.
In his opening remarks at the training which started in Abuja on Monday, the Chairman of the Commission, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN urged media practitioners to collaborate with ICPC for an effective battle against corruption in the Country.
Professor Owasanoye pleaded with journalists to understand with the Commission if and when they decide not to divulge some information at their disposal as they are constrained by law not to release certain details until a suspect is charged to court.
He added that releasing such information to the public can slow down the process or affect the outcome as some high profile suspects are smart enough to take advantage of such to take cover.
“The first training that ICPC had was to break this ice and to begin to strategically say look at it from this angle as well and as the director of Public Enlightenment has said, we have seen an improved trajectory of reportage and we are quite sure that this can further improve by more engagement, by more understanding and sharing of information and perspectives with stakeholders such as the media.
“We intend to build on the success of last year’s training in order to deepen this engagement and to close this gap which I have identified.
“One of the things we intend to do with this interaction is to close gaps, you have questions that you would like us to clarify, this offers an opportunity to close those gaps. I know that usually what journalists are interested in is to know who is being investigated, what has been found and what is going to happen?
“That’s exactly what we are not able to tell you so that we can have a common understanding. And I will tell you why we are not able to tell you the way you want it and when you want it. Even though some of those things will depend on the dynamics of the situation they share or be found by you, by your steps, by your skills, by your abilities, we do not begrudge that.
“By our law, we are not supposed to discuss what we are investigating unless we have formally made an arrest or we have charged to court. In any event, once we have charged to court, it’s already in the public because court records are public records. Courts are established to arbitrate disputes and determine and to interpret the law the way they are.
“Besides, it is not accidental that the rules say they sit in public, it is so that they can be assessed by people who want to inform the public like yourselves. But sometimes, journalists do get the opportunity to report preemptively, and it is a double edged sword, it can hurt and it can advance.
“I will give an example of a situation in which we were investigating a sensitive matter here, which one way or the other broke into the public domain by reportage. And I think that it happened because the very high profile suspect got very stringent bail terms and in order to get sureties for the bail, somehow, the matter leaked out.
“It was widely reported by many media organizations. The meaning of that is that our investigation has either been terminated because when you start an investigation of a very high profile person, where it will reach is not immediately known when you start. People who are implicated are not immediately obvious when you start but once it’s reported, and they know they have a link, even before you know they have a link, they begin to clean up their acts.
“And so concluding the investigation becomes much more burdensome for the anti-corruption agency. The people involved will begin to destroy and hide evidence, travel out and all these will generally make the conclusion of the proceedings and investigation impossible.
“That not withstanding, these are challenges of the job, we have to live with it, you have to live with it. One of the things we can do is to work together to have an understanding of such challenging situations and how to manage them so that when you ask for information that we can not divulge, you will understand our perspective and we’ll understand your perspective on your need and desire and intents to inform the public,” ICPC boss said
Speaking on Transparency International’s (TI’s) report, Owasanoye said the report is usually not fair enough to developing countries like Nigeria as it fails to see things from the perspective of such countries.
He also noted that the report ranks the countries that are victims of corruption poorer than the countries that are the recipients of the proceeds of corruption, so he called on stakeholders to get involved in changing the narratives.
“For example, I look at the very first activity which took place in ACAN. The training was timed to coincide with the release of TI’s reports for 2022 which was for 2021 session and it was deliberate because TI uses strategy to communicate its report, we needed the strategy to response
“We’ve taken enough time to study it in the areas where criticisms were fair and we needed to adjust and the areas where it simply ignored the realities of the anti-corruption efforts from a developing country perspective and of course from the point of view of the international political economy.
“Some of you might have noticed that this year TI’s release did not have as much grounding or impact, and this is not a Nigerian phenomenon. A lot of countries especially developing countries are beginning to interrogate TI’s reports as to why the countries that are victims of corruption always rank poorer than the countries that are the recipients of the proceeds of corruption and we do not interrogate why this happens.
“Of course, we understand very clearly that in developing countries like Nigeria, we have our challenges and we are not denying that. We are trying to deal with them in accordance with the law and within the local challenges that we face. But occasionally when there are prospects to make progress and advance the course there are frustrations that are encountered that are not immediately visible to observers.
“It is therefore time for us to begin to get involved in the narratives at least to present our own side of the story the way it ought to be presented, so that there can be a balance of the information exchange and then of course the journalists can make whatever they want to make of it as best as they understand the situation,” he noted.
Speaking further, the ICPC chairman said political economy is another factor making the fight against corruption very difficult in the country, as some of the suspect can go to any length to escape the consequences of their action even as far as buying the law.
“The other issue is about the emerging trend around the fight against corruption, I have mentioned one of those things which is the political economy. Why does it appear as if you are doing motion without movement? You need to understand that in the national context and the international context.
“And then of course, there are things we are focused on in which the approach is not particularly not very clear and you will like clarity around it. For example, our deployment of the ethics and the integrity compliance scorecards, which rates MDAs for corruption risk vulnerability and has led to a lot of reforms within MDAs who will write to us about what they have done, what they intend to do and whether or not they are doing it right.
“It will be helpful for the media to sometimes see how some of these activities impact the fight against corruption, especially towards improving service delivery or preventing corruption.
“The most popular and the commonest way to measure corruption activities and impacts is by enforcement, prosecution and having people going to jail, but that is exactly the most tricky point of the whole landscape because those with whom we deal will do anything in order not to be caught or to face music.
“And in those very rare occasions where we succeed, there are systemic challenges that see them off the hook one way or the other. They also buy the law, those are the challenges we have to confront jointly,” he lamented.
Owasanoye also urged journalists to ensure a well balanced reportage as that’s the only way they can be distinguished from street journalists with little or no formal training on the profession.
He expressed his fear about the risk the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) may pose on the media profession as it can easily be used to distort information and hammered on the needs for stakeholders to up their game.
“Another reason for this training is to hopefully improve the capacity at reportage so that the information does not become asymmetrical or misleading, whereby things ascribed to the commission that we do not have the capacity to do or they are exaggerated on behalf or in favour of the Commission, which then heighten public expectation.
“So this engagement will help us to report accurately in ways that do not exaggerate our achievements or under-report our achievements. We also believe that this engagement will improve your own knowledge of the sector in various measures by which corruption can be tackled, not just by investigation and prosecution and how this is communicated to secure public support.
“We do recognise the role of the media in raising public awareness, shaping public discourse and opinion and of course contributing to development.
“Unfortunately, it’s not only our job that are threatened, yours too because everyone with an average digital device is a journalist now and once they have a smartphone, they can create news and sometimes they are believed over and above those of you who have been trained to report news in a balanced way recognising the consequences and the risk of misreporting.
“But many of these high street reporters who have no training whatsoever beyond a smart phone with the video camera lens and the ability to record, they cannot be bothered. So, one of the things that should be of concern to both of us, yourselves and ourselves is the risk of the misuse of this ability.
“I’m sure many of you follow the trend and development in technology. I don’t know if you are as horrified as I am and worried as to the role that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to play in the future, and when I say future I’m not talking about the future that is very distance, the future that is already with us like tomorrow and we have a duty to close ranks about deciding how we will continue to communicate professionally bearing the risk of this reporting and fake news in mind because fake news and news reporting threaten all of us, it threatens the stability of the state and professional competency and our livelihood.
“I want to urge you to use this opportunity to establish a relationship with us, not just a relationship that demands of us that we should tell you when we get a high profile fish that we are investigating but a relationship that helps us to discuss how to deal with the scourge of corruption.
“What are the challenges that we face, what are the challenges that you as journalists who report these things and are also attacked and at risk globally and how they can be mitigated.
“I’m hoping that this interaction will help us to close those gaps and strengthen our mutual collaboration. Our commitment as an institution and as an agency remains solid. It is statutory, we can’t negotiate it away, we just have the duty to do what we have to do but we are hoping that we’ll be better able to do it with your support and collaboration,” he concluded
