SERAP tasks federal government to prosecute Patience Jonathan

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has asked the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, to urgently institute and undertake criminal proceedings against Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan over the purported $15m unexplained wealth frozen in four companies’ accounts.
It tasked the AGF to act as a defender of public interest, by exercising his powers under Section 174(1) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999, as amended.
The organization, in a letter dated 13 September 2016 and signed
by its executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, asked Malami to “take this step within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter, failing which SERAP will institute legal proceedings to compel the discharge of constitutional duty in this matter.”


It argued that, “Mrs Jonathan is a politically exposed person under anticorruption standards. She is also covered under the definition of ‘public officials’ contained in the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party. Under article 2 of the convention, public officials include Mrs Jonathan or any other family members of the former President Goodluck Jonathan who exercised official duties while he was president.”
The letter reads in part: “According to article 2 “for the purpose of some specific measures contained in chapter II of this Convention, “public official” may mean any person who performs a public function or provides a public service.
“Thus, article 2 makes it very clear that any person, such as Mrs Jonathan performing a public function, entrusted with a public task or to whom public functions have been assigned are public officials, regardless of whether they have been elected or appointed, paid or unpaid.
“In this context, it is the character of the duties performed by Mrs Jonathan while her husband was president that is the overriding consideration as she held a position of trust by virtue of performing public functions or services. In addition, such public duties or services by her are expected to be performed in good faith.” “Under article 20 of the convention, this government has an obligation to prosecute intentional illicit enrichment, that is, a significant increase in the assets of a public official that he or she cannot reasonably explain in relation to his or her lawful income.

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