31st December, 2015
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the names of those who returned looted public funds would not be divulged, pending the determination of cases in courts.
Buhari made the disclosure on Wednesday in Abuja during his maiden Presidential Media Chat.
It would be recalled that Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose, called on Buhari to publicly list the names of Nigerians who had stolen the state funds.
According to him, some people have returned stolen monies but their names will not be made public as they are assumed innocent until they are found guilty by the courts.
He said that his government had fared well so far in the fight against corruption and appealed to Nigerians to be patient.
He added that “under whatever circumstance, we cannot prejudge what the courts will do.
“We will submit the documents but how the Ministry of Justice will react to it is what we have to develop the patience.
“Once we have gone to court, we should keep our mouth shut; we cannot comment on issues when they are still in court.
“Monies have been recovered; the courts have discovered some looted monies in terms of submissions made to them and documentations including bank statements, where the monies are lodged and how much.
“I think we are doing quite well; considering the circumstances.
“Those suspected of being corrupt are innocent until they are proved guilty by the court.”
The President said that the Federal Government had found some documents indicating that so much money had been diverted into personal pockets.
He explained that documents had shown that Nigeria’s crude oil had been lifted illegally and the proceeds put into personal accounts instead of Federal Government’s account.
He, however, urged Nigerians to be patient and wait for the outcome of investigations and prosecutions, noting that Nigeria would be better for it.