N27.2bn scam: Judgment will encourage others to steal –Pupils

PUNCH NEWSPAPER - As protests continue to trail last Monday’s light judgment handed to one of the pension fund thieves, Mr. John Yusuf, school children tell SAMUEL AWOYINFA that the court’s decision will encourage others to steal

Pupils in the nation’s school system have swelled the ranks of those opposed to the light judgment handed to one of the pension fund thieves.

 Mr. John Yusuf, a director in the Police Pensions Office, was convicted of stealing N2bn belonging to pensioners. The pupils between the ages of four and 11 said the judgment was a motivation for stealing.

They also blamed the judge for not using his power to discourage corruption in the country. Some of them even called for his dismissal.

Justice Mohammed Talba of a Federal High Court, Abuja had convicted Yusuf of conniving with others to defraud the office and pensioners of N27.2bn. The accused admitted to stealing N2bn of the money.

The judge had sentenced him to a two-year jail term or an option of paying N750, 000 as fine for the three offences he pleaded guilty to.

 Each of the three offences attracts a two-year jail term. The sentences run concurrently. The accused opted for the payment of fine. Lawyers, journalists, and others present in court couldn’t hide their surpirse, about the judgment, which subsequently led to public outcry.

The pupils, in an interview with our correspondent, said the judge should not have treated the convict with kid gloves. They argued that doing so was tantamount to telling other Nigerians to steal the country blind.

Tomiwa Olumide, a pupil of Agape Bundles Nursery School, Omole Estate, Lagos, has no pleasant words for the judge either. “They are not serious. They are just encouraging others to steal,” he said.

However, 11-year-old pupil, Kehinde Akinlabi, noted that the judgment was like a scripted drama aimed at mocking justice.

“The judgment is just like a set-up to set the accused free. What you are telling us is to become thieves too but I will not be a thief in Jesus name,” Akinlabi said.

On her part, a primary 5 pupil, Fadairo Demilade, who’s 10, saw the judgment from another perspective, saying, “I want to say that the judgment is unfair to the pensioners who should be paid their entitlements/pension and the nation as a whole. The judge should apologise (to the nation).”

Master Binuyo Goodness, who’s also 10 and in primary 5, wondered why the convict was given a light sentence  in spite of the huge sum of money he had stolen.

“How could the judge have given someone involved in N27bn fraud a light sentence of either going to jail for two years or paying N750,000 fine?  I don’t understand, but it is not good,” he said.

Miss Uche Monyei, a  primary 5 pupil  said, “I think the judge should be sacked, because he seems to have an ulterior motive for arriving at this kind of judgment. To me, I believe the judgment is not correct.”

A  pupil of Home Science Association Nursery and Primary School, Abule Egba, Lagos, Emmanuel Samuel, saw the judgment as “unserious and dangerous.”

“The judgment is setting bad example for others who may want to steal,” he said.

Samuel said the convict should have been given a stiffer penalty, which he said, would have served as a deterrent to others.

Abdulateef Agoro, another pupil, who is also nine years old, noted that the judge was guilty.

He stated, “I will say the judge is also guilty, because he is setting someone who’s guilty free. It seems he is expecting something from the suspect.”

Five -year-old Vanessa Uwaya noted that the convict was wicked and people like him should be sent to prison. “The convict did not deserve such a light sentence, because he wants to have so much money. Someone like him should be sent to the prison and he should stay there for long.”

Funminiyi Alamu stressed  that the judgment was not fair and lacking in the fear of God.

He stressed, “The judgment is not fair by giving the man an option of fine of N750,000 when he misappropriated N27bn. This kind of judgment does not show the fear of God. It is nonsense judgment.”

Five-year-old Oyindamola Samuel described the judgment as laughable. “The judgment is a joke,” she stated.

Anjolaoluwa Alade said, “The convict is a bad person, and I don’t want to be like him when I grow up. I don’t like the judge too.”

Amin Fakunle said he was not proud of the judgment as it has succeeded in making light a serious issue. “I am not proud of it,” he said.

There were indications on Tuesday that public outcry against the light sentence handed down to Yusuf, forced the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to re-arrest him, claiming fresh charges.

Many Nigerians had also taken to social networks like the Facebook and Twitter mocking the judgment, while prominent lawyers and civil rights activists condemned it as a setback to the Federal Government’s anti-corruption crusade.

On Tuesday, a civil rights group, Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre, demanded the probe of Talba.

Besides, the Nigeria Labour Congress said the judgment was an indication that the judiciary could not be relied on to deliver the country from monumental corruption.