THE resurrected failed Abuja CCTV contract scandal is just another evidence of how corruption and indolence among public officeholders have led to the current state of state failure.

Following the upsurge of insecurity in Abuja, the President Goodluck Jonathan administration approved the contract for the installation of Close Circuit Television, CCTV, in strategic parts of the Federal Capital to enable security agencies identify, prevent and solve crimes fast as is done in other developed countries.

The contract, worth $470 million, was awarded to a Chinese firm, ZTE Corporation. The financing was provided through a loan obtained from China, with about 10 per cent counterpart fund by the Federal Government. The Global Trunk Tracking technology was also suitable for election monitoring, result verification and disaster control. It had been successfully installed in countries like Ghana, Senegal, Morocco and Malaysia.

But in Nigeria, it “went into the voice mail” box. An investigation by the Seventh House of Representatives (2011 to 2015) found that the project had largely been abandoned, and the little done was with substandard equipment. The probe barked but could not bite.

Another investigation by the Eighth House of Representatives (2015 to 2019) was able to identify some individuals connected with the contract. In January 2017, the probe indicted the Ministers of Police Affairs who served under Jonathan between 2010 and 2014. These were: Alhaji Adamu Waziri, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (rtd) and Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan. Also named was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, James Obeigbu.

The Muhammadu Buhari regime, which touts anti-corruption as a cardinal policy, was unable to bring these and other suspects connected to the scandal to book. Instead, Buhari’s Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed that the nation is still paying China for the loan on the failed project.

The issue was already swept under the proverbial carpet until an advocacy group, Social-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, sued the Federal Government over its failure to address the problem. Federal High Court Judge, Emeka Nwite, has ordered President Buhari to account for the spending.

We commend SERAP for living up to its calling and ask the departing Buhari regime to address this issue before leaving office in a few days. Those indicted should be brought back to face the law. If the contract was implemented, attacks in Abuja such as the UN building, Emab Plaza, Nyanya motor park bombings and the attack on Kuje Prisons could have been prevented, and innocent souls would not have been wasted.

We hope Buhari will use this case to give corruption one more black eye before he leaves. The House of Representatives has done its bit, so has the Judiciary. Buhari and his officials should do theirs. Otherwise, they will be equally culpable over a crime that was committed under a previous administration.

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