Stealing Same As Corruption, Lawyers Cautions GEJ

Some lawyers have warned President Goodluck Jonathan over his continuous saying that stealing is not corruption.Recall that the president for the 8th time on Wednesday during the presidential media chat tried separating th act of stealing from being corrupt.

“If somebody is a thief, he is a thief. We should not use the word ‘corruption’ to cover a case of stealing. Thieves should be called thieves,” the President had said.

However,  Professor Itse Sagay, who is a lawyer and human rights activist, has taken the issue up. In a telephone conversation with Punch,  Sagay said there was no technical difference between the two acts and that persons involved in either should be made to face the wrath of the law.

He said, “In a broad legal sense, they are the same. Stealing is taking what belongs to another person without the consent of the owner with the intention of keeping it permanently.

“Corruption is using an office to acquire the resources of an organisation without working for it and without the organisation’s awareness. Looking at it, using an office as a political office holder to acquire what belongs to the state results to stealing.

“Ultimately, every act of corruption is an act of stealing. There is no question about it. There is no moral or ethical difference between them. Both are criminal, immoral and anti-social acts and nobody should attempt to make one look lighter than the other. People who commit either should be dealt with seriously.”

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