Being a multi-nation state, Nigeria is no doubt endued with all the paraphernalia of development. Hence, she is expected to have been years ahead of other states within the same bracket years of independence. The reverse however, is the case as the country is bombarded by plethora visible challenges ranging from high unemployment and underemployment rate, poverty, inequality, decayed and decaying infrastructure, etc. The unflinching passion to mismanage and siphon the country's commonwealth has engendered diverse social vices of unprecedented magnitude. Despite decades of various attempts aimed at rebranding and redeeming the country’s image, Nigeria has remained “fantastically corrupt” (Cameron, as cited in BBC News, 2016, p. 2) precisely in the area of political robbery – which has the tendency of eclipsing an entire state from the face of the earth as it constitutes a threat to civil existence. More so, political robbery is an invitation to anarchy as it constitutes a deprivation of citizens’ social good. Such citizens in attempts to cater for their daily survival, may be pushed into civil disobedience at the detriment of social order. Political robbery is also a threat to democracy [1]. There were high hopes for development when the military government of Gen. AbdulsalamiAbubakar exited the power space for the democratically elected government of President OlusegunObasanjo in 1999. Nevertheless, such hope became shattered dreams and ended as mere wishes as the crop of politicians turned out to be parasites feeding on the soul of the Development of the Nigerian state. Thus, it has been argued that the government remains aloof when the interest of the citizenry is at the front burner [2]. In a wider scope, [3] opines that the African state has undergone an evolutionary change of perfecting the character of a predatory monster or gangster state that applies twisting or coiling method of regulations and controls in order to constantly plunder the resources of the vast majority who are peasants. The raid on the treasury and re-looting of looted funds coupled with wanton abuse of office by elected or appointed government officials are common knowledge. Such officials who ought to protect the peoples’ lives and properties, have institutionalized looting. This paradox of the Nigerian state is vividly reflected on how those at the hem of affairs abuse the oath of their respective offices and betray the tenets of the social contract. This negates the very essence of governance as aptly captured in the Nigerian constitution. The above inter alia have provided in-roads to crime in the country. In reality, an average Nigerian is said to be a responsible being. Political robbery albeit, has motivated them into all sorts of criminality[4]. Despite the fact that poverty is not a tenable alibi for crime, political robbery has proven not only to be worse than armed robbery, but also its key facilitator. It has become a cliché that political robbery is capable of causing a devastating impairment on the socio-economic and political wellbeing of Nigerians. This has culminated in different shapes and sizes of social vices where graduates take to armed robbery with reckless abandon. The much awaited largess of democracy has constantly and consistently been evasive to the people owing to the volume of the scourge of unabated political corruption [5]. Aligning with this, Achebe opined that: The trouble with Nigeria, is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land, climate, water, air, or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to their responsibility, to the challenge of personal example, which is the hallmark of true leadership [6]. In essence, Leadership is Achebe’s raison d’tre for Nigeria’s problem. In other words, it is now needless for one to scapegoat colonialism as the causal variable of Nigeria’s modern developmental woes. In other words, a society that is bedeviled with directionless, purposeless, inept, visionless, tribalistic, corrupt, and oppressive leaders cannot develop. This becomes clearer when juxtaposed with the story of Malaysian development - a country that had her independence within the same period Nigeria had hers. Today’s Malaysia is far more advanced than Nigeria. She is about the world’s largest exporter of palm oil. Paradoxically, in the 1970s, the Malaysian government came to Nigeria (Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) Iyanomo, Edo State) to source for palm oil fruits. But today, Nigeria cannot compete with her in terms of palm oil wealth generation [7]. The rich and powerful political robbers have always appeared to be shielded against sanctions as their punishments have always shown scandalous sentences. For instance, one John Yakubu Yusuf, who was an assistant director in the Federal Public Service along with six other persons, was accused of misappropriating the whopping sum of N32.8 billion from the coffers of the Police Pension Fund. Despite public outcry, he was ridiculously handed a two year jail term with an option of a seven hundred and fifty thousand naira (N750,000) fine, which he timely paid with ease, and became a free man. Conversely, in a humongous ludicrous disposition, a jail term of three years without the option of fine was handed AdepojuJamiu for the theft of a mobile phone valued at seventeen thousand naira (N17, 000) by a Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ikare, Ondo State (Ifowodo, 2013). Consequently, it has been asserted that resources are usually and wantonly placed at the disposal of the willing tools irrespective of their strange behaviours. The commoners are seduced into crime and tolerated during campaigns, but criminalized after elections [8]. In the same vein, what ethical explanation can one give for Nigeria’s continuous importation of refined petroleum products when it is the sixth largest oil producing state in the world. Due to poor and corrupt leadership, building modern refineries and or fixing the existing but dilapidated ones have become mirage; yet it has been on grape vine that some governors have refineries outside the shores of Nigeria. With whose money were they built, and how can such a country attain development? On what constitute the potential causes of political robbery in Nigeria, various scholars have taken different positions. While some blame greed and ostentatious lifestyle on the part of political leaders as a potential cause of political robbery; others blame the society who is in love with ostentatious lifestyle irrespective of how the money comes. The attitude of giving gifts as expressions of loyalty or tributes to traditional rulers or royal fathers may also induce office holders to amass public wealth in order to finance such unofficial but expected expenditures that are beyond their official salaries and allowances [9,10] This paper primarily focus on the relationship between political robbery and armed robbery with due reference to the sanctions melted out to their respective perpetrators. In doing this, it explores the similarities and differences between political robbery and armed robbery giving credence to how the plea bargain as practiced in Nigeria encourages political robbery.

Conceptual  Clarifications

Politics

The word politics which comes from the Greek word politika, has been variously defined. To Alfred De Grazia (1952) politics or the political connote events that happen around the decision-making centre of government. To Harold Lasswell (1930) it refers to who gets what, when and how; while David Easton defined it as the authoritative allocation of values for society. Furthermore, Robert Dahl (1984) constructed politics as any persistent pattern of human relationship that involves to a significant extent, control, influence, power or authority. Inferring from these gamut of definitions, politics within the Nigerian context simply denotes the unflinching passion or penchant for power and its accompaniment; and the exercise of such power as an instrument of development for the wellbeing of the citizenry or for private advantage.

Armed Robbery

This is the behaviour of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force by putting the victim in fear. It can also be viewed as taking property of another with intent to permanently deprive the person of that property by means of force or fear [11]. Simply put, a person commits armed robbery when he takes something from someone else, using violence or intimidation, while carrying a dangerous weapon [12]. Armed groups as it stands today in Nigeria are far better equipped and trained than in the past. They exercise a high degree of sophistication in their unwholesome activity. Armed robbery is basically a result of zero-sumness (winner takes all) attitude of politics, as well as the acceptance of armed groups leading to the easy conjugality or matrimony between politics and violence.

Political Robbery

This does not have a single straight forward definition but in defining political robbery, political corruption is the focus. So, Political Robbery is the action of political office holders (whether elected or appointed) who divert public wealth for personal use, thereby exposing the citizenry to untold hardship with the attendant consequences of inadequate power supply, fuel scarcity, high infant mortality rate, bad roads, etc. Political corruption is thus, a subset of corruption which implies an anti-social behavior conferring improper benefits contrary  to  legal  and  moral  norms,  and  which undermines  the  authorities  to  improve  the  living conditions of the people [13]. Political robbery occurs when politicians and political decision makers, who have the mandates to govern on behalf of the people, are themselves corrupt. It also occurs when policies and legislations are tailored to benefit politicians and public office holders [14].

Theoretical Framework: The Frustration-Aggression Theory

Basically, a theory enables us to explain an event which has happened with a view to dealing with problems which arose or may arise later [15]. Thus, this paper adopts the Frustration-Aggression theory in explaining the comparisons between political robbery and armed robbery. This theory was propounded by John Dollard, Neal E. Milleret al. in 1939; further developed by Miller, Roger Barker et al. in 1941; and again by Leonard Berkowitz in 1969. Its main proposition holds that aggression is the result of blocking, or frustrating a person's efforts to attain a goal. It emphasizes that frustration has ways of causing aggression, but when the source of the frustration cannot be challenged, the aggression gets displaced onto an innocent target. Frustration is a state that sets in if a goal oriented act is delayed or thwarted. Under frustrating conditions, aggressive behavior is stimulated to an extent that corresponds with the intensity of the instigation and the degree of blockage of goal attainment [16] So, this theory as applied to this study, suggests basically that the increase in the crime of armed robbery is not a natural reaction per se, but the outcome of frustration engendered by political robbers who are experts in looting skills. An average Nigerian graduate wants to work, but political robbers would not allow him the opportunity to express his productive powers. The money that ought to have been used for developmental projects which will trickle down to massive job creations for the populace, is starched away in foreign accounts with reckless abandon without a corresponding sanction for such crimes. This can further explain the increasing sophistication in the tactics of armed robbery in the country. Consequently, it has been argued that the high rate of poverty of citizens makes crime more attractive. Able-bodied men and women are easily lured and armed with dangerous weapons by politicians, who would stop at nothing to clinch power at whatever cost. After elections, such youths are abandoned, and the weapons are unrecoverable from these new merchants of death [17]. Furthermore, the ridiculous nature of the judgment of corruption cases embarrasses the sane mind and encourages criminality. A public office holder misappropriates one billion naira and under the guise of plea bargain, the individual pays one million naira. This frustration has a way of encouraging armed robbery. Also, when the citizens see looters being applauded without recourse to their source of wealth, frustration arises. The basic idea is that the ruling class exploits the ruled class, and this exploitation results in the unequal distribution of wealth [18]. In furtherance of the obnoxious disposition, the magnitude of funding in the administration of criminal justice system cannot be overemphasized with reference to access to justice (Human Development Initiatives, 2014).

Table 1: table below shows the budgets of the two leading anti-corruption agencies (EFCC and ICPC) from 2009 to 2013

Source: Human Development Initiatives (2014)

Between 2011 and 2013, EFCC's budget declined by 26% although that of ICPC was marginally increased by 11%. Despite the much avowed claim and commitment of government to eradicate corruption, its budgetary allocation to key anti-corruption agencies is nothing to write home about. If we benchmark the total allocation to EFCC in five years (N48,647,073,928.00) against the N354,132,400,000.00 the agency is trying to recover by prosecution, the futility of EFCC's ambition against high profile accused becomes obvious (Human Development Initiatives, 2014) Also, those who drafted the Nigeria constitution had the intention of protecting political office holders against unnecessary litigations or legal tussles. Hence, they made provision for immunity, but it has become means for criminal protections. This has become a huge set back. Political officers such as state governors and the president, carry immunity that makes them unsusceptible or responsive to criminal prosecution while in office. More so, the corruption of the anti-corruption agencies calls for worry. The revelation by

George Oboh is intriguing to say the least. When an agency in the caliber of the EFCC is indicted of not remittance of recovered properties and monies, it becomes a show of shame. No wonder Oladepupo posits: It is irony of the Nigerian situation that the nation’s law enforcement agents are even more corrupt than those they are supposed to police. This has sometimes been blamed on the manner and caliber of men and women recruited in the Nigerian security outfit. Merit and good character are thrown to the winds during recruitment as men and women of questionable character including criminals, bribe their way into the force …. Little wonder therefore that many of the recruits hide under uniform to wreak havoc on the society [19]. Cases of Armed Robbery and How It Was Treated By On Friday December 4th, the Vanguard Newspaper reported the sentence of David Olugboyega to death by hanging without the option of fine over the theft of the sum of fourteen thousand, five hundred and seventy naira (N14,570) by an Ado-Ekiti High Court. The trial judge (Justice John Adeyeye) handed over the judgment in lieu of the defendant’s confessional statementand the conclusion of trial by the prosecution[20].The vanguard newspaper quoted the judge saying: “The accused is hereby sentenced to death by hanging. This will serve as deterrent to others in the society. May God have mercy on your soul.” During trial, the prosecutor, MrAlabaAdeyemi, told the court that the convict committed the offence on March 20, 2003 at Araromi Street, Ikere -Ekiti. He said the convict, armed with dangerous weapons including gun and cutlass, robbed three people of N14,570. In specific terms, Adeyemiaffirmed that the convict ripped off Kola Owolabi of N8,000; Beatrice Olawumi, N5,000 and IdowuAbiodun, N1,570 [21]. In another case, a Lagos High Court, Igbosere, on Wednesday, 22nd October, 2014 sentenced an armed robber to death by hanging for robbing his victim of N9, 000. The convict, OnyekachiAbazu, reportedly robbed one ObiomaObiekwe of the aforementioned amount and a BMW car marked CM 659 JJJ, at a gun point. He committed the offence with others at large on June 13, 2007 at Gowon Estate, Ipaja. Abazu was arraigned by the Lagos State Government on January 9, 2008, before Justice MorenikeObadina on two-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery under Sections 403 (A) and 402 (2) (A) of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos, 2003 [22]. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges, prompting the court to go through the rigors of trial. Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Obadina said the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. She found the defendant guilty as charged and, thereby sentenced him to death by hanging as prescribed by the law under which he was charged [23]. In Taraba state, two armed robbers were sentenced to death having been found guilty by a court. The two armed robbery suspects have been convicted to death by hanging by a Jalingo High Court. The two convicts, IfalachoOkechukwu from Anambra State and Ezekiel Ukach, from Plateau State, were found guilty of robbing the cashiers of the Education Authority of Zing and Ardo-Kola Local Government Areas of the state, dispossessing them of staff salaries in 2013. The presiding judge, Justice Ali Andenyangtso, said the convicts were accused of criminal conspiracy and armed robbery under Section Six 'B' of the Robbery and Fire Arms Special Provision Acts 2014. Andenyangtso sentenced the first and the second accused persons to ten years imprisonment on first count charge of criminal conspiracy, while the second count charge attracted a death sentence by hanging [24].

Cases of Political Robbery without Conclusive or Justifiable Ending

In November, 2006, there was a cash exportation scandal that engulfed the presidency. This scandal involved Emmanuel Uba, the Personal Assistant to the then president of Nigeria - OlusegunObasanjo on Domestic Affairs. In 2003, Uba used the presidential jet to ferry $170,000 to the United States. According to the U.S. Court document, $100,000 of this amount was used to buy Mercedes Benz SL 500 and $45,000 of the said amount was used to purchase farm equipment that was later sent to Obasanjo's farms [25]. In simple language, the president benefited from these unseeming transactions. The items were later released by the U.S Authorities after Uba paid the sum of $36,000 fine as punishment for not declaring the money at the point of entry and for the seized Benz to be released. The president while not denying the allegations explained that the farm equipment was unsolicited for. He further asserted that he does not understand how a farm equipment worth $45,000 matters so much in his farm where millions have been spent. In this case, the government anti-corruption agencies did not swoop on the perpetrators [26]. The fuss between former president OlusegunObasanjo and his vice – AtikuAbubakar is also case on point. The attrition between both parties show how about N200,000 million public funds meant for the Petroleum Training and Development Fund (PTDF) was siphoned into a dedicated account (Marine Flout Account) known only to Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains and was later used to finance PDP campaigns during the 2003 presidential election. The allegations also revealed how the president used his public position to sell part of the county's assets to himself by buying some of the commanding heights of the economy through the Trans-International Co-operations (Transcorp) where his company, Obasanjo Holdings has substantial shares. Within two years of incorporation, Transcorp was allocated four oil wells, bought over Nicon Hilton hotel in Abuja in October, 2000 for $105,000,000, and NITEL in July, 2006 for $750,000,000. The former Vice President also used his public position to acquire substantial part of the people’s collective patrimony [27].

Similarities between Political Robbery and Armed Robbery

Several uniformities exist between Political Robbery and Armed Robbery. Some of these uniformities are examined as follows: firstly, they both rob for self-interest. A political robber and an armed robber steal (not for the benefit or satisfaction of another individual), but for self enhancement. Just as political robber steals to maintain his or herclass or social status, so also, an armed robber steals for survival. Secondly, they both use an instrument(s) for the actualization of their respective desires. Basically, while political robbers utilize their respective political offices or powers to siphon public wealth; armed robbers use the instruments of guns, battle axe, cutlasses, etc. Thirdly, they both can act at any hour of the day. Political robbers can steal state fund whether at night or in the day. Armed robbers go on raids at any time the coast appears to be clear. They are both friends especially when it is close to election. Politicians buy the weapons and armed the ‘boys’ to help them secure electoral victory. And when they have used them to get political power, they dump them. When the armed robbers no longer have access to the political robbers, or they no longer measure up to life demands, they start to threaten innocent people [28] and rob them of their belongings. Also, they both live a prodigious lifestyle. Though in different magnitude, armed robbers in Nigeria squander money on alcoholism, womanizing, drugs, clubbing, etc.; They both feed on the sweat of other people who they dispossess of their valuables. The political robbers steal the commonwealth or state's assets that would have been used to create employments, pay salaries and gratuities, ensure stable electric power supply, free education, etc. Tthe armed robbers take the sweat of the robbed victims who may not be able to recover from the frustration in a life time. They both improve on the means of increasing their loots. Political robbers use every means within their reach to increase the stolen money in their accounts (Local and international). Some even open bank accounts in fictitious names to ensure that such accounts are not traceable to them. Similarly, the armed robbers increase their loots by delving into kidnapping, using dynamites to gain access into a bank, etc. Both are growing with the time by introducing sophisticated means to steal. They both kill but in different ways. While the political robbers embezzle the revenue allocation for the construction of roads, thereby making it a death trap for citizens as several lives have been lost as a result of this on the Benin-Ore road, East-West road, etc.; the armed robbers shoot, strangles their victims, etc. Simply put, both engage in the killing of their victims. They both make industries to relocate. Political robbers’ embezzlement of the revenue allocation for power has left the state of power in Nigeria in comatose. Most firms cannot function without power, so some of them have relocated to neighboring states where power is stable, thereby exporting jobs, taxes, etc. Also armed robbers’ continuous terrorizations threaten local and foreign direct investments.

Differences between Political Robbery and Armed Robbery

Several dissimilarities exist between Political Robbery and Armed Robbery. For instance, before someone can be regarded as a political robber, he / she must have stolen or embezzled funds as a government functionary whether on the basis of appointment, election or contract. But an armed robber does not necessarily have to occupy any governmental position. A political robber uses cunning craftiness to steal money without necessarily applying violent means, while an armed robber applies all means possible to ensure that he / she gets money from his/ her target. Furthermore, it has never been observed in Nigeria that political robbers faced jungle justice. Conversely, jungle justice is a normal occurrence when armed robbers are caught by civilians. This is partly because the Nigerian Police cannot be trusted to promptly act as the law requires. A political robber is celebrated in Nigeria by his people and railroaded to the king’s palace for a chieftaincy title. He / she is openly defended as a smart and brilliant personality, while the kinsmen of armed robbers are ashamed and often do not defend them in public. Also, a political robber suffers mild or no punishment as he / she is asked to bring meager fine in contrast to what he / she stole (evils of plea bargain). An armed robber on the other hand, gets a stiffer penalty in the form of jail term, capital punishment, or assets forfeiture. A political robber can afford the legal services of several Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) as his or her defense team with their stolen money. These legal experts are capable to make the case to linger unnecessarily for several years under the pretense of legal technicalities. An armed robber on the other hand, cannot afford to have such number of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) in his or her defense team. Political robbers can easily influence judges with the booties from their robbery, but the reverse is the case for an armed robber. The amount of money that a political robber makes, far exceed that made by an armed robber. Lastly, though not the least, political robbers’ capacity to rob is tied to their respective offices (that is, their sphere of influence), while an armed robber can rob anywhere in any part of the society, provided the coast is clear.

Political Robbery and Armed Robbery: The Nexus

A coin has a head and tail. While political robbery is the head, armed robbery is the tail. To some African elites, whatever is incongruous with self-aggrandizement and diversion of public wealth so as to enrich themselves and their god fathers, cannot be pursued as a matter of policy. Political robbers have run the economy of Nigeria aground as this has even become a platform for recruitment of citizens into armed robbery. Most of the guns that are used for electioneering campaigns in intimidation of opponents are never retrieved. In the face of joblessness, these guns become ready tools for armed robbery. Resource diversion has been declared a clog on the wheel of progress in Nigeria's developmental efforts. Political robbery penetrates the very fabrics of the policy process, thereby aborting desired goals of development. Every day, monies leave government coffers for the purpose of sustainable development, but nothing is put in place as such monies end up in private pockets. Due to political robbery, Nigerians are still under the shackles of excruciating poverty. Verbose projects are designed, but such projects do not trickle down to life enhancement for the citizens. In the recent past, a case of broad day robbery wasunveiled in the misappropriation, diversion and sharing of $2.1 billion dollars by the former Nigerian Security Adviser (NSA) – SamboDasuki. A close examination and systematic enquiry revealed that a bunch of the said sum was plundered and laundered by top government officials, military and some other security agencies with the connivance military hardware suppliers and politicians [29].While Nigerian soldiers died with reckless abandon in the fight against the Boko Haram terrorist group, the NSA boss was busy sharing the money earmarked for the purchase of arms([30]. Corruption obviously fans the embers of poverty, crimes and by extension insecurity. Armed robbery is directly or indirectly related to political robbery. The advent of militancy, kidnapping and terrorism in Nigeria can be traced to corruption. In the Niger Delta region militancy almost crippled the country's economy, it was championed by political thugs who were initially recruited by corrupt politicians prior to elections in the region. These thugs who became idle after the elections had no other job but found one in the form of militancy which eventually metamorphosed into bombing of oil installations and kidnapping of foreign oil workers for ransom. The same is also true of the North East of the country where the Boko Haram sect has continued to make life insecure for citizens. Like their predecessors, Niger Delta militants, many of the sect members were once political thugs [31]. Under the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, any person who commits the offence of stealing with the aid of a firearm “or any offensive weapon” or is merely “in company with any person so armed” is liable upon conviction to death. While an ordinary pen or any virtual authorization tool cannot be defined as a “firearm”, its lethal role in inflicting grievous harm to the Nigerian body-politic, in the massive dispossession and “wounding” of the nation, as well as in the consequential death of countless citizens, who are denied life-saving provisions or support; qualify it to be included in the definition of “offensive weapon” [32].

Table 2: Some Cases Of Corruption In Nigeri.

Source: Terzungwe, W. C. &Ogba, M. C. (2021)

The paper examined how the lip service paid to the fight against corruption in Nigeria, encourages political robbery. The paper does not in any guise support the crime of armed robbery which is condemned by every rational individual, but pushes that political robbery should be made to face a commensurate sanction instead of the ‘plea bargain’ means of covering up crime after undue litigations.

The sentence for a political robber should be higher in every sense of the word than that of an armed robber because if the individual’s labour powers were allowed to be put to use, he/she would have produced great works. Secondly, appointment [33-38] should be done on the basis of requisite qualifications. These qualifications should be based on the necessary academic certificates and character, while nepotism should be vehemently eschewed. There is urgent need to build the Nigerian heavily bastardized institutions. There is hardly any institution of government (be it in a police station, federal Road Safety office, EFCC, etc.) where bribe will not be required to carry out a legitimate service. The anti-corruption agencies should live above boards. They should not be seen as political witch hunters: they should not be agencies to fight political opponents or tool for political intimidation and mere media prosecution. There is also urgent need for citizens’ mental cum value re-orientation in order to build the depreciated value system where it has become a crime to be in public office without misappropriating and amassing public funds. Relatives who engage in politics with the resolve to misappropriate the citizens’ common patrimony should not be accorded any form of honor. They should not be celebrated but chided. There is equally another urgent need to set priority right in terms of government expenditures. Thus, rather than allocating so much to security without any commensurate success, much revenue and sincerity of purpose should be allocated to job generating sectors like agriculture, energy, transportation, ICT, education, etc.

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