Looters should give all to charity as restitution, Clerics says

Some clerics on Tuesday asked that repented public fund-looters should give the loots to charity as a way of atoning for their sins and to be socially reintegrated into the society.

The clerics said in Lagos that an acceptable expression of remorse over one's act that caused pain to the public should be that, which would heal the pain caused.

Speaking on restitution, the Director of Public Communications, Lagos Catholic Archdiocese, Rev. Fr. Anthony Godonuno, said that though people abused positions at the detriment of others, the society should create window to forgive such people who wished to show regret for their acts.

According to him, such window is necessary for the persons to listen to and read the scriptures, and they can be compelled by the word of God to atone for their past misdeeds.

"The acceptable way for them is that they should offer everything to the homeless, less privileged and physically challenged people in the society.

"Also, make large contributions to community infrastructure development," he said.

The priest described public fund looting by officials as an infraction which had deformed most African societies, saying that such acts had made people destitutes.

In his response on resitution, the Chief Imam of Falomo Mosque Lagos, Abdul-Akeem Yusuf, told NAN that people should be encouraged to make resitution to discourage corruption and bad blood in the society.

Abdul-Akeem, who condemned public fund stealing, said that the use of legal means to check the practice had not paid off, therefore, social, moral and religious means should be adopted to end corruption.

Also speaking, the Rev. Pastor Obed Ezeonye of the Excellent Glory Christain Centre, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, said that God accepts repentance.

The system should give room for people to willingly consider doing restitution.

"It is a systemic problem. If the system is restructured, I tell you many people will be willing to restitute. But until then, not everybody that wants to do that, will do it.

"But it will be healthy for the society," Ezeonye said.