Oiling the wheels of justice

The author contends that despite Equatorial Guinea's status as a major oil producer, the majority of its population lives in poverty while the ruling Obiang family amasses vast wealth through corruption. The text urges the Obama administration to denounce torture, seize ill-gotten US assets of the Obiang family, and support credible elections and independent media in Equatorial Guinea to move away from 'strongmen' toward 'strong institutions'.

• Equatorial Guinea is the third-largest producer of oil and gas in sub-Saharan Africa, with production estimated at nearly 318,000 barrels per day, yet two-thirds of its population lives below the poverty line and average life expectancy is 53 years.
• The country suffers from extreme corruption and poor governance, ranking 45 out of 52 in the 2013 Ibrahim Index of African Governance and 163 out of 177 on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.
• The ruling Obiang family has used oil wealth for lavish personal acquisitions, including US mansions and luxury cars, while the US Justice Department and French police have investigated the family for money laundering and high-level corruption.
• The author recommends several US government actions: denouncing torture, overhauling the judicial system, seizing all US-based assets of the Obiang family, expanding the Magnitsky Act to all global autocrats, and supporting independent election monitoring for the 2016 elections.

APA

Alicante, T. (n.d.). Oiling the wheels of justice. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/oiling-the-wheels-of-justice

Chicago

Alicante, Tutu. Oiling the wheels of justice. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/oiling-the-wheels-of-justice.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Alicante |first1=Tutu |title=Oiling the wheels of justice |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/oiling-the-wheels-of-justice |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{alicantendoiling, author = {Alicante, Tutu}, title = {{Oiling the wheels of justice}}, publisher = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/oiling-the-wheels-of-justice}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }