EFCC agent of persecution
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) is, by virtue of its position and nature, a regulatory body formed by the present administration to regulate crimes in the country, and it was formed based on the provision of section 15, sub 5 of the 1999 constitution which empowers the state to abolish corruption in the country. It is headed by a senior police officer, Malam Nuhu Ribadu. The federal government, under the leadership of General Olusegun Obasanjo, saw the rate at which corruption in the civil service and other private sectors within the country was having a negative effect on the lives of innocent Nigerians and decided to form the EFCC and other related agencies like the Independent Corrupt Practice Commission, headed by Justice Olayinla Ayoola.
With the formation of the EFCC as one of the trusted agency empowered to check and expose corruption in all its ramifications, the agency quickly swung into action by embarking on serious investigations of those who stick out their neck for crucificxion either as money launderers, 419ners, or those who induce government officials to gain fat contracts.
Malam Nuhu Ribadu spoke of the achievements of the government agency. According to him, the EFCC has recovered more than N5bn from fraudsters and has discovered as well as exposed a reasonable number of official corruption through out Nigeria.
Though the Ribadu baby has remained dogged in fighting social vices within the country, whether it has succeeded wholly or partially depends largely on the perspective one decides to take, because there were successes as well as failures of the organization. Most Nigerians especially the down-trodden ones are happy with the EFCC because of the steps it has been taking to recover monies siphoned by the people in government.
However, the irony of the entire operations of the EFCC is that it has allowed itself to be used as agent of persecution, the agency had since deviated from the main objectives of its formation and embarks on something else.
Today, the EFCC instead of being applauded as a hero agency, is being criticized and accused of lopsidedness in its operation. It has gradually advanced to an agent of persecution by descending on only those who have one problem or the other with the presidency and turning deaf ears on all those who dine and wine with Mr. President, despite the atrocities being committed by them.
Even as Malam Nuhu Ribadu is vehemently kicking against this obvious and visible allegations, his actions and that of the EFCC always proved his position wrong. The EFCC later became a toothless bulldog, as all its activities which to a large extent are based on sentiments and promotion of the ruling party PDP's agenda. For this, people automatically changed their minds and see the agency as an extension of PDP or what is called Obasanjo Party (OP).
A close look at the EFCC's handling of prominent cases since its formation would convince every doubting Thomas that there was no genuine intention in all that the agency is out to achieve.
For instance, the case of the Abacha family where the federal government, after the demise of General Sani Abacha, ordered for a very serious probe into the activities of the family, especially on how their accounts were reading higher compared to other Nigerians.
The government of Obasanjo ordered a probe locally and internationally, monies were discovered in several Switz bank accounts which had direct connection with the Abacha’s family. There were a lot of media campaigns to justify the position of the EFCC as far as the huge amount of money running into trillions allegedly owned by the family was concerned.
According to a release sometimes issued by the presidency and signed by the president's media aides such, monies recovered from the family was to be invested in the educational sector, health care service delivery and agricultural development. Since then no one can say whether such monies were brought back into the country and invested on these identified projects. Till date no one is even talking about the 'Abacha loot' since the government had already scored a political point of destroying the name of the family in the eyes of the world.
Several arrests of Abacha men were made by the EFCC, even his son, Muhammad Abacha, was incarcerated, his Chief Security Officer (CSO), Major Hamza El-Mustapha and many others were and still in detention while some were released on conditional bails.
We have also witnessed how the EFCC pounced on the Walin Dutse, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, the then minister of power and steel under the Abacha government. Several allegations were leveled against him, especially when he chose to become critical of the Obasanjo administration shortly before his arrest.
The EFCC was equally used to topple some democratically elected governors of some states for their defiant position in supporting the unpopular third term agenda, one of the victims was the Governor of Bayelsa, Chief Dieprie Alameisiagha, a man who doggedly fought the third term agenda to a stand still in his domain.
It was the EFCC which later chased Alameisiegha down to London and later claimed that it was the London metropolitan police that assisted her trap money amounting to millions of dollars owned by the former Bayelsa state governor.
It was true that the first pronouncement regarding the expose of money laundering concerning Alaimeseigha was done by the London metropolitan police who later paraded the governor in a court of law in the foreign land only for him to jump bail and return to Nigeria and then later caused him his job.
Another similar episode was that of the Plateau state governor, Chief Joshua Chibi Dariye, who was also accused of siphoning the state resources. He too was apprehended by the London police but later escaped and returned back home, but through the instrumentality of the EFCC, the man was toppled and an Obasanjo’s apologist was named the governor. Another persecution was made by the EFCC on the serving governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose, who was toppled and later reclaimed back his seat after following due process in a court of law.
Several threats were made by the EFCC on the Zamfara state governor, Ahmed Sani Yariman Bakura, for his anti-Obasanjo stand, the agency's publicly arrested the SSG and some of his commissioners who allegedly siphoned more than N750 million although the man was not toppled because of the support accorded him by the state legislators and other unannounced reasons.
It was the EFCC that handled the case involving the former minister of education Mr. Fabian Osuji who claimed to have given a fifty million (N50) million bribe to the deputy senate President, Malam Ibrahim Mantu so as to assist his ministry gain more allocation during the passage of Budgetary allocations to his ministry. The man was immediately sacked by the presidency even before normal process of investigation commenced. The then Senate President, Chief Adolphus Wabara also lost his job because of that scandal.
Presently, the EFCC is vigorously pursuing allegations leveled against the vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who was accused of siphoning billions of Naira via the PTDF although since that pronouncement, the EFCC tried all it could to lay hand on any substantial document that could implicate Atiku, but to no avail.
The idea behind fighting the vice president is to score a political point, the EFCC knows quite well that Atiku and Obasanjo are birds of the same feathers who must be allowed to flock together but yet insists on accomplishing the mission of their master.
If the EFCC has a genuine intention why did it fail to probe Obasanjo who Atiku implicated deeping his fingers in the PTDF's money during his presidential campaign.
Several other Nigerians have suffered the deliberate molestation of the EFCC.Just of recent the EFCC arrested five members of the Adamawa state House of Assembly who were quizzed and whisked away to Abuja for allegedly collecting N300m bribe from the local government chairmen.
Take the case of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, a man who worked assiduously to install the Obj led government using his personal resources but he was paid back negatively when the government decided to trace all his foreign bank accounts abroad.
Infact, IBB was equally humiliated when the EFCC arrested his eldest son, Muhammad Babangida, for allegedly having the largest share in Global Communication. The idea behind the apparent apprehension was not just to embarrass the boy but his father who the government took upon herself to frustrate because of his intention to vie for the presidency.
These reasons forced IBB to abandon his darling party the PDP for NDP and would properly contest on its platform when the time comes.
Likewise, the EFCC was used by Obasanjo to uncover a lot of financial misappropriations advanced by the Rivers state Governor Peter Odili who the agency accused of conniving with a private company to loot the state resources.
Odili was not only humiliated but became a target of the presidency for elimination from the presidential contest. Despite all the popularity he enjoyed from all the 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory Abuja, places he made sacrifice to visit with his entourage during the presidential campaign, Odili was forced out of the race for Yar'adua to emerge as Obj's anointed presidential hopeful.
Similar treatment was meted on Kalu when the EFCC and its agents decided to pounce on him and his mother for allegedly siphoning the state meager resources for their personal comfort.
There are one thousand and one cases of the EFCC's evil operations in Nigeria and that is why a lot of people lost confidence in all their selected modes of operations.
I feel until the government is ready to fight corruption in all its ramifications, the EFCC will continue to battle with credibility problems till the end of Obj's tenure. However, the commission can be said to have recorded a plus on the issue of sending fears in the minds of corrupt public servants and other notable criminals, but certainly not on the political scene.