Slowly, Slowly, EFCC Is Dead

During the era of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the inaugural chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), there was vibrancy and enthusiasms towards the anti-graft war. Successes were recorded ranging from one high profile prosecution after another, notwithstanding many classified those arrests as witch-hunting of perceived enemies of the Olusegun Obasanjo led Administration.

 

Tafa Balogun, Lucky Igbinedion, Cecilia Ibru etc were some of the top-notch personalities that graced the prison of the EFCC albeit, some spent their prison terms in lush hospitals, while some were just persuaded to let go of bit of their loots as was the case with Igbinedion, former Edo state governor who paid a meager 3million naira as plea bargain, having been convicted of embezzling over 10billion naira of public funds.

 

 

Now, Nuhu Ribadu is no more in the saddle at the EFCC, what is happening with the fight against corruption? Ms Farida Waziri came into the setup of the anti-graft agency in 2007 she practically did little or nothing. She merely struggled to re-enact the zeal and tenaciousness that was akin with the Ribadu led EFCC. Was that the beginning of the downfall of the EFCC? Now we have on board a certain man called Ibrahim Lamorde, who came out recently to complain of lack of funds. Was that the reason for the seemingly death of the EFCC? What happened to all the money recovered as loots from corrupt elements? Agreed, Ribadu and Obasanjo were selective in their fight against corruption. What are we going to term Ibrahim Lamorde and President Jonathan?

 

Seriously, I think the EFCC under the stewardship of Lamorde is merely reporting to Office and not fighting corruption. Or else, when was the last time the EFCC prosecute even a fly? Let alone having high profile politicians in their nest. At a point the EFCC claimed immunity of some corrupt governors is serving as stumbling block against their prosecution. But governors that left office in 2007 and 2011 don’t have immunity, or do they? The newly elected governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose was impeached in 2006 and with the several allegations against him, what was the EFCC doing since his fall from power? We learnt the corruption case against him has been dropped because of his new status as governor-elect. Does a governor elect have immunity? He does not become governor until October, so what is the EFCC still doing? Until the following postulations are strictly adhered to, the EFCC would remain in the cooler. 

 

BUDGETARY ALLOCATION

It is a fact that the EFCC does not have it own budgetary allocations. They are tied to the apron strings of the presidency, little wonder it consistently lacks proper funding. It was reported last year that the anti-graft body had less than 100,000 in their coffers. Do you fight corruption like that?  

 

INDEPENDENT AGENCY

The current state of the EFCC where the President decides who to prosecute should cease. If you are in the good book of the President, you get shielded when, the reverse is the case, it is hounding and witch hunting becomes the order of the day. The EFCC should function as a separate and independent agency from the Presidency.  

 

CHAIRMANSHIP

The chairman should not be a lackey or stooge of the President. He or she should be a man of proven integrity and a thorough breed in the act of crime fighting. He should be independently appointed by a constituted authority in the mould of the National Judicial Commission (NJC).