“Revolutions end up in the hands of mad men. Besides, if the power is great enough, it will make its own mad men by its own pressure.” – Saul Bellow, 1915-2005. VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ P. 217.
When a national newspaper thundered on its front page that EFCC BATTLES INTERNAL SCANDALS AS OPERATIVES LOOT RECOVERED ASSETS, it was obvious to me that the creation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in 2004, which, for Nigeria, was a revolutionary measure aimed at taming corruption has ended up in the hands of some raving lunatics. I am not talking about the current Chairman, who has actually inherited a poisoned commission. No. The rot started much earlier, as early in fact as the administration of President Obasanjo who passed the law to create it. The story which appeared on January 25, 2025, mentioned only recovered assets. But, in reality, some hooded EFCC agents actually rob, at gun point, people whose premises, homes, hotels, offices, they invade in the middle of the night, without court order. They cart away assets without taking inventory and deliver what they choose, if they choose, to the office.
Deliberately and inadvertently, we have allowed the EFCC to become like a bunch of cats engaged to manage a fish shop. I expect the EFCC spokesman or somebody to write a rejoinder stating that only a few criminally-minded officers are giving the commission a bad name. I agree and disagree. Yes, it is possible that only a few people are engaged in such nefarious activities. But the silence of others have rendered them as accomplices. Furthermore, most people, worldwide, who hold Nigerians in low esteem, have met only a handful out of 230 million. Thus, I am treated with disdain and suspicion at every airport globally.
Whether the EFCC likes it or not, its image is being battered by the actions of corrupt officials, high-handedness, lack of professionalism – even when carrying out routine official duties. We frequently receive news of courts dismissing EFCC for media publicity even before accused persons have been served with court orders. Recently, the commission asked a court to issue warrant of arrest for Oba Otudeko on account of allegations made against him. The court turned down the request while pointing out that Otudeko was not properly served notice of the hearing. This is not the first time EFCC would be admonished by the courts for clearly unprofessional conduct. The question is: why does the EFCC continue to fall into the same manhole?
IT STARTED EARLY
“Morning [sometimes] shows the day.”
The politicisation and criminality of the EFCC started very early; almost as soon as the law creating it was signed by Obasanjo. Malam Nuhu Ribadu, who was the first Chairman, did not fully meet the requirements stipulated by the law. But the all-powerful President pushed the appointment through all the same.
Ribadu, who was advertised as a sort of Mr. Clean of the Nigerian Police, however, had one query to answer from me. How was it possible to build a house and buy tear-rubber car for his father in Yola on a low-level police officer’s salary? We leave that for now.
Ribadu started like a whirlwind; very soon, several Governors were being investigated, and prosecution started. Nigerians, imbued with the Machiavellian spirit, cheered the new national hero without looking closely at the discriminatory and illegal, and sometimes unconstitutional methods adopted.
Ribadu was the Man of the Year award winner according to several newspapers and the darling of young Editors. But, in reality, what glittered at the time was false gold as some examples would show.
Ola Olukoyede
The EFCC went after Governor Festus Dariye of Plateau State because the man had a small disagreement with Obasanjo. Because Governors have immunity from prosecution, EFCC could not directly touch him. So, Ribadu went after eighteen State legislators; accused them of corruption; invaded the State’s House of Assemble with armed policemen; and then got the remaining six lawmakers to impeach the eighteen who had not been tried in any court. The six went further to impeach the Governor. Meanwhile, N100 million of the funds Dariye was alleged to have embezzled, were given to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to finance its 2003 elections. Dariye was eventually convicted; but it took a courageous Justice of the Federal Court to declare EFCC’s actions illegal.
The same trick was played on Bayelsa State with Alamieyeseigha in order to get him convicted and Jonathan elevated as governor, and to some extent Ibori. An attempt was also made to get Attah into EFCC net which failed woefully because Attah took the unusual step of dragging the EFCC to court and defeated the Commission. I was in court with Attah throughout his ordeal until vindication.
What most Nigerians did not know was the fact that Alamieyeseigha, Ibori and Attah were the “Three Musketeers” of RESOURCE CONTROL – the struggle which eventually resulted in 13 per cent derivation which the Niger Delta States have been enjoying since. Attah wrote the book, to which I wrote the foreword.
But the credit for 13 per cent derivation belongs to the three former Governors.
Meanwhile, Obasanjo was totally opposed to RESOURCE CONTROL; he wanted the oil-producing states to receive only 1.5 per cent derivation but only for onshore production and nothing for offshore production. Only the tenacity of the three Governors saved the Niger Delta from the sad fate Obasanjo had in mind for the people. Out of vindictiveness, Obasanjo made sure that the three Governors paid heavy prices for their defiance. He sent the EFCC after them.
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Only the truth and honesty saved Attah.
By contrast, the EFCC also charged to court former Governor Odili, an ally of Obasanjo, who stood aloof from the RESOURCE CONTROL effort. Odili got a perpetual court injunction from another court against investigation and prosecution of himself and members of his administration. The EFCC had the option of getting that perpetual injunction vacated; but, till today has not exercised that option.
WAR ON VICE PRESIDENT ATIKU
“A truth that’s told with bad intent/ Beats all the lies you can invent.” William Blake, 1757-1827, VBQ p 254.
When former Vice President Atiku announced his intention to run for president in early 2006, he inadvertently started a war with Obasanjo – who was determined that Atiku would not be his successor. Among the weapons unleashed upon Atiku was the EFCC which probed the VP’s management of the Petroleum Development Trust Fund, PDTF. Ribadu, predictably “indicted” Atiku and provided Obsanjo with the excuse needed to illegally take over the PDTF. Later, however, a Senate Ad Hoc Committee, headed by Senator Danjuma, investigating the affairs of the PDTF, had this to say about PDTF and other matters involving Obasanjo-
“I was shocked, disturbed at the extent of gross abuse of office, privileges, and misapplications of public funds by both the President and Vice President…Page 45 [of the Ad Hoc Committee’s Report] says PDTF was paying for services outside its mandate and this was a regular feature.” That was after Ribadu had issued a report exonerating Obasanjo of all blame on mismanaging PDTF funds.
When another Senator suggested that another probe be conducted, Mrs Danjuma replied: “I do not see any need for another investigation [especially] if it was to be conducted by Ribadu’s EFCC which has disgraced itself] because this is enough; it speaks for itself that funds were misplaced against the Constitution and against the people of Nigeria.” PDP: CORRUPTION INCORPORATION. P 198). The Senate Ad Hoc Committee was able to discover several instances of illegal and fraudulent misapplications of public funds by Obasanjo (including payment of N250 million to a famous lawyer) from PDTF funds; which the EFCC failed to see….
FEMI FANI-KAYODE: TELLING LIES AS HISTORY
I read Femi Fani-Kayode’s piece published in several newspapers and ordinarily would not have bothered to join issues with him; until I got to the point where he described his father Remi Fani-Kayode as “an innocent man”. That was not how I would describe the man who drove a Land Rover Jeep to Inalende Street in 1963 where our family house was directly opposite that of Honourable Lanlehin.
Puffing his trademark roll of hemp, wearing dashiki and leading thugs, who set about devastating the street. I was tossed over the fence by my step mother with money stuffed in my pocket to go to Ogunpa Motor Park to board a bus for Lagos. Half the people in our house have not been seen till today after the invasion. Innocent man? Many of us wonder why the soldiers left him alive.
To be continued
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