*Says Agency’s Lawyers Promote Graft
By Daniel
Kanu
The Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the agency set up to eradicate the
cankerworm of corruption in Nigeria, has been described as the most corrupt
institution in Nigeria today, a classic case of the hunter becoming the
hunted.
Making this
assertion in an exclusive interview with The Niche is Professor Ben Nwabueze,
Nigeria ’s
foremost constitutional lawyer and anti-corruption crusader who has called for
a social and ethical revolution as the only way to eradicate the malaise.
Nwabueze said
President Muhammadu Buhari’s belief that he will win the war against graft with
all the probes undertaken by the EFCC will remain a mirage because according to
him, “The EFCC is one of the most corrupt institutions in this country.”
The erudite lawyer
said those who believe, like Buhari, that the EFCC is the solution to the
problem of graft in Nigeria
should first find out what happened to all the money recovered from looters or
realized from sale of their assets forfeited to the Federal Government.
Told that many Nigerians may not agree with his assertion, Nwabueze countered: “What happened to all the money EFCC claimed to have recovered through plea bargain? You said many people won’t agree with me? Why has Buhari sacked Ibrahim Lamorde, the former EFCC chairman? Have you looked at the report on the sale of assets of former Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun, and former Governor of Bayelsa State Diepreye Alamieyesegha, forfeited to the Nigerian state?
Told that many Nigerians may not agree with his assertion, Nwabueze countered: “What happened to all the money EFCC claimed to have recovered through plea bargain? You said many people won’t agree with me? Why has Buhari sacked Ibrahim Lamorde, the former EFCC chairman? Have you looked at the report on the sale of assets of former Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun, and former Governor of Bayelsa State Diepreye Alamieyesegha, forfeited to the Nigerian state?
*Prof Nwabueze |
“Have you looked at
the report? What happened to the buildings? What happened to the money realized
from the sale of these assets? There is a committee set up to investigate the
sale of these assets under the former chairman of the EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu. The
report is there and you say many people will not agree with me.
“Maybe, there is a
new dispensation in the EFCC. Maybe! With the sack of the old people, Lamorde
& co, you need a thorough overhaul of EFCC, thorough overhaul. The law
setting it up – the 2004 Act re-enacting an earlier 2002 Act needs to be
overhauled. The EFCC has become an instrument of terror which undermines our
constitutional system.”
Reacting to a recent allegation by the acting EFCC Chairman
Ibrahim Magu, that some lawyers and judges are frustrating the fight against
corruption by profiteering from corruption proceeds, Nwabueze said the EFCC
chairman should look inwards rather than disparage lawyers who are discharging
their legal and constitutional duties and making legitimate earnings therefrom.
He accused lawyers
hired by the EFCC as prosecutors of conniving with the accused persons to evade
justice and sharing in the loot thereafter, insisting that the most lucrative
legal practice in Nigeria
today is to be lawyers of the EFCC.
“He (Magu) should
tell us the relationship between the EFCC and lawyers it engages to prosecute
corrupt persons. That is where the corruption is. Not lawyers defending alleged
corrupt people. No! Those ones are briefed by accused persons and they charge
their fees.
“Where the loot
comes in is between EFCC and the lawyers it engages to prosecute accused
persons. Go and investigate. So many EFCC lawyers are multi-millionaires. This
is on record. There is evidence that those lawyers Magu is accusing share the
so-called fees with officials of the EFCC.
“One of the most
profitable areas of legal practice in Nigeria today is to be a lawyer of
the EFCC for prosecuting those accused of corruption. That is one of the most
profitable. They have amassed so much money. So many things go on unnoticed by
the public. They should tell us. It is more or less an exclusive thing to
become lawyer of the EFCC. They fight to get appointed as EFCC lawyer. If you
get appointed as EFCC lawyer, then you are made.”
Nwabueze says he supports the war against corruption, however,
adds it must be fought within the ambit of the law: “I am totally in
support of the fight against corruption provided the war is waged in accordance
with the Constitution. We must at all times apply and adhere to the
constitutional limitations on power. You know, it is a question of do you want
total war on corruption, disregarding constitutional limitations on power.
“That will be
anarchy. I can tell you that the day you say to hell with the constitution and
its limitations on power because of the war against corruption, then you are
facing anarchy in this country because the constitution is the glue that holds
all of us together whether you are Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa. That is what we have
in common.
“And for anybody to
come and say to hell with the constitution, because of the war against
corruption, you are courting the end of this country as one. You are courting
the dissolution of that glue. So, fight corruption by all means but please
fight it within the framework of the constitutional limitations on power.”
He, however, is wary
about how far the war as presently waged can go in eradicating corruption,
insisting that the country is far too submerged in the cesspit of graft for an
ordinary war to make any meaningful impact.
For him, nothing short of a revolution will do but he doubts
President Muhammadu Buhari’s ability to undertake such.
“I believe that
corruption is only but one of the ills bedeviling this country. This country is
rotten, thoroughly rotten. And I believe that the only way to effectively
cleanse this country of the rottenness is a revolution. But are we ready for a
revolution? I will support a revolution, not a fighting revolution. People
always think that a revolution only means carrying arms. By revolution I mean
social and ethical revolution led by a president who understands what it means,
who is prepared to mobilize everybody’s support.
“When you talk of a revolution, even social and ethical revolution, it means an end to the constitution, an end to constitutional democracy. Are we prepared for it? Is this country prepared for that? If you are not prepared for a revolution, then it means we have to stick to the constitution.
“When you talk of a revolution, even social and ethical revolution, it means an end to the constitution, an end to constitutional democracy. Are we prepared for it? Is this country prepared for that? If you are not prepared for a revolution, then it means we have to stick to the constitution.
“Fight corruption
within the constitutional framework if you cannot really mobilize this country
for a social and ethical revolution, which is the only effective answer to our
problems. Is this administration with the incumbent president prepared for
that? Is it what he is doing?
“There is no point
pretending that you are still a constitutional democracy and fighting
corruption when you are doing the contrary. If you want a social revolution,
come out openly and you will have my support. Come out openly and say this
country is too rotten, let us keep the constitution by the side because we have
to try to end all this rottenness of which corruption is only one.”
*Culled from TheNiche newspaper (used with permission)
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