The job of the Chairman of
the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, Mrs.
Farida Waziri, may be on
the line. On Wednesday, a
bill seeking to make the
headship of the anti-graft
agency the exclusive
preserve of retired justices
of either the Court of
Appeal or Supreme Court
passed the second reading.
If the bill sails through both
chambersof the National
Assembly, Waziri might be
asked to leave the seat. At
best, she would not be
allowed a second term at
the end of her tenure next
year.
Waziri, who assumed office
in May 2008, is not a retired
justiceof either the Court
of Appeal or Supreme
Court but a retired
Assistant Inspector General
of Police.
The bill seeking to amend
the EFCC Act, 2004, is
sponsored by a member of
the House from Cross River
State, Mr. Bassey Ewa.
The bill passed second
reading at the House on
Wednesday after
lawmakers debated it.
Ewa claimed that the EFCC,
as presently constituted,
was deficient in
prosecuting corruption
cases.
He said that the
commission’s modus
operandi had been to file
charges it could not
substantiate in court.
According to him, the
commission can file up to
500 charges against a
suspect “and one by one,
these charges do not hold
in court” because the
agency is not receiving
proper guidance from its
leadership.
In his view, a retired judge
will do a better job because
such a person has the
experience of knowing
what charges can be
sustained in court.
He said he wanted the EFCC
to be headed by a retired
judge as was the case with
the Independent Corrupt
Practices and other Related
Offences Commission,
which Ewa claimed had
done “more successful
prosecutions than the
EFCC.”
The lawmaker blamed part
of the alleged weaknesses
of the EFCC on the absence
of an investigation unit.
He proposed the creation
of a unit charged with
investigation in the agency
to be headed by an
Assistant Inspector-
General of Police, “either
retired or serving.”
While the Senate declined
comment on the bill,
preferring to await its
coming, the EFCC on
Wednesday described the
allegations against the
commission as “cheap
blackmail.”
Leader of the Senate, Victor
Ndoma-Egba,said, “We
have not seen the bill, we
cannot say anything until it
comes.
“I will not be able to
aggregate what all the
senators will be thinking
right now, so let’s wait.”
Spokesperson for the EFCC,
Mr. Femi Babafemi, said,
“The allegation by the
House of Representatives is
invalidbecause there has
never been any case filed
by the commission in court
that has ever been thrown
out for lack of evidence.
“So how does anyone
come out with the
allegation that we rush to
court without proper
investigation? That is a
cheap blackmail.”
He, however, declined to
speak on the Bill for the
appointment of a retired
Justice of the Supreme
Court or Court of Appeal,
saying he had no details
yet.
Some lawmakers in their
contributions to the debate
alleged that the EFCC had
become a political tool.
Mr. Kamil Akinlabi told the
House that the agency
would “rush to court with
all manner of charges” just
to satisfy alleged political
interests.
“The EFCC is being used as a
political tool. When you
have a retired judge as the
head of the EFCC, they will
do a thorough
investigation before
rushing to courts”, he
added.
Mr. Uzor Azubuike shared
the same views, accusing
the commission of
“operating from the
presumption that the
accused is already guilty.”
Mr. Emmanuel Jime
supported the bill on the
grounds that it would be
the first step to
restructuring the EFCC and
the ICPC.
“The mentality of those
fighting corruption at the
EFCC right now is not
consistent with the rule of
law.
“We cannot fight
corruption in a manner
that is not consistent with
the law”, Jime stated.
Lawmakers passed the bill
in a unanimous voice vote
to the Joint Committee on
Justice, Drugs, Narcotics
and Financial Crimes for
further deliberations.
It is unclear whether the
Senate will concur to the
bill after it has scaled third
reading at the House.
Last week, a proposal by
the Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Rules and
Business, Mr. Ita Enang, to
merge the EFCC and the
ICPC, failed on the floor of
the Senate.
Meanwhile, constitutional
lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay,
SAN, said the bill by the
Reps might not achieve the
desired results. He said the
effectiveness of the anti-
graft agency depended on
the person heading it.
Sagay said, “The
appointment of a retired
judge may not necessarily
achieve the purpose the
House of Representatives
may be talking about. It
depends on the personality
of the EFCC chairman. A
retired Police officer will be
relevant in the area of
investigation.
“But a retired judge is
likely to be better and
independent than a retired
police officer who is like a
civil servant that has been
in the office taking
instructions from
somebody as we have seen
in many cases.”
A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr.
Bamidele Aturu, said
appointing retired judges
as the chairman of the EFCC
would not necessarily
enhance the commission’s
performance.
Aturu told one of our
correspondents on the
phone late on Tuesday,
“Don’t you realise
corruption is a war?
Corruption is not a joke.
Don’t we have corrupt
judges? So the problem will
not be solved by
appointing retired judges.
“What is important is
appointing a person who
can do the job. I will even
recommend that the law
should be amended to
allow anybody, whether
the person is a policeman, a
teacher or whatever could
be appointed as the EFCC
chairman. What is
important is that the
person should be
courageous and must not
be a corrupt person.”