THE chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Farida Waziri, recently lamented that some men and women in high places have become obstacles to the effective functioning of the organisation. According to her, friends, associates and prominent persons in the society interfere with investigations and obstruct the efforts of the EFCC to bring individuals involved in economic and financial crimes to justice. This statement by Waziri reflects the increasing frustration of the commission in its efforts to fulfil its mandate. While trying to prosecute suspects in financial crimes, it has had to contend with the Attorney-General of the Federation, Bello Adoke SAN, who insists that the anti-graft agency is subject to his supervision.
INDEED, corrupt politicians and other high-profile individuals no longer dread the EFCC. From the time of Nuhu Ribadu, there were accusations against the EFCC that it did not observe the rule of law in the way and manner it treated suspects. Under Waziri, the brazen handcuffing and parading of suspects had ceased but the media hype over arrest has continued. The commission has, however, failed to get convictions in almost all the cases of arrest of allegedly corrupt politicians. Waziri’s glorious moment was the conviction of Bode George. The use of plea-bargaining in the cases of the former Edo State governor, Lucky Igbinedion, and Cecilia Ibru of Oceanic Bank has raised a lot of questions. Igbinedion was convicted on a one-count charge of corruption by the Federal High Court, Enugu, in December 2008. The former governor, however, did not go to jail, as he was merely fined N3.6m. The light sentence was the result of a plea-bargain arrangement the former governor entered into with the EFCC. Igbinedion had himself pleaded guilty during the trial. The EFCC expressed dissatisfaction with the case and appealed against the conviction. In the case of Ibru, the period of incarceration was spent in the hospital bed.
THE number of cases that the agency has successful handled is too few for the over 1,000 cases in court. This is disturbing given the hype that has gone with the arrest of high-profile individuals, even under Ribadu. Cases have lingered in the courts for several years. This gives an impression that once a suspect is able to secure bail, his or her case is as good as forgotten.
WAZIRI has identified two factors accounting for the slow progress in the work of the EFCC. The first is the interference in the work of the organisation by the Ministry of Justice, especially the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation. That office has the power to apprehend a case and stop the EFCC from proceeding further on it. This institutional problem should be addressed by the National Assembly as it progresses with the next round of constitutional review. Similarly, the power of the president over the EFCC must be reviewed to shore up its independence. This is necessary to strengthen the independence of the anti-corruption agencies.
ANOTHER factor which the EFCC chairman has identified as a major obstacle to the expeditious disposal of cases is slow pace of trial. Two factors are responsible for this situation. The first is the tricks employed by lawyers to prolong the cases. The lawyers bring all kinds of applications to frustrate and stall the trial process. This is especially so in the cases in the Federal High Courts. This is a major challenge requiring the reform of the federal court system and those in states that have not reformed their legal system. As part of this reform process, we recommend that special courts be established for corruption cases. Indeed, the effects of corruption on the progress and social stability of the country make this imperative.
AS for Waziri’s claim that there are entrenched interests in high places trying to stall the work of the commission, we think it should be expected. In fact, as the work of the commission progresses, criminals will continue to find new ways to beat the organisation and avoid its clutches. We call on Waziri to brace up to the challenges. The civil society organisations should rise in support of the EFCC in the difficult mission of fighting corruption. They can provide information and ideas on how to strengthen the organisation, support it against those who want to denigrate its work and call out Nigerians to put pressure on parliament to provide laws that will promote the work of the EFCC and ensure its effectiveness. The business of fighting corruption is too important and challenging to be left in the hands of the anti-corruption bodies alone. They need the support of all concerned citizens.
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