AN unnecessary controversy has
been making the rounds between
the Delta State Government and the
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) over the rightful
owners of the $15 million (N2.4 million) which the commission
alleged former Governor of the state,
Chief James Ibori, gave as a bribe to it
in 2007. The dispute arose when a Federal
High Court sitting in Abuja on July 25,
2012 ordered the amount forfeited
to the Federal Government. The Delta
State Attorney General and
Commissioner for Justice, Charles Ajuyah, promptly applied to the
Court to direct that the fund be
restored to the Delta State
Government, its original and rightful
owners. The state’s argument was that since
Chief Ibori was the Governor of Delta
State at the time the bribe was
allegedly offered in 2007, the money
belongs to Delta State taxpayers and
should be returned to the state’s coffers. However, the EFCC has indicated its
decision to contest the Delta State
claim when the motion on notice
comes up in court on September 17,
2012. We find the EFCC decision
inexplicable and unwarranted because it has not proffered any
cogent reason to enter into this
tussle. Is the commission implying that after
blowing a whistle that Chief Ibori
bribed it with that sum it is now
determined to keep the bribe to itself
rather than return it to the coffers of
the state government from where it was taken in the first place? What
then is the value of its whistle-
blowing? Nigeria should borrow a leaf from
precedents set in more functional
legal jurisdictions. For instance, in
April this year, the Southwark Crown
Court in London, the United Kingdom,
convicted Ibori of fraud and stealing of amounts totalling $77 million or
about N12.17 billion and promptly
ordered that the money be returned
to the Delta State Government, the
original owners. It was the same UK court that was
able to convict Chief Ibori, which the
EFCC was unable to successfully
prosecute in a Nigerian court. Nigeria
and the UK share the same legal
tradition and the UK case should act as a natural precedent. Delta is one of the states in the Niger
Delta still reeling from the post-
militancy syndrome in the creeks,
where a lot of crimes, especially
armed robbery and kidnapping, are
being battled daily by the state government and the citizens. It
requires all the funds it can lay hands
on to hasten development, increase
youth capacity, accelerate job
creation and reduce crime. The EFCC should kindly direct its
attention to exhaustive investigation
and diligent prosecution of cases it is
pursuing, rather than busy itself
chasing after money that does not
belong to it.