Ribadu: Another War Against Anti-Corruption War?
11.30.2008

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The persistent attacks on the personality of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, appear to be driving the much celebrated anti-graft battle to its wits end. Omololu Ogunmade writes on the conclusion drawn from the development by concerned individuals

If the Nigeria Police carries through its threat to commence the trial of the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu on Thursday as reported, there are fears that the development will go a long way to reveal the depth of the battle against the anti-graft war.
Ribadu has battled several physical and psychological conflicts in the last one year. His story has been described as a sheer case of dramatic irony, bearing in mind that in the days of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the President, Ribadu was portrayed as an accomplished hero. His dread when he held sway as EFCC boss, gave serving public officers nightmares. Because of the wild wars waged by the EFCC, the then sitting governors and other public officers had to think twice before dipping their hands into the treasury.
Even thoughts of the EFCC sent jitters across corporate organizations. In the annals of anti-corruption battle in Nigeria, Ribadu became the first man to defy the hitherto functioning slogan in Nigeria: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than the other.”
Before the advent of the Ribadu-led EFCC, many believed that Eric Blair, whose pen name is George Orwell, might have had Nigeria in mind when he carved the slogan: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal that the other,” in his satirical novel: Animal Farm, to describe the situation in the Soviet Republic at the time.
However, in the days of Ribadu, this famous slogan failed. Ribadu dared to bring both the low and the mighty to book. It was the first time that sitting governors nursed fears of prosecution. Although Ribadu also came under severe criticisms from those who believed that he employed the principle of selective justice in discharging his duty, yet all agreed that none of the persons he brought to book could be absolved from allegations of corruption.
But the advent of President Umaru Yar’Adua changed the course of EFCC. In fact, Ribadu’s trial began after arresting a former governor. No sooner had he taken this action, than he was removed as EFCC boss and sent on compulsory study leave at the Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Plateau State, despite the public outcry against it.
While he was just trying to integrate himself into his new academic environment, the Police Service Commission announced his demotion from the rank of an Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) to that of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). Since then, all has certainly not been well with Ribadu.
The situation took a dramatic turn recently when Ribadu headed for a court of competent jurisdiction to contest his demotion. Hearing was still being awaited when Ribadu suffered another major attack during the convocation ceremony of the NIPSS penultimate Saturday. Ribadu and his family were reportedly humiliated when security forces dragged him and his family out of the graduation hall and thereafter whisked him away to an undisclosed destination. Ribadu was denied graduation that Saturday. But after the public outcry which accompanied the development, the Federal Government denied involvement in the saga and consequently ordered the institution to issue Ribadu and his colleague, Alex Briggs (who was also denied graduation over alleged camera theft outside the country) their deserved certificate.
However, this denial of the Federal Government had been viewed as an after thought. This is moreso that reports said at the weekend that NPSS Acting Director, James Okpadiran had prior to the event, announced that both Ribadu and Briggs would duly graduate, having successfully completed their studies. But reports added that the aftermath denial of the duo from participating in the exercise, was the fallout of a message from Abuja by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Micheal Aondoakaa that Ribadu should not be allowed to graduate. This has been denied by Aondoakaa. But watchers argued that the act was too obvious to be denied.
To this end, the Action Congress (AC) described the aborted graduation at NIPSS as “a disgraceful show of brute force by those behind it,” but noted that the incident was also “a classical case of poetic justice for Ribadu.”
AC through its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, condemned the denial by the Presidency, saying it showed “lack of character by the Yar’Adua administration,” which he said “is always quick to backtrack once an action backfires.”
The party added that “it is worse for the Presidency to deny knowledge of such a high-profile embarrassment,” explaining that it only confirmed “the general belief that the government of President Yar’Adua is on auto drive with no one in charge.”
AC added that: “The Presidency may deny all it can that it did not know anything about the crude way that Ribadu was bundled out of the graduation ceremony, but the truth is that those behind it felt they could do it because the government’s so-called rule of law mantra is just a cliché meant to give the administration a semblance of governance.”
The AC however went to scold Ribadu, saying, “having said that, we make bold to add that Ribadu, in his hey days as the head of the EFCC, would probably have done something worse than that. This is a man who used the police to drag former Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun on the ground like a stray dog, even when he was still a suspect in a case of fraud preferred against him. After all, as a lawyer, Ribadu should have known that an accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty!”
But human rights activist, Mr. Bamidele Aturu vented his anger on the Federal Government much more, saying the treatment meted out to Ribadu “depicts lack of respect for decorum and due process.”
According to Aturu, Ribadu’s bitter experience at the moment, reveals the commitment of the Federal Government to punish him for daring to bring certain so-called powerful people to book in his days as EFCC boss. He described the hostility against Ribadu as condemnable and alleged that there are “mafians” in power. He called on well meaning Nigerians to rise against the trend, saying the “dubious lesson” of Ribadu’s experience “is that it is just not possible to fight the cabal and if you do so, they will come after you,” adding: “So at the root of all this is the question of who owns this country, the citizens or the axis of corruption. People who ought to bury their heads perpetually in shame are the ones now instigating the psychological war to intimidate us. The only way to repossess our humanity and citizenship is to do everything possible to resist them and the time is certainly now,” Aturu said.       
Further, the legal practitioner said: “There is no doubt any longer, if ever there was, that some persons in the administration are bent on punishing Ribadu for his modest achievements at the EFCC. Those he exposed and who have now bought their ways back to power and imposed their proxies at several levels are showing us the precise colour of vendetta. But the question is, should we the citizens whose resources were the subject of the rapacious venality of these corrupt people fold our hands and do nothing in the circumstance? I sincerely think not. 
“We must find the courage to condemn this despicable act of brigandage committed before our very eyes. Only those who have no respect for the people whom they claim elected them can perpetrate this sort of infamy! Without any doubt, the gestapo-like manner in which the latest act against Ribadu was executed, reveals the existence of a mafia right in the corridors of power. It is our duty to rid our system, or better still the system of the mafia,” Aturu kicked.
But the denial of the Federal Government is still generating mixed reactions. While many insist that it was the perpetuation of the norm of the Presidency to always back out of any move once it backfires, like the AC said, the Presidency said it had ordered investigation into the entire saga. But former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Professor Pat Utomi described the action of the Presidency as commendable.
"It is pleasing that the Presidency has issued a statement dissociating itself from what happened in Kuru not just because this is exactly what I called on them to do hours before their statement, but also because leadership has the obligation to set a moral tone for the country.
"It is therefore appropriate to commend the Presidency for the courage to dissociate itself from what happened in NIPSS, Kuru which can leave this impression that we're sliding towards tyranny. I do hope that on many similar issues, the leadership would proactively take the moral high ground before public opinion hardens in the direction that's not helpful to our challenge to build a democracy that works for the majority of the people and is sensitive to the weak and the minority."
However, Utomi added that if the Federal Government wants to wash its hands entirely clean in the saga, it should “now take a major step towards a renewal of our political and social order by ensuring that all involved and responsible for the shoddy outing must account for their indiscretion."
But the travails of Ribadu at the moment goes beyond the Kuru experience. For instance, the Police, which have reportedly asked him to report at Edo State as DCP despite a case against his demotion in court, is currently asking for Ribadu’s head, alleging that the former EFCC boss is overreaching himself by pricing himself above the institution, which made him.
In the same vein, the EFCC, under the leadership of Mrs. Farida Waziri has also been itching to prosecute Ribadu over allegations that the embattled former police officer owns properties abroad adding that he did not declare his assets before taking over as the EFCC boss as the case should be.
These allegations have been promptly responded to by a firm of legal professionals, Shehu Musa and Co. It described the allegations as baseless and malicious.
Ribadu’s lawyer, Shehu Musa, said it was disturbing that the EFCC, which ought to pride itself as a transparent organization is now sinking because of its alleged malicious intents.
Musa said: “One would expect such an institution to show more fidelity for evidence and facts in other to protect its name, its sense of honour, and the competence of its leadership.”
He added: “Ribadu states categorically today, as he did late last year, when this same baseless rumour was advertised by these same forces, that: He DOES NOT own houses in Abuja, Dubai, the UK or any other part of the world, other than his personal house built in his village in Yola, back in the early 1990s; Mr. Ribadu owns a yet-to-be-developed plot of land in Katampe, an undeveloped district of Abuja, which was acquired in 1998; apart from his official salary account, Mr. Ribadu does not operate a bank account anywhere else in the world; he has dutifully sworn to oaths declaring his asset when he was appointed Chairman, and is in the process now of declaring his assets after the completion of his course at Kuru.  Again, he urges the Commission in all its evident enthusiasm to proceed with the basic tenets of investigation of careful rather than tendentious scrutiny. 
“Regarding his official residence which has again been mischievously listed as a house he bought, here are the facts:
When the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), in line with the policy of the last administration, offered for sale along with other houses in the area, Mr. Ribadu could not muster the funds to purchase the said house.  However, sensitive to the possibility of a conflict of interest arising if he approached banks for a loan, given his position as EFCC Chairman, Ribadu nearly lost the house until his father-in-law, Professor Iya Abubakar, intervened. It was the Professor who bid for the house at a public auction and took a facility from his bankers, Fidelity Bank, to purchase the house, which cost N44m.  As it is, Mr. Ribadu and his family are currently living in the Mambilla Street house, thanks to his father-in-law. All records pertaining to this transaction are available at the FCDA for anyone who wishes to check,” Musa stated.
Given the situation of things today, it is the belief of the generality of Nigerians that both the Police, whom Ribadu has accused of intimidating, harassing and threatening to sack him as well as the EFCC, that is also warming up to prosecute him are only acting the script of the Federal Government. 
Like Aturu said, the news making the rounds in the polity is that Ribadu is being persecuted for daring to bring certain sacred cows to book, a development, which led to the conclusion that the anti-corruption war today, is a mere diversionary tactic, far from being a sincere effort.
There are also insinuations that if Ribadu who ought to be crowned as a national hero, for breaking the ground of anti-graft battle in Nigeria, despite his alleged selective posture, could be victimized for doing so, therefore, a serious anti-graft battle might have ended. This was well expressed by Aturu, when he called on well meaning Nigerians, to rise up in defence of anti-graft campaign.
Ribadu’s trials at the moment have also been interpreted to imply that no Nigerian will daringly shoulder the fight against corruption in the country again, a situation which they also said implied that any EFCC boss who does not want to face trials like the ones confronting Ribadu now, will have to take orders from the above before attempting to prosecute anybody.
It is on this note that a number of human rights activists including Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) all condemned the alleged reprisal attacks on Ribadu penultimate weekend. It is their submission that if Ribadu is being persecuted for his acts of patriotism via anti-graft battle, then Nigeria will have to strive hard to be free from the grip of corrupt politicians, who have held it captive since inception. This they also argued made the claim of zero tolerance for corruption by the Yar’Adua administration a mere lip service.

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