THE Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), has cautioned the leadership of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission against actions capable of overheating the polity and embarrassing the Federal Government.



A source in the AGF office told our correspondent on Tuesday that Adoke had already written to the Farida Waziri-led anti-graft agency over its advisory list of persons with corruption cases against them.



The publication of the list on Monday by a national daily (not THE PUNCH) attracted mixed reactions from politicians and groups across the country. Some of the politicians, who condemned the list, described it as an attempt to intimidate the opposition.



They also said it was not the duty of the EFCC to decide who would contest the 2011 elections.



Before our correspondent obtained a copy of Adoke’s letter to Waziri on Tuesday, the commission had earlier tried to douse the controversy generated by the list. It admitted that it had no power to bar candidates from contesting elections.



The letter by Adoke, whose office supervises the EFCC, has Ref No. HAGF/EFCC/2010/Vol. 1/10). It is titled ‘Re: Incessant political statements capable of embarrassing the Federal Government of Nigeria and unduly heating up the polity.’



The AGF, said our source, informed Waziri in the letter dated October 24, 2010 that there was the need for her and other agencies to act within the law.



According to him, Adoke told her that the action of the EFCC might be construed as an attempt by the Federal Government to exclude certain politicians from the 2011 poll.



The source said, “I can tell you that the Federal Government is not happy with the EFCC boss’ utterances. The government views the action as embarrassing and capable of sending wrong signals to the stakeholders.



“The AGF views the development as unhealthy and insists that it has the tendency of heating up the polity ahead of 2011 poll. The situation explains why the AGF had to write a letter to the EFCC chairman to that effect.”



The AGF’s letter reads, “My attention has been drawn to recent disturbing reports of political statements credited to the leadership of the EFCC which are capable of embarrassing the government and unduly heating up the polity.



“The recent comments credited to the chairman of the EFCC, which was widely reported in the print and electronic media, to the effect that the Commission had compiled names of people under investigation for the purposes of sensitising political parties to exclude such persons from the political process is a case in point.



‘As we approach the 2010 General Elections, I wish to advise that all agencies of government must moderate their public utterances and refrain from making statements likely to cause apprehension in the minds of the public that this administration is taking measures aimed at excluding some people or its perceived political opponents from the political process.



“While it is important for anti-corruption agencies to continue to pursue their statutory mandate with vigour, care must be taken to ensure that no negative feeling or perception is unwittingly created that government is complicit in any grand design or scheme to ‘witch-hunt’ people.



“Furthermore, I wish to reiterate that the grounds for disqualification of candidates for political offices and those empowered to exercise the power to disqualify candidates are clearly set out in the Electoral Act, 2010. Our jurispudence on the issue of disqualification of candidates as enunciated upon by the courts is also well settled. Anti-corruption agencies must therefore respect this position and refrain from making pronouncements to the contrary.”



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Adoke, however, commended the EFCC “for the notable achievements so far recorded in the fight against corruption and economic crimes, especially with respect to the investigation and prosecution of bank executives.”



He urged the commission to sustain the momentum by ensuring that all its actions and pronouncements came within the “confines of due process.”



the EFCC had earlier on Tuesday said it had no power to bar candidates from contesting elections.



But it wondered why “a mere publication of a list of cases being prosecuted in courts by newspapers has generated so much reactions from those who are yet to discharge their burden of corruption charges, as well as their fans and agents alike.”



The commission, in a statement by its Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said the innocent needed not be jittery.



It explained that its clarification on the list was meant to enlighten “members of the public who might be misled by the selfish arguments of some hired commentators who are desperate to stifle the nation’s anti-graft war.



“For the avoidance of doubt, the EFCC has repeatedly emphasised that it does not have the power to bar or disqualify any person from contesting for a public office and does not intend to embark on actions outside its responsibility,” Babafemi said.



He added that the leadership of the anti-corruption agency was fully committed to working strictly within the rule of law.



Babafemi said, “It is disturbing, given the fact that the list that has elicited the flurry of reactions has been on the commission’s website since 2008; and all the facts therein have been in the public domain since the trial of the accused persons began.



“The list is neither a covert nor overt strategy, intention, ploy nor agenda of the EFCC to arrogate to itself the power of a law court. Thus, it is patently assumptive and speculative of anyone or any group to accuse the commission of using its power to stop aspirants.”



“The commission never states or pretends that it has any power to stop aspirants. What the list simply represents is a public disclosure of the gamut of its prosecutorial efforts in the war against corrupt practices, information that has since remained in the public domain for several months.”



Explaining that the EFCC was not seeking to convict aspirants currently standing trial, Babafemi asked, “In what way will a list that has been in the public sphere achieve the purpose of a conviction?



“What parallel or similar effects will mere information on our cases in court have with a conviction? What pronouncement has been made on the list that can be equated with a conviction?”



Saying that the commission also had no power to “determine who a political party fields for an election, ” Babafemi said it was unfortunate that at a time when all efforts should be geared towards raising the bar against corruption in Nigeria, “some persons can still be found to be taking sides with the cankerworm that has given our nation so much negative publicity.”





http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010102739989

If Nigeria is rated 134th most corrupt out of 178 countries and president Jonathan’s utmost concern is how the criminals being investigated feel about the publicity of their heineous infractions,then there is little hope for the country.If the president does not place cronnism and a desperate reelection bid over national interest,one expects him to have distanced the presidency from the operation of the EFCC.The argument that the controversial publicity could suggest a connivance of the presiden