Mr. Bankole's conversation with the then U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms. Robbin Sanders, did not only indict the top echelon of the judiciary, the Speaker also derided the country's foremost anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Mr. Bankole said that the chairman of the EFCC, Farida Waziri, with the complicity of the president, was working hand-in-hand with the Attorney General of the Federation to ensure that the corruption charges brought against Mr. Ibori by the former chairman of the EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, were quashed.

"Bankole said the EFCC would not move on Ibori, given his past financial support to Yar'Adua's campaign and Ibori's relationship to Attorney General (AG) Michael Aondoakaa, implying also that Waziri was very much under the control of the AG," Ms. Sanders' said in her report.

According to the ambassador, Mr. Bankole's disregard for Mrs. Waziri was apparent and his judgment of the Waziri-led EFCC was harsh.

"Noting that he did not think the EFCC was worth ‘one penny' and that he had no confidence in it or Mrs. Waziri's leadership or her integrity, the Speaker added that he did not believe the EFCC could be an effective institution under her leadership," the report said.

Mr. Bankole also said that he felt that Mrs. Waziri had trumped up the issues surrounding the N2.3billion car contract scandal for personal interests.

But while the U.S. ambassador expressed the concern that Mr. Bankole's bias against Mrs. Waziri may have stemmed from a personal quarrel, she liked the Speaker's condemnation of the EFCC chairman's performance.

In her response, Ms. Sanders told Mr. Bankole that the US "had little confidence in her (Mrs. Waziri) leadership, her independence, her transparency, and in her ability to lead Nigeria's anti-corruption fight."

Saying the anti-graft war had become a charade under Waziri, the ambassador said the U.S. government had deliberately truncated the funding of some programmes in the agency.

"Certainly, it was refreshing to hear more honest comments about the puppet role of the EFCC Chairwoman Waziri," Ms. Sanders said in the cable.

Spokesperson to the EFCC and Mrs. Waziri, Femi Babafemi, could not be reached for comments on Sunday. Several telephone calls to his mobile telephone failed to connect.

Source: http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5681721-146/story.csp

EFCC has become a joke!