Human Rights Watch slams EFCC in new report

By Segun Balogun

August 26, 2011 02:03AM
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The biggest problem facing the fight against corruption in Nigeria is its political system, which inherently rewards corruption, says a report of the Human Rights Watch, released in Lagos yesterday.

"Too often, corruption is a prerequisite for success in Nigeria's warped political process," says the report titled, ‘Corruption on Trial? The Record of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.'

In writing the report, HRW analysed EFCC's records since inception, examined court record in major corruption cases, interviewed EFCC's current and former leaders, other anticorruption agency officials, members of the National Assembly and judiciary, Central Bank officials, prosecutors and defense lawyers, foreign diplomats and donor agency officials, and civil society leaders.

The report's cover page picture - that of Olabode George, former Chairman of Nigerian Ports Authority and Southwest chairman of the People's Democratic Party, while celebrating during the heroic welcome he got after being released from prison - presents a strong picture of how the country's political establishment is all too ready to embrace convicted criminals.

Another critical example cited in the report was that of President Jonathan and late President Yar'Adua campaigning openly in May 2008 alongside former Bayelsa State governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, just ten months after being convicted of corruption charges.

"These images of senior government officials embracing convicted criminals only served to reinforce the broader trend of impunity that these convictions were meant to push back against," says the report.

In a press release accompanying the report, HRW cautioned President Jonathan to "refrain from political interference in Nigeria's key anticorruption agencies' work."

The press statement quoted Daniel Bekele, HRW's Africa Director as saying that "there were high hopes for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as Nigeria's most promising effort to tackle corruption since the end of military rule. But its efforts have fallen short because of political interference, institutional weakness, and inefficiency in the judiciary that cannot be ignored."


A troubled agency


The analyses show much of the cases instituted by the EFCC "have generated more headlines than convictions, and neither Ribadu nor Waziri can claim more than a handful of concrete successes."

"According to Waziri, since inception in 2003, the agency has recovered over $11bn - of which some $6.5bn has been recovered since Waziri took office in June 2008, most of which was recovered in the Central Bank's overhaul of the banking sector," the report says.

The records of prosecution done by EFCC reveal that Ribadu made public prosecution, especially that of prominent public officials, his thrust while Waziri, looks away from public prosecution, focusing instead on the private sector.

HRW argues that "the most important measure of Nigeria's anticorruption record is its success or failure in prosecuting corrupt nationally prominent political figures.

"EFCC's public challenge to the impunity enjoyed by abusive members of Nigeria's political elite has been its most important accomplishment in the fight against corruption.

"Only by holding prominent officials to account for corruption can Nigeria's government show that corruption would not be tolerated, and discourage officials at all levels from stealing public funds the country needs to provide for basic needs," it says in the report.

However, prosecution of notable public figures has been on the decline since Waziri took over at EFCC. The report said much of the investigation and other legwork for some of Waziri's initial prosecutions were done before she took the helm.

"There has been a significant drop in the number of new cases after those initial prosecutions," it says.

The report also noted that EFCC's funding has tripled since 2007 - its annual budget grew from approximately $23m in 2007 to $60m in 2010, without a commensurate increase in the rate of new prosecutions.

HRW recommends that "President Jonathan should break from the bad practices of past administrations, publicly signal he will not perpetrate or tolerate interference in corruption cases, and grant the chairperson security of tenure by amending the legislation that created the commission."