EFCC: A Federal Government Tool?

Some Schools of Thoughts have it that EFCC was being Established By Baba as a weapon to combat his enemies that are not in support of his Order from Above,and we are being given example as,Alameseigha,Ladoja and Ngige etc,Whats your Opinion About the EFCC are they reall what they Claim or they are just taking order from Above?

Corruption is a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the economic fabric of the nation. Establishing the EFCC to fight this menace is a welcome development. That is why well-meaning Nigerians gave kudos to the administration when the EFCC was signed into law. But if you take a poll of Nigerians today on whether they supported the administration on the establishment of EFCC, opinion will be divided. This is because OBJ has turned the EFCC into a willing tool in his hand to wage real and imaginary war against his perceived enemies using Ribadu as the hatchet man. EFCC has no real autonomy; it takes instruction from OBJ. The head of the commision is behaving as somebody that is above the law, not respecting people's rights to a fair trial. He sees himself as a judge and accuser at the same time. He tries the accused on pages of the newspapers, in the process boosting his ego, and condeming the accused before their appearance in the law court.
An example of people that have been tried or are in the process of being investigated will help drive home the point succintingly- Alams, Ngige, Uzor Kalu, Brig. Marwa, Dariye, the Plateau state house of assembly (perceived threats or enemies) - Chief Olabode George, Mantu, Anenih (supporters and praise singers - not charged).
I am not resident in Nigeria, so I cannot give many names. If you know of people who falls between the two extremes- i.e. perceived threats/enemies or the supporters/praise singers, please do not hesitate to inform the forum accordingly.

I think U Guys have said it all.EFCC is just been setup to battle those that didnt Obey His orders.I think Ribadu is just as Abacha Assistant that takes Orders from Him that who so ever doesnt Obey Him should be Tried.My Only Prayer is that God should save us From People that are Using Agbada and Khaki to Control.

What do you really think about EFCC? are they really fighting Corruption or making selective judgement? Do we really have a credible candidate for 2007 presidential election? Let's know what you honestly think about this!

If you ask me, i would say EfCC is nothing but a Dog who works directly with his boss to get rid of his enemy.

I have heard many people saying it that Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is the President Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo's dog, that they only clamp down on people who are treat to his government, those who dosen't dance to his tunes and those that can be a stumbling block to his tird term campaign.
What do you Nairalander have to say to this?

Yes, they are OBJs Dog.

Actions prove louder than words, at least from all they've done so far.

All,

Whether they are Obasanjo's dogs or not, EFCC is a welcome development in Nigeria. Guess what
guys, even in the US, agencies like the SEC, FCC, or even the FBI gets politicized from time to time.

Honestly, will anyone of you guys shed real tears for majority of the guys that have picked up by
EFCC? I hope not.

Yes Third Term for Obasanjo is over, so its "payback time" , I believe this will be the latest excuse that
whoever EFCC picks up will now say. Fine with me, most of them belong in jail anyway!

Nigeria needs more people like Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. When he makes a statement to the effect that
"24 Governors to face trial next year", do you know how much that alone is saving Nigeria from
these crooks between now and the end of their terms? If it takes EFCC witch-hunting to sanitize Nigeria,
so be it. Nigeria's rot took several decades to implement, don't expect it go away in 3 years or so.

Iyke-D:

All,

Whether they are Obasanjo's dogs or not, EFCC is a welcome development in Nigeria. Guess what
guys, even in the US, agencies like the SEC, FCC, or even the FBI gets politicized from time to time.

Honestly, will anyone of you guys shed real tears for majority of the guys that have picked up by
EFCC? I hope not.

Yes Third Term for Obasanjo is over, so its "payback time" , I believe this will be the latest excuse that
whoever EFCC picks up will now say. Fine with me, most of them belong in jail anyway!

Nigeria needs more people like Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. When he makes a statement to the effect that
"24 Governors to face trial next year", do you know how much that alone is saving Nigeria from
these crooks between now and the end of their terms? If it takes EFCC witch-hunting to sanitize Nigeria,
so be it. Nigeria's rot took several decades to implement, don't expect it go away in 3 years or so.

EFCC is never a welcomed development and if selective justice is what you call a welcomed development then i ll uderstand its ur opinion personal opinion. If tafa balogun could steal all those money, a man who is supposed to live by example, a man who is supposed to know the law and who's meant to protect can steal over 17b and he got just 6months in prisonment and an ignorant yahoo boy who tries to dupe anada govt, i repeat tried to dupe and he got 25 years imprisonment, tell me whats the justice in it. if that boi got 25yrs, tafa should get 75 years or inshort be on a life jail or something. EFCC is nothing but a dog and i tell you, the exit of OBJ come 2007 would be the EXIt of efcc, take it or leave it

Yes divious people keep spouting noise about how the EFCC is a tool used by Obasanjo. Never mind the excellent work they have done in bringing a lot of 419ers and corrupt politicians (including Governors, LGs, etc) to book and recovering stolen property.

In Nigeria once you have been fingered, all you need to do is claim you are the "champion" of a region, or religion, or ethnic group. Or cliam you are in opposition. Then just watch the drones wade to your defence even when they know you are guilty. I think my sig says it all.

Ashiwaju,


Like I said earlier, if a mere pronouncement from Ribadu has the effect of driving fear into some of these
thieves, I mean governors, and as a result, they restrain themselves from further looting knowing that
they are under the microscope, EFCC has saved Nigeria a lot of money.

EFCC's job is to nail the thieves and prosecute them, they are not and should not be the COURT/judge.
They did not sentence Tafa Balogun to 6 months, blame that on the judge/magistrate. That in itself is a
testament to the decay of public institutions in Nigeria. Now, if EFCC was to pick up people, prosecute
them, and then decide on what their punishment should be, I wonder what you guys will be saying.

When Obasanjo leaves, the new leader if he/she has any good intention for Nigeria, should focus on
perfecting EFCC some more. Forget this fixation with Obasanjo the man, lets worry about fixing our
institutions.

hello guys, first i wanna kudos to the person that put up this channel of interaction, to enable us share individual opinion on certain issues.

on EFCC issue, i believe it has its own benefit even though the purpose has been diverted to satisfy selfish interest. It is apparent that baba iyabo has been using the body to witchhunt people who dont support his life tenure ambition. Meanwhile, likes of Ribadu are still are in this government and they are being brainwatched

Iyke-D:

Ashiwaju,


Like I said earlier, if a mere pronouncement from Ribadu has the effect of driving fear into some of these
thieves, I mean governors, and as a result, they restrain themselves from further looting knowing that
they are under the microscope, EFCC has saved Nigeria a lot of money.

EFCC's job is to nail the thieves and prosecute them, they are not and should not be the COURT/judge.
They did not sentence Tafa Balogun to 6 months, blame that on the judge/magistrate. That in itself is a
testament to the decay of public institutions in Nigeria. Now, if EFCC was to pick up people, prosecute
them, and then decide on what their punishment should be, I wonder what you guys will be saying.

When Obasanjo leaves, the new leader if he/she has any good intention for Nigeria, should focus on
perfecting EFCC some more. Forget this fixation with Obasanjo the man, lets worry about fixing our
institutions.

please help me with this questions, Why is IBB and the likes of him still galivanting around? Why did dariye refuse their sumon? why did they spare bode george and why nail alamayesiha? Why did Igbinedion Send them packing?. Whats has happened to the NPA scandal? and if you ask me, i would say EFCC is nothing but a dog and i would say that any time anyday, i dont see justice and prosecution in them, i see selective accessment and selective justice. I call them a dog because i know for sure, your dog would only attack your enemy and your dog would play with your friend. You know what i mean and lets quit playing games my brother. Nuhu is only an instrument of OBJ and when NUHU tries to do otherwise, obj would not release funds just like you wont feed ur dog if it disobeys u

Ashiwaju:

please help me with this questions, Why is IBB and the likes of him still galivanting around? Why did dariye refuse their summon? why did they spare bode george and why nail alamayesiha? Why did Igbinedion Send them packing?. Whats has happened to the NPA scandal? and if you ask me, i would say EFCC is nothing but a dog and i would say that any time anyday, i don't see justice and prosecution in them, i see selective accessment and selective justice. I call them a dog because i know for sure, your dog would only attack your enemy and your dog would play with your friend. You know what i mean and lets quit playing games my brother. Nuhu is only an instrument of OBJ and when NUHU tries to do otherwise, obj would not release funds just like you wont feed your dog if it disobeys u

Why is IBB still around? That's the $1Billion question and I don't have an answer for that. So your point is not until
IBB, Bode George, Igbinedion, Anenih, etc are arrested, EFCC should do nothing about anyone else, let them keep helping themselves with a couple of millions of pounds/dollars here and there, right? How about the impact EFCC
is having in the banking sector by checking those crooked bankers? Lets see, that too doesn't count because it
was Obasanjo's dogs that were after them.

Not sure if Dariye refused their summons or not, but don't forget that he still enjoys immunity as a governor. What
do you have to say about that state's assembly that has not done what those in Baylesa did? I guess that is also
EFCC's and Obasanjo's fault, right?

I see your point - we hate Obasanjo so much that he can't possibly have done anything right. Even Okonja is a waste. Lets sit and wait for our messiah that will come in and rescue us from Obasanjo's dogs. This new messiah won't have any dogs, right?

@Id-iyke,

You seem to be more confused meeen, i am not hating, bayelsa's house of assembly has not done any magic and if you must know the real truth, EFCC threatened the Reps in Bayelsa and thats why they succom and dont you know that b4 alamayesiha got back to nigeria he is already a gonner? Dariye jumped bail too and no one could do anything about that. Be real, i am not waiting for a messiah cus i know we cant have one except God and i just hate when these present admin pretends to be a saint or something. They are as bad as the previous ones and thats just what i am pointing out. If only EFCC can give true and honest account and prosecute just anybody, be it obj's boy or anybody, i swear i ll be the first person to praise them. We only need a true body to watch corruption and not a dog like EFCC.

If truth must be told, EFCC is a welcome development to fight white collar crimes in this country. What we can ill afford is the half-hearted, insincere and selective prosecution that is being practiced by the EFCC under the manipulation of Aso Rock. Unless you want to be economical with the truth, you cannot say unequivocally that the present admin is not using the EFCC to pursue vendatta against its enemies. To achieve real progress in the fight for the eradication of corruption, government must give the EFCC true autonomy and let the commission pursue its duties without let or hinderance. Only then can we say the EFCC is living to its billing.

Abeem - You are on point.

Ashiwaju - You are off-base as usual.

Please re-read my posts. I did not say EFCC was completely neutral. Heck, there is hardly any
government agencies in the world that is neutral. The are often used by those in charge to
either consolidate power or keep the opposition in check. The difference though between the
civilized societies is that their institutions manages to survive their leaders, even the very
power hungry ones.

I repeat, I have no tears for Alamco, Tafa Balogun, Marwa or who else that have been picked
up by EFCC. Tell me, where in the world did Marwa get the money to float an airline? EFCC have
claimed to have recovered over $4billion from looters since its inception. If that is the case,
imagine how much more they have saved the country by the fear factor they have instilled in
these officials.

Maybe some people in the name of fairness would have preferred for these government officials
to keep their loot until, we are able to produce this autonomous and neutral agency to begin
some real house cleaning. As for me, given how low Nigeria has sunk in the past, I will take my
little victories anytime. It gives me pleasure to know that some governors will not completely
empty their state coffers on their way out, just in case EFCC may come after them. Now, if we
are talking about EFCC framing an innocent man, that is a different story.

Iyke-D:

Abeem - You are on point.

Ashiwaju - You are off-base as usual.

Please re-read my posts. I did not say EFCC was completely neutral. Heck, there is hardly any
government agencies in the world that is neutral. The are often used by those in charge to
either consolidate power or keep the opposition in check. The difference though between the
civilized societies is that their institutions manages to survive their leaders, even the very
power hungry ones.

I repeat, I have no tears for Alamco, Tafa Balogun, Marwa or who else that have been picked
up by EFCC. Tell me, where in the world did Marwa get the money to float an airline? EFCC have
claimed to have recovered over $4billion from looters since its inception. If that is the case,
imagine how much more they have saved the country by the fear factor they have instilled in
these officials.

Maybe some people in the name of fairness would have preferred for these government officials
to keep their loot until, we are able to produce this autonomous and neutral agency to begin
some real house cleaning. As for me, given how low Nigeria has sunk in the past, I will take my
little victories anytime. It gives me pleasure to know that some governors will not completely
empty their state coffers on their way out, just in case EFCC may come after them. Now, if we
are talking about EFCC framing an innocent man, that is a different story.

How can i not be off point,when i wont impress no one here and i ll speak my mind, Efcc is still a dog i insist, who cares about alamayesiha or tafa? whose crying tears for them? do you think if marwa was not obj's boy, he would be running a campaign at this time even when it was confirmed that part of abacha's loot was in his account and he(marwa) himself confirmed it?

You really dont seem to understand the arguement here? is Efcc a personal tool of obj? Yes it is

Iyke-D:

Now, if we
are talking about EFCC framing an innocent man, that is a different story.

Would you regard ur pastor as a man of God when you know he is not a saint? would you pratice what he preaches when you re sure he is not clean? Whats the point fighting corruption with corruption? why kill some and spare some, haba, i am still suprised at ur comment and ur arguement? EFCC would have worked if they are independent and like i told you if they re ready to weep anybody's ass anyday any time then i ll support them. See what happend to Oputa panel, see obj himself pleading for Mantu even though they are proven evidence that he has scammed the fed govt over 400m naira? and Wabara was nailed for involving in 50million scandal, Audu Ogbeh resigned for nothing. Mr Oga maybe u need to stop reading papers and watching TV's pls come and visit so you ll have a full glimpse of what i am saying.

Those of us who believed the EFCC is selective in prosecuting the war on corruption and financial crimes had been vindicated by the VP Atiku in this article published in the Vanguard of Wednesday June 07, 2006.  This is what he said:
“We intend to continue the war against corruption without the double standard or selective prosecution. We shall run a small government and devolve power and resources from the centre to the other tiers of government. We pledge to run a true federalism as well as imbibe the ethos of fiscal federalism,”. To read the entire story follow this link: http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/cover/june06/07062006/f207062006.html

And you believe that load of garbage? This coming from the same person that is the subject of an FBI corruption investigation himself. He is the one that will now not engage in selective war on corruption? Nigerians (both leaders and people) never cease to amaze me.

Like I said before, the EFCC does not only go after Political offenders. In fact that is more the job of the ICPC IMO. The EFCC does a fine job keeping Banks, and other potential criminal avenues in check.

Point of Correction Mr Marriory, Anyone can be Investigated. The fact that Atiku was investigated does not make him a criminal Sir. If you must know, he has been cleared of all charges. So he is a free man, Ask more about Atiku from those in the Customs at is time.

Efcc is a dog and i insist

Err actually He is still being investigated. EFCC may be a dog to you, that's your opinion. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best thing against corruption and financial crimes Nigeria has witnessed. And the people whose money the outfit has recovered from criminals will agree.

Err actually He is still being investigated. that's your opinion. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best thing against corruption and financial crimes Nigeria has witnessed. And the people whose money the outfit has recovered from criminals will agree

Says who? can you please substantiate ur evidence?

If by tool, you mean it selectively administers justice, then yes, it is a tool. However, I think it is best to have as much justice as you can, than to have no justice at all.

In all honestly, my final judgment on EFCC will come after the expiration of the current term of office. Out of the 24 governors, President and VP that are ineligible for re-election, if less than half of them are charged with corruption, I will know for sure that the EFCC is faulty. I mean, it only stands to reason that in 8 years, just about all members of the executive would either have stolen funds, mis-appropriated contracts, violated due process e.t.c.