Comments and Issues
Anti-graft war: EFCC, behold the tool!
Few hours back, the nation’s judiciary held another of their many talk shops in Abuja.
This time, the focus was on the war on corruption, financial and economic crimes and amongst the participants and /or guests were the president of the country who was represented by his vice, Mr. Kashim Shettima.
Vice president Shettima, whose bio as published by USAFRICABIZSUBMIT.COM, was a former businessman and a banker just as he reportedly became a manager at the zenith bank’s maiduguri branch before he left the corporate position to venture into politics. Zenith bank according to ratings as at today, is amongst the top five commercial banks in the country.
The V.P of Nigeria is therefore a highly knowledgeable person to speak on the trajectory of the country’s ailing fight against corruption. Corruption is obviously the most debilitating and social evil that bedevils Nigeria for many years and this matter of corruption is the foundation of our national security problems, economic stagnation, mass poverty, hunger, collapsing and dysfunctional national infrastructures and persistent absence of good governance at both the national and sub-national levels of the national life of Nigeria.
I will return to narrate what the Vice President identified as the bottleneck to winning the anti-graft war. But first let me say that from my bird’s-eye view of the vice president’s narrative, I can categorically state that he missed the point by blaming unnecessary courts injunctions for delay in prosecuting the many anti- corruption related cases. This is not in anyway a reason to exonerate tje court system in Nigeria: far from it. The courts have their own issues of pervasive corruption and mismanagement of cases by judges.
However, just as i disclosed during a live television interview on African Independent Television 12 noon newsline today Tuesday 8th of October 2024, I dare say it without equivocation, that what has been lacking is the right kind of anti-graft czar/head imbued with the rare charisma, character, courage and tenacity to look the president of Nigeria, his appointing authority, in the face, and say: “Sir, as the EFCC chairman, I will resign the moment, you interfered in my job of prosecuting politically exposed persons even in your political family who are deemed to have cases to answer regarding suspected anti-graft, economic and financial crimes”.
I had to add other fine personal attributes and qualities aside charisma as required of the best EFCC’S Chairman needed in Nigeria of today to rid the nation of the rot because as Daniel Quinn stated rightly: “But charisma only wins people’s attention. Once you have their attention, you have to have something to tell them.” And Peter Ajisafe concluded by stating very correctly that: “Charisma without character is postponed calamity.”
This qualitative head of EFCC is what Nigeria requires at this moment and if Nigeria is able to get a one- in -a lifetime head of EFCC, who would call the bluff of the president, it is only then that Nigeria will actually begin truthful, well-focused, result- oriented fight against economic and financial crimes and then bury this superficial and sugarcoated politically correct methodology of allowing politics interfere with the war on corruption.
Nigerians don’t need excuses from the EFCC or the politicians but we need actions to eradicate corruption and punish corrupt politically exposed persons by effectively implementing the EFCC ACT in such a way to demonstrate that nobody is above the law and importantly, that impunity and political corruption are absolutely intolerable.
Now that we have handed generously to the EFCC the appropriate tool to win the fight against corruption, let us now read what the President through his Vice, Kashim Shettima said to us at the just held Judges talk shop in Abuja.
The President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, identified frivolous appeals, alleged intimidation of judges by lawyers and judgments delivered on grounds of technicalities as some of the major challenges impeding the war against corruption in Nigeria.
According to him, until these challenges are curtailed, they would continue to hamper the speedy adjudication of corruption cases.
The President, who spoke while declaring open the Sixth Economic and Financial Crimes Commission/National Judicial Institute Capacity Building Workshop for Justices and Judges at the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Abuja, however, acknowledged that prosecution of corruption cases has improved remarkably, following the justice sector reforms in the last few years.
The Vice President Kashim Shettima, speaking for president Tinubu described the capacity-building workshop as a platform to collectively raise a strong voice against Nigeria’s common enemy called corruption.
Shettima, while delivering the President’s speech at the event, stated: “There is no gain saying the fact that the judiciary is central to the success of the anticorruption efforts. The commitment, courage and patriotism of judicial officers are ingredients that make the difference in the fight against corruption. The truth is that it is these same top flight political office holders from the president down to the ministers, that sabotage and scuttle the independence of the judiciary given that the governors and the President are the same persons who appoint Judicial officers and so leverage on this executive privilege to use judges to undermine the fight against corruption particularly when their own members are indicted for corruption and economic crimes.
Now that we have looked at what the vice president said, we will return to analyze why the EFCC should stop parading unnecessary excuses for their lack of leadership charisma and character in the fight against corruption. We must say too that politicians who go to workshops and speak elegantly about issues around anti-corruption war, but uses their authority to undermine the fight of corruption should know that right thinking Nigerians and members of the global community of nations, see these workshops as circus shows. For instance, the Vice President recently told a shocked nation that he wielded his executive might to stop the federal competition and consumer rights agency from dealing decisively with a supermarket chain in Abuja in Abuja SAHAD STORES owned by his friend over alleged price exploitation of Nigerian consumers. So why was the VP Shettima speaking as if he believes in what he was professing at that aforementioned judges conference?
Also, i repeat, there is no need for excuses by the EFCC because the Supreme Court has emphatically decided on the authority of the EFCC in its decision in Dr. Joseph Nwobike SAN v. FRN SC/CR/161/2020 whereby the highest court in Nigeria clarified and limited the powers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), but it wasn’t entirely against the EFCC because the ruling did the following clarifications:
1. Restricted EFCC’s powers to investigate and prosecute only economic and financial crimes.
2. Defined economic and financial crimes as non-violent, wealth-oriented offenses.
3. Prevented EFCC from investigating and prosecuting non-economic crimes.
This decision, as understood, aimed to:
1. Prevent EFCC’s overreach and overlap with other agencies’ powers.
2. Ensure EFCC focuses on its core mandate.
Legal minds say this ruling wasn’t a complete loss for EFCC, as it:
1. Affirmed EFCC’s authority to investigate and prosecute economic and financial crimes.
2. Provided clarity on EFCC’s powers and jurisdiction.
The decision promotes accountability, ensures EFCC operates within its legal boundaries, and prevents potential abuse of power, in the words of legal commentators. It bears repeating to state conclusively that the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was established in 2003 in response to the pressure from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), which named Nigeria amongst the 23 Countries that were not cooperating with the international community in its efforts to fight Money Laundering. However, as observed by scholars, there have been numerous concerns and agitations with respect to the extent of scope of powers conferred on the EFCC to investigate and prosecute corrupt malpractices as vested on it by the EFCC ACT, 2004.
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Again, for avoidance of miscommunication, i will hereby say that the first major legal issue, amongst many, emanated as a result of the federal structure of the country. The question as tackled by the nation’s apex court was whether EFCC has the mandate to investigate and prosecute economic and financial crimes in all parts of the federation. Another central question, as aforementioned, is whether the EFCC has the power/right to investigate and prosecute offences in relation to properties of the constituent states of the federation, given the constitutional prescription of a federal system of government with its concomitant state autonomy. These issues were resolved.
The Supreme Court in Dariye v FRN (2015) 10 NWLR (PT.1467) 325 at 353-354, PARAS E-F, G Ondo State v. A.G Federation (2002) 9 NWLR (Pt. 772) 222 at 300 and finally in Nyame v FRN [201 01 7 NWLR (PT.1193) 344 at 403 PARAS 11-G, put the issue to rest when it held inter alia:
“It is not a defense known to law that an accused person cannot be prosecuted by the authority with prosecutorial powers on the ground that the prosecutor is not the owner of the stolen items. Criminal offence is an offence against the state. A prosecutor need not have an interest in the Subject matter of the complaint before he can prosecute an accused person. He is protecting the state and its citizens and every prosecutor or authority or agency vested with the powers to prosecute should be encouraged to carry out their duties, provided that the due process is maintained and followed.”
As can be deciphered from the abundance of empirical evidence aforementioned, the EFCC has no need of complaining. Then the Chief Justice of Nigeria who attended that workshop ought to provide good examples and lead courageously as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council by exposing corrupt Judges that use technicalities to obstruct anticorruption prosecution and dismiss them out of the judiciary. There must be consequences for any judge or judges who constitute a cog or cogs in the wheel of the nation’s aspirations of becoming corrupt-free and developed. The time to deploy these tools by the EFCC, the CJN, is now. Talking in workshops wouldn’t deliver this goal.
*Emmanuel Onwubiko is head of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) and was NATIONAL COMMISSIONER OF THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF NIGERIA.