| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Farida Waziri (EFCC boss)
Ribadu did a good job. But If I were him, he should not have made some mistakes because two wrongs don’t make a right. May be he handled the issue based on wrong advice. It is the way he handled it that made things worse for him. I have heard this question several times about Ribadu’s persecution. Unfortunately for me, there is no way you will mention Ribadu without mentioning Farida. That is where the problem started from.
I told someone when I travelled out (of the country) that the Metropolitan Police said I was not doing anything on the war against corruption and I asked them how they knew. They sit there in England and talk about Nigeria. I asked them the yardstick they are using and they said it is our newspapers. I told them that it is not everything they read in the newspapers that should be taken seriously. Farida WaziriSometimes, you have to take it with a pinch of salt because we don’t know where it is coming from. I’m not accusing the Press because there are very good newspapers that gave me the opportunity, they have been supporting me. Some of them didn’t know me from Adam but they gave me the needed support. But, there are situations where people resist changes as well; these are people who are used to certain ways of doing things. When it comes to changes that they don’t know where that might lead to, they resist. I am still trying to build and find my feet amidst very difficult situations that I have found myself in.
I believe that actions speak louder and I believe that my actions should speak for me. I have been able to handle some high profile cases and the cases are still on-going. We have a lot of problems with the prosecution of these cases and they are there in courts and the cases have not commenced trial properly, even the ones I inherited from my predecessor. I’m sure you are aware of what is happening. The issue of jurisdiction has been a problem.
Where lawyers know that their clients have a very bad case from the charges and proof of evidence, they usually want to stall proceedings (to buy time). And anything can happen, fatigue may set in, people lose memory of vital parts of the case, people drop dead, people move and then, the whole case is thrown out.
So, these have been my problems and I expect this fight against economic crime and corruption to be everybody’s business. We want a nation that we can be proud of someday; everybody should be concerned with what is happening. There is so much propaganda. It is EFCC and Farida Waziri that are being attacked always. People think that Waziri is not fighting corruption. If a man is jailed, it is me that is blamed, when a man gets his passport released from the courts, it’s me that is also blamed.
I felt there is need for me to come out and let you know the true situation of things because I know that you make people know what is happening. At least, I don’t deserve what I’m getting and I think I deserve sympathy and that is why one of the things I did also, was the preventive aspect to inform and educate Nigerians that corruption is a mindset thing. Where the value system is upside down, people begin to cherish and worship money and those who stole are given chieftaincy titles, our children will feel that this is a better way of life. Let’s imbibe good values into the system. And we also need to educate the youths on corruption. We’ve started this youth re-orientation, when I launched it, Mr President was there and somebody wrote in the papers, attacking me.
When I met with the EU Ambassador, of course, they asked me and I read Section 6 of the EFCC Act to them and I also told them that the first duty of any law enforcement agency in the world, is the prevention of crimes. When you fail to stop these crimes, the first thing is apprehension and prosecution of offenders.
In a country where literacy level is low, of course, they will want to see people in handcuffs and being arraigned because they feel these people are responsible for their woes for sharing their commonwealth. So, I am here to thank you first and foremost and to also appeal to you, to support me and give me the chance as you have been doing. I’m not there to kill the war on corruption, I hate corruption, I have travelled out of this country, and I have seen the damage corruption can do to a nation. We don’t have any business being poor because we are a rich country. God has put me there and He will give me the strength to make a difference and by the time I’m leaving, corruption would have been reduced.
It’s not something that can be achieved overnight, it has been part of us for a long time, but I’m sure, we’ll make a difference.
Yes, my predecessor complained about court delays. He got three convictions based on plea bargaining only. Under normal circumstances, cases should be tried to a logical conclusion. I didn’t believe in plea bargaining when I came in, I didn’t want to use the system, but I never knew how difficult it would be. I believe the money they use is stolen, and it belongs to the Nigerian people. Yet, they use it to bargain for freedom or soft landing, what kind of law is that?
Of course, it’s been practised in the advanced countries, but I found that it is so bad and nobody wants to know, it’s very frustrating. All you need to do is open a case file, compile a case diary and prepare charges, go to court, follow due process and the court grants the person bail. The lawyer is there to file for fundamental human rights, even the passport that was seized will be used by the man to travel. He will pretend that he’s sick and travel to where the money is hidden. This is very frustrating.
That is why I expected good Nigerians to praise us but I’m surprised that everything that is happening is heaped on the EFCC. It’s as if they don’t know what some lawyers are doing. These (suspects) are people who are very rich, they have stolen so much money and they can share this money equally with the lawyers and these lawyers know that this is a bad case. So, instead of making the cases go on, they are stalled. If at the end of the tenure of this administration, matters are still like this, I don't think we will record any convictions.
I have written a protest letter and I have met with the Chief Justice of the Federation telling him about my frustration. I have also gone to the Court of Appeal and I have been assured that whenever this kind of thing happens, a plea will be taken and the case will proceed. I have written also as to why this should not be so, but I hope when we confide in other bodies, may be we would know what to do but we cannot allow matters to remain like this. I take the blame for everything.
I will need your medium to also enlighten people about what is going on. One thousand EFCC’s cannot fight corruption in this country effectively. It’s a situation where all hands must be on deck. That is why we want people who are ready to go and testify; people who see what is wrong and ask questions and then challenge us. That is why we started this crusade of revolution.
You see, this rule of law is beautiful in advanced countries but not in Nigeria. Can you imagine a situation where I wrote a letter to a sitting governor and his deputy who has immunity as well, to come and tell us one or two things about their staff and the governor refused? He listed ten banks that we must not go to and this is an educated governor. I believe drastic measures must be taken because some other countries have done it; Small countries not as big as Nigeria. but Nigerians are taking their children to school there. People take out money to store in offshore accounts there known only to them and if they drop dead, their children will suffer. They are feeding those economies while their own people are dying of hunger. It’s only in Nigeria that such can happen.
So, any drastic step that can be taken to assuage this should be done. Those people stupidly feel that if they steal money and keep it outside in an offshore account, then, it is an investment. It’s not investment, its stupidity. At the end of the day, they are doing all these at the expense of the masses.
I have heard this question several times about Ribadu’s persecution. Unfortunately for me, there is no way you will mention Ribadu without mentioning Farida. That is where the problem started from. Ribadu did a good job. But If I were him, he should not have made some mistakes because two wrongs don’t make a right. May be he handled the issue based on wrong advice. It is the way he handled it that made things worse for him. For instance, he did not turn up when he was invited by the Inspector-General of Police. That was the bedrock of his problems. He took the Attorney-General and the Police Service Commission to court. I, who is his successor, invited him for some clarifications on some issues because he is the pioneer chairman of the commission. Instead of coming, he took me to court. So, he created a lot of issues.I don’t know why he did that. He took the government to ECOWAS Court. He failed to realise that he is one person fighting many forces. He forgot that the government is an institution. I believe that people will get to know what is involved in the Ribadu saga in the long run. The propaganda on it is much especially in the United States. The propaganda is like, why should that woman occupy that seat? Rubbishing Mrs Waziri and EFCC will not help in the fight against corruption. It is being made to look as if the office was created for one person. The Metropolitan Police once asked why Yar’Adua did not heed the advice of British Prime Minister on Ribadu’s removal. I told them that what informed their question is because we are a Third World country. Can Yar’Adua question Gordon Brown, if any Scotland Yard Police is changed? There is so much propaganda that is going on. But I believe that the truth will prevail. I will not lose my focus. When EFCC was established, I was called upon and I submitted my CV. It was the time of Kanu Agabi; he said he was quite impressed with my CV. I did not get the job and I was not bothered. I was not looking for a job then, I had my law firm. When I came back to the country, I was made a member of the EFCC. I believe my appointment is divine. I know that people don’t believe that God gives power in Nigeria. But I believe that mine is divine and that is why I will work within the rule of law.
When I assumed office, I set up a monitoring and intelligence unit. With that, we have to be proactive. We asked some banks to be reporting suspicious transactions but some of them are not complying. And it is deliberate. Money laundering has been going on through the banks. At the moment, we are handling cases in two banks. And we intend to beam our searchlight on more. We have warned them to report such transactions. The banks are aware that we are beaming searchlight on them.
We have the final draft with the Attorney-General. If we have that going for us, I think we will not face frustration of prosecution any more. The whole aim of stealing is to acquire property, so, if we have this law in place, we can attach the properties when we are prosecuting them. That will make it easier for such properties to be confiscated. It will help us in the fight against economic crimes. This has helped in advanced countries and that is why we picked it up. We are hoping that the National Assembly will approve the bill. I am still looking at special courts. I did not do much on it because someone has introduced it to the Senate. They have deliberated on it. I think they are making some amendments on it. I know that if we have these special courts, things will be far better. A judge confided in me that with special courts, we can speed up this fight against corruption. We may visit some of the countries that have these courts to know how they operate.
What you see in the press about EFCC, are speculations most times. Some of these stories are not from us. The president once called and asked why EFCC is always in the news. On the governors, I told Governor Fashola to use the Governors' Forum to launder the image of governors. I said that because of the perception about governors. He is the first governor I have ever visited and I did that to thank him for his good works in Lagos.
Someone like Chief Bode George alleges selective persecution but as a lawyer, I cannot comment on cases that are already in court. It will be subjudice to do that. With the immunity clause, you cannot prosecute but you can investigate. We are investigating but I can’t tell you the number.
You know one thing that caused Nuhu’s problem, was what he said that about thirty-one governors were corrupt. He said that they would be prosecuted after their tenure. I don’t want to name them because we learn from other people’s mistakes.
There is nothing like the powers that appointed me pushing me around. If Mr. President says I should do something within the rule of law, I will do it. Nobody has asked me to do anything and they know I am not a push around.
I read that I have godfathers in the newspapers. Some even alleged that some powers appointed me. That is rubbish. I don’t know about godfathers. I only know my state governor. I don’t even know one of the governors they linked me with. I met him in the villa when I became EFCC chairman. Someone introduced us and I greeted him. This propaganda is to make sure that nobody gives me credit. It was even alleged that I collected a jeep from Akwa Ibom state governor. I don’t even know him and I am not investigating the state.
We have the Support from donors and the international community. These people have their mechanism of finding information. I met EU Ambassadors and they briefed me on what they are expecting from me. We will continue in capacity building. We are working out something with the USA. When the new government is in place, we will go there. They have not stopped their support for us. I even called on them that we need more support. The fight against corruption affects them. You know the world is a global village; we need the support of everybody.
I need public support. We should know that this is our country and we must help it to grow. People should inform us when something is happening. I am ready to fight corruption in this country, but we must all be involved. And there is no way one thousand EFCC’s can fight economic crime.
It is not only the EFCC. From the National Assembly to the media, we all have roles to play. I know that your medium is objective; I hope you support and make everybody know where the problem lies. We have the legislature, judiciary and the EFCC, so, people should know that there is a limit to what we can do. I have an idea of where this campaign of calumny is coming from, but I know that no condition is permanent. I am not saying that we will eradicate corruption, but it will be reduced greatly. Most importantly is that we need awareness in Nigeria.
