Sack EFCC head, 40 CSOs urge Buhari

More than 40 anti-corruption civil society organisations have expressed outrage over what they called the “continued disobedience of court orders” by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), under Abdulrasheed Bawa. They also complained about the “politicisation of the agency’s operations”.

The anti-corruption CSOs alleged on Friday at a gathering in Lagos that the EFCC had chosen to become an institution known for brazenly disobeying orders of courts in such a manner that “does not only undermine the institutions of Nigeria’s democracy, but also indicates a contradiction to the anti-corruption agenda of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari”, and came to a conclusion that Bawa must be sacked for the commission to recover its past glory.

Leaders of the CSOs include the Chairman of the Centre for Anti-corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran; Executive Director of Zero Graft Centre, Kolawole Sanchez-Jude; Chairman of the Coalition Against Corruption and Bad Governance, Toyin Raheem; Executive Director of the Centre for Public Accountability, Olufemi Lawson; and Ahmed Balogun of Media Rights Concern.

Other leaders include Ologun Ayodeji of the Transparency and Accountability Group; Declan Ihehaire of the Activists for Good Governance; and Ochiaga Jude of the Centre for Ethics and Good Governance.

According to the anti-graft bodies, aside from the EFCC’s penchant for disobedience of court orders, the situation has reached an embarrassing height where the commission’s boss has been committed to prison more than once within two months for clear breach of the extant court orders.

They said: “EFCC’s Gestapo-style regime of disobeying court orders must stop. Nigeria is not a banana republic. Attempts by institutions of state to ridicule the country and make it seem like a lawless fiefdom must be resisted by all. The EFCC seems to be allowing itself to be used as an instrument of political witch-hunt as it targets some individuals more than many others.

“Some of our organisations have submitted several petitions to the Commission, which it has refused to act on even when you sit with them to reason on the merits of those petitions. Once there is a political interest the whole process of investigation and litigation becomes politicised.

“The Commission seems only to act with gusto against perceived political enemies of some powerful political forces in the country rather than being neutral and professional. For instance,  the Ogun State Assembly Speaker was bundled Gestapo-style to Abuja on corruption allegations while several similar petitions elsewhere have been left untouched by the Commission. Where is justice, impartiality, and professionalism?”

“This culture of impunity as consistently exhibited by the EFCC Chairman continues to ridicule Nigeria in the comity of nations and sabotage efforts at attracting foreign direct investment. Investors only go to jurisdictions where the rule of law and respect for human rights are guaranteed while shunning countries where ‘rule of men’ predominate”, they added.

While insisting that “he who comes into equity must come with clean hands”, the CSOs stated: “We note that by the continued disobedience of the orders of the Courts, Mr. AbdulRasheed Bawa and the EFCC have displayed utter contempt for our courts and the country’s judicial system. It is ironic that these are the same courts the EFCC routinely runs to for orders which they zealously implement in the discharge of their mandate under the EFCC Act.

“It is not for EFCC and its leadership to pick and choose which court orders to obey or disregard. That is an invitation to anarchy”.