By Samuel Oyejola
The former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that the refusal of the Senate to confirm the appointment of the acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu as substantive chairman is in violation of the spirit and intent of the constitution.
Ribadu also advised Nigerians to raise their voice against laws and actions that are irrelevant to the dictates of the constitution of the country, reminding all that the constitution remains the supreme law.
Nuhu Ribadu stated this when he spoke at a town hall meeting on corruption organized by the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation in Abuja.
He said that the leadership of the EFCC should enjoy the same privileges that the Inspector General of Police, the DSS DG, the Defense Chiefs and other security leadership enjoy due to the nature of their work.
According to Ribadu, “it is only fair and proper to remove institutions like that from the control of others. If they are going to do this work on behalf of Nigerians they must be free to do it without fear and favour. Just like the Inspector General of Police, the constitution of Nigeria states that he does not need clearance from the National Assembly, the same thing with other security agencies.”
It would be recalled that the Senate refused on two occasions to confirm the appointment of the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu. The Senate argued that the security report on the person of Magu was not favourable for his clearance for the anti-graft agency leadership.
The Department of State Services (DSS) had in a letter to the Senate said that the EFCC acting Chairman failed integrity test and would eventually constitute a liability to the anti-corruption drive of the present administration if confirmed.
Ribadu however wondered how a letter from the DSS would disqualify an individual from taking position. He advised that the two agencies should work together to help the government to achieve results.
“This is the first time I have seen that a letter from the DSS is determining the candidature of an individual. I have never had a case where a letter from the DSS would disqualify a person. There is nowhere in the law of the National Assembly that says that they should demand a letter from an institution like the DSS”.
He challenged Nigerians to rise against anything that would go against the spirit and the intention of the constitution. “Anything that would be an obstacle, we as Nigerians need to disagree with it. The EFCC needs to be encouraged. Whatever you do it must be in conformity with the constitution of Nigeria. The constitution is supreme. Any law that is in contradiction to the constitution is null and void.
“You can do any law you like, it is your business but it does not necessarily mean automatically it must be something that all of us will agree with if it is clearly to our understanding that it is in disagreement with the constitution. If something new comes in and we see it as a damaging step, it is the duty and the responsibility of you and me to shout it and say no.
“The EFCC law is a later law to the constitution…. And suddenly somebody comes from nowhere to violently attack the provision of the constitution and you say it is fine and I should keep quite because they have rights to make law but the right they have does not mean they should violate the constitution of Nigeria. Nobody should agree with that. If we do that, we are going into wild adventure.”
He was optimistic that whenever the matter goes to the court there would be a proper interpretation of the law.
He called for the support of all and sundry for the fight against corruption in Nigeria stressing that the EFCC has over 3000 cases in court, while also pointing out that Nigeria is the only country in the world that has such number.
Ribadu pointed out that such attitude shows the commitment of the government to get rid of corruption in the country. “Corruption is the most important challenge facing us in Nigeria. I don’t think there is any country that talks about corruption like we do in Nigeria. It shows that we are committed to getting rid of corruption in Nigeria,” he said.
As the country moves towards election season he advised Nigerians to insist on having leaders who would not condone corrupt practices.
“When you have quality leadership things will change. When we have a leader who is not corrupt, who is not going to allow people around him to be corrupt and ensure that he is going to fight corruption on our behalf then we will see a difference. At all level, leadership matters. Without good leaders it is likely that we might not be able to get it right.
“We must insist and ensure that we have good leaders. Never under-estimate what you can do. Don’t take corrupt people as hero. Don’t regard them as good people. If the opportunity comes don’t vote for persons who you know are corrupt. Don’t vote for people who lie.”
In spite the recent drop on corruption perception index in the latest report of the Transparency International the former EFCC boss argued that the country has fairly done well. “Nigeria is the only country in Africa with two anti-corruption agencies. We have fairly done well. Let us not underestimate that, it is a huge thing. Go to Niger, Cameroon, Ghana, they don’t have one but we have ICPC, EFCC and so many of them. The anti-corruption agencies are not also doing badly. EFCC alone has over 3000 ongoing cases.”
While commending the effort of the EFCC in the fight against corruption, he called on the Nigeria Police and other agencies of government to compliment the effort of the anti-corruption agency in the fight.
“I want Nigeria Police to wake up to do what EFCC is doing. The rest of the law enforcement agencies must wake up and do also.
“The EFCC has done fairly well. There are other agencies we need to tell them to wake up. Let ICPC also get up and do something. Let the NOA also talk. The hands of EFCC are full. You need to know what this people go through to get one single case to court. It is hell. For you to say no to people who desperately want to bribe you, who would do anything on earth to ensure that their case will not go to any court,” he said.