In recent time, the role of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in handling the case of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has raised critical questions about the integrity of this important institution.
Instead of embodying the principles of justice and accountability that Nigeria so desperately needs, the EFCC appears to have succumbed to a troubling blend of incompetence and political maneuvering under the incapable leaderships of its Director General, Ola Olukoyede.
Yesterday an incident unfolded when Yahaya Bello, a National figure embroiled in corruption allegations, showed up at the EFCC offices. Instead of being interrogated as any ordinary citizen would be, he was given a free pass to depart without so much as a question. The EFCC has since justified this lack of action by claiming that Bello arrived with a convoy of vehicles and was accompanied by the sitting Governor of the state His Excellency Ahmed Ododo Usman, presenting a “breach of protocol.”
Let’s critically unpack this disheartening scenario and trow more light on the misdeeds of EFCC. Why would the EFCC place ceremonial protocols above the pursuit of justice?
The very existence of the EFCC is predicated on investigating and questioning individuals implicated in financial misconduct, irrespective of their social standing or political connections. Yet, in this instance, the agency chose to forgo its responsibilities, presenting an absurd excuse rooted in perceived grandeur instead of adhering to the rule of law.
Meanwhile, same EFCC visited the Kogi Governor’s Lodge in Abuja at odd hours shooting sporadically, making shadow attempts to arrest FGYB owning to the fact that their earlier claim is yet unchanged because Gov OAU remains the landlord of the Kogi Governors lodge.
This kind of bureaucratic mismanagement is laughable and unethical because Historically, precedent exists in the treatment of other well-known political figures who were interrogated under similar circumstances, such as former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose and former Governors Rotimi Amaechi and Nasir el-Rufai.
When the aforementioned and many others henchmen in this country faced the EFCC, they did so with their associates yet were treated according to due process.
The EFCC’s selective enforcement and selective justice reveals that the institution is in a disarray, a very critcal sorry state. It is in a state that appears not just unwilling, but incapable of fulfilling its mandate when the situation calls for accountability.
Instead, the EFCC responded with a confrontational and uncivil approach, which is obvious seen as a misuse of power, possibly motivated by a desire to witch hunt the politically exposed FGYB (The White Lion).
The commission’s own statement, admitting discomfort with the presence of the Gov. OAU and the nature of FGYB arrival, illustrates a traits of cowardice and incompetence, my self (Abdulhameed Ivavah) and many other well meaning Nigerian are seriously demanding for the resignation of EFCC chairman Dr. Olukoyede.
– Abdulhameed Ivavah writes from Ajaokuta LGA.
