The establishment of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has brought nothing to the country but a Commission which is ceaselessly “dropping clangers”. It has become a Commission which often mesmerizes itself in needless controversies and to say the least, heavily politicized.
Every Nigerian wants a country with a system that works. Everyone wants to feel safe and have the assurance that they are not hunted by what is meant to protect them.
The intention to establish the EFCC is laudable and it is a thing that everyone will not hesitate to commend. But is it one thing to have a laudable intention and it is another thing to have a laudable way to execute such intention.
The EFCC since its establishment has allowed itself to be used as a clock of lawfare. Lawfare is simply “the use of legal systems and institutions to damage or delegitimize an opponent, or to deter an individual’s usage of their legal rights”. The EFCC is so wrapped up in its quest to engage in a lawfare that its operations have taken a form of gestapo and guerilla approach.
Nigerians have witnessed the EFCC display of lawfare against the perceived enemies and opponent of their “benefactor”. It is sad to say that, the work of the EFCC is no longer an institution which pursue the interest of the nation but an institution which has constantly revolves itself around an individual in power.
The case of Bukola Saraki, the ex-governor of Kwara state rings home on the obsessive lawfare of the EFCC. Bukola Saraki was a strong opponent of the political party in power and the EFCC was unleashed on him even while he enjoyed immunity as a sitting governor. The essence of the lawfare against Saraki was to reduce him to political irrelevance, the goal which they seem to be achieving by dragging Saraki to court with multiple criminal suits.
Femi Fani Kayode was also one of the vocal voices in the opposition. Femi Fani Kayode was a former Minister of Aviation who was seen to be blunt in his criticism against the government of the day. He was haunted down by the EFCC and dragged to court on some unsubstantiated charges. The FFK has a little relieve when he joined the political party in power.
Other incidents where the EFCC was used to advance lawfare abound. One will not forget how the EFCC was used to move against the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company and Dangote Company because of the perceived political interest. Also, in a bid to stop the current incumbent President from contesting the presidential election, the EFCC approached the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) twice through letters dated September 4, 2020 and November 6, 2020 to supply documents in order to probe and prosecute President Bola Tinubu.
The recent cases against Alh. Yahaya Bello, the former Governor of Kogi State is also instructive. You would recall that the former governor challenged the political gladiators to contest the APC Presidential Primary Election. This was a daring and courageous political move, which sadly earned him a political persecution from the political elites. One will not be mistaken to infer that his current persecution by the EFCC is as a result of his daring to challenge the political class and dare to dream to become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; a position seen as a reserved and preserved right of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria.
It is also unforgettable that the EFCC was alleged to make it a habit to invade the residents of some of the judges and justices who they think may not support their violation of law or may give a dissent judgment in the case they institute.
We will not forget the age long sage that, law is made for the man and man is not made for the law. It is a grave injustice to have an institution which mischievously abuse the process of law and make the law the rule of man and not the rule of law. It is an act of inhumanity and wanton violation of human rights when the law is used to fight those who have different opinions and hold diverse political views. This is not the kind of country we dream of and this is not the kind of life we wish to live.
It is hard time to overhauled the EFCC. It is time to revisit the foundation and architectural design of the EFCC and it will not be wrong if the EFCC is scrapped to birth a people oriented agency that will protect the interest of the people and not the interest of the selfish and vindictive individual.
We put the lives of the hapless masses at the precipice of legal catastrophe if the EFCC is allowed to exist in its present form.
– Earnest Olaniyan
Political and Public Analyst.
