PRESIDENT BUHARI, TWO REASONS WHY WE SHOULD REDO EFCC, MADUEKE AS A TEST CASE
If the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) had arrested and taking the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke to court and successfully fought against any type of interim injunction as the Federal Ministry of Justice did recently resulting in the trial of the Senate President Bukola Saraki; the EFCC will not be seen as REACTIVE for the purpose of the Madueke's case. If the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, had raided the Abuja home of the former Minister of Petroleum Resources days and weeks before her recent arrest in London, for alleged corruption-related offences, EFCC and/or others will not be classified as PHONY for the purpose of the discourse.
Just some hours after she was arrested in London, Nigeria's police sub-agency, the EFCC, reportedly went to Madueke's home, located in the Asokoro district of Abuja, and sealed the property Friday evening. Really?
If not for EFCC's phoniness and reactive stance to issues of criminal investigations, why was her house not sealed off a few months or even weeks ago, knowing many accusations against her in Nigeria? Why has she not been officially asked to return to Nigeria since the last three months or so to face any charge of alleged corruption given many allegations levied against her?
President Buhari and its administration had to be informed of her arrest in London but in Nigeria, none in the last few years or months, why? Now we are told the EFCC is currently interrogating some former Executives of the subsidiaries of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, but why was this interrogation not carried out successfully long time ago given multiple reports of alleged corruption under this woman, why now after her London arrest?
As a Police/Prison scientist, this writer is aware that one basic rule of investigation into any alleged criminal activities is for the investigator(s) to show originality on a particular case; as such practice signals substantiality, centrality and action in terms of proper or real police investigation.
In the words of a former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, the recent arrest and bail of Alison-Madueke, showed that the former Minister lived like she was above the law in Nigeria—as it relates to EFCC, the courts and others.
Where was the Nigeria Police system, which EFCC is intrinsically apart of, when this woman refused to appear before the Nigeria Parliament to answer charges of malfeasance on many occasions?
If not for the shameful state of our criminal justice system where misuse and abuse of restraining orders remain common in terms of how they are issued by Nigerian judges, this woman would long have been answering to the law way before the British case.
According to Tsav, corruption more than anything else remains responsible for the failure of our criminal justice system in regards to our anti-graft agencies acting decisively over the past few years.
President Buhari, yes we know you like to be meticulous and take your time on matters of governance but week after week this writer have given you pointers that are enough to begin to make drastic and swift changes in our criminal justice system.
Now that the most powerful woman among officials of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration has been arrested in London, what is wrong with the British officials coming to Nigeria to investigate cases of corruption, after all, we were once a colony to Britain? Mr. President, yes this will be an unusual and odd step, but as long as our judiciary and the police continue to struggle with inherent dishonesty let our former colonial masters take over, at least till the end of this year.
***Dr. Oshodi is a Florida-based Forensic/Clinical Psychologist, a specialist in Prison/Police/National Security matters and a former Secretary-General of the Nigeria Psychological Association.