EFCC Is Corrupt, Group Alleges

Source: pointblanknews.com

A Non-Governmental Organisation, Media Initiative against Injustice,

Violence and Corruption-MIIVOC says it dragged the Economic and Financial

Crimes Commission –EFCC to Court over its refusal to respond to a request

made under the Freedom of Information Act bothering on credibility.

MIIVOC Public Education Officer, Mr. Gibson Boro, who gave the explanation

while addressing newsmen in Owerri on Monday, accused the EFCC of

corruption and urged the President to take urgent steps to sanitize the

Commission.
“The problem with the EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria

is that they are required to monitor public officers, but there are no

adequate provisions for their activities to be monitored. Nobody is

checking the activities of the anti-corruption agencies and they have

totally derailed. The EFCC as at today is a disappointment to the

Nigerians and to the international community that supported them all these

years.”
“With Mr. Lamorde and his team being accused of involvement in the illegal

crude oil sales in Salt Ponds Ghana, by the United States Government and

illegal sale of recovered assets from suspects, how can they fight

corruption? President Jonathan must show commitment to the fight against

corruption in Nigeria by first sanitizing the leadership of EFCC.”

Continuing, Mr. Boro expressed concerns over the inability of the

Commission to account for loots recovered from corrupt public office

holders, which he said underscores the urgent need for an Asset Management

Agency for Nigeria – an objective that the Proceeds of Crime Bill being

considered by the National Assembly is meant to achieve.

“The fact is that the international community is viewing this

administration as not being serious with the fight against corruption

because the recovered funds have been re-looted, sometimes by the same law

enforcement agencies that recovered the stolen funds. How can Nigerians

allow the EFCC under the leadership of Mr. Lamorde to make a mockery of

the anti-corruption war in Nigeria? Corruption is Nigeria's single, most

formidable problem, and has led to the destabilization of the Nigeria's

democracy in the past. Corruption also has security implications,

especially when there are internal corruption by the same people who are

supposed to fight corruption.  Indeed, this problem started when Mr.

Larmode was a Director of Operations under Mr. Nuhu Ribadu and Mr.

Emmanuel Akomaye, the former EFCC Commission Secretary and Mrs. Farida

Waziri. Questions have been raised in the past about “Who will watch the

watchdog”? Who is supervising and regulating EFCC, ICPC, CCB and other

relevant bodies? Without a strong oversight, Nigerians may never see the

end to the looting of funds by public officers and by anti-corruption

officers.
He commended the National Assembly for passing the Nigerian Financial

Intelligence Center Bill, which he described as a landmark achievement in

the war against corruption, money laundering and terrorism financing in

Nigeria, even as he spoke of the need for credible persons to be appointed

to head the Center.
He urged the National Assembly and Nigerians to resist any attempt by EFCC

to impose a stooge that will continue in the same manner in which EFCC is

being managed.
MIIVOC also urged the lawmakers to make haste to pass other

anti-corruption related bills in order to strengthen the legal framework

for the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
Top among the bills are: the Proceeds of Crime (POCA) Bill that seeks to

establish a central Agency to manage the proceeds recovered from convicted

criminals and the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill.

It would be recalled that MIIVOC had through a letter dated 27th January,

2014, invoked the Freedom of information act via a request for information

bothering on credibility, finances and Police presence in the EFCC.

According to the FOI request, MIIVOC made a 7-point demand that centered

on the controversies surrounding the Commission's financial state, alleged

dominance of the Commission by the Police and other credibility issues.

“To sustain the credibility of this Commission among Nigerians and at the

international level, a more robust and convincing response is expected

from the Commission in situations such as this, considering the series of

controversies that have trailed the Commission's activities and operations

lately.”
“It is the need for this credibility and in view of the right of Nigerians

to know, that we most respectfully invoke Sections 1, 2 (3)(V), 2(3)(Vi)

of the 2011 Freedom of Information Act to request for the following:

Details of all Police officers posted to EFCC, their qualifications,

ranks, and duties as well as dates of secondment to EFCC; Details of

police officers that are in charge of operations, sections and units of

EFCC; Details of senior officers of EFCC occupying Directorate positions

and the number that are supposed to be in Directorate positions if not for

the police officers; The volume and value of EFCC funds (INCLUDING

NON-APPROPRIATED FUNDS) that go to the Police, Ministry of Trade and

Investment Special Control Unit Department , Training of staff, number of

officials of EFCC trained (and other officials who are not EFCC officials)

and how much was saved from EFCC budget in 2013 given all the

international funding and support it obtained in 2012/2013.”

Other requests are: Details of support and funding from the international

community in 2013, especially, funds from: GIABA/ECOWAS and World Bank;

Details of EFCC officials trained by international agencies in 2013 and

how much was saved in the budget of EFCC because of this support and The

actual financial statement of the Commission, as at December 31st, 2013.

Media Initiative against Injustice, Violence and Corruption (MIIVOC) is a

coalition of communication, civil society and human rights activists and

groups with interest in the war against injustice, Violence, immorality

and corruption, as well as the protection of human rights, from a

communication perspective.
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