The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was set up to curb financial crimes and tackle endemic economic crimes brazenly lacerating the economy. But despite trillions being looted from the country’s till since the beginning of Fourth Republic in 1999, and the harsh impact of corruption on national development, the agency, which has made a song a dance of its commitment to exterminate corruption in the polity, has been largely used for political gains. Increasingly perceived as making a mockery of its mandate, “pampering” politically exposed persons, and also effectively serving as the harassment wing of the ruling party, it is, however, giving a good fight to the expanding tribe of Internet scammers, writes ENO-ABASI SUNDAY.
WEEK-IN, WEEK-OUT, billions of naira worth of contracts for infrastructural development are awarded during Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings. That notwithstanding, Nigeria has remained a developing country while thousands of abandoned projects compete for space in urban centres and rural areas in the six geographical zones.
In saner climes, the consequences of devoting trillions of naira to infrastructural development while still being saddled with a record-high infrastructure deficit should be dire and almost immediate. But welcome to Nigeria, where corrupt elected officials, in cahoots with their acolytes, engage in brazen white-collar economic crimes despite the existence of the once-dreaded Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The despicable scenario, where allegedly corrupt Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) swagger about without being timeously brought to justice after allegedly stealing so much from the people, many say is a referendum of how ineffective the EFCC has become over the years, while also solidifying its new reputation as a paper lion that does not harm.
Since PEPs now constitute a herd of sacred cows that are too heavy to be effectively contained by the anti-graft commission, (as confirmed by the abysmal conviction rate), the commission now appears to have redirected its energy to bringing to book, hordes of flourishing Internet scammers and recently, crossdressers, money sprayers and sundry light weights.
The EFCC, whose vision is to ensure “A Nigeria free of economic and financial crimes,” and its mission, “to eradicate economic and financial crimes through prevention, enforcement and coordination, was established by an Act of the National Assembly, on December 12, 2002, by the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The Act is presently being challenged for repeal by some governors at the Supreme Court, who argued that the EFCC’s Establishment Act runs contrary to the constitution, which is the supreme law, hence the EFCC’s Act be declared a nullity.
The establishment was partly in response to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money Laundering, also known by its French name, Grouped’actionfinancière (GAFI). GAFI is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the Group of Seven (G7), an inter-governmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America to develop policies to combat money laundering.
Upon coming into being, the commission made an impressive start by taking out of circulation, many fraudsters popularly called 419 lords (419 in Nigerian parlance refers to offenders whose crimes are contrary to Section 419 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Presently, the agency is giving the expanding clan of Internet scammers better known as “Yahoo Boys” a bloody nose.
Poor conviction rate of PEPs questions EFCC’s commitment
AFTER spending several years in court upon being dragged there by the EFCC, a Sokoto State High Court in 2018 discharged and acquitted a former governor of the state, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, and two others of 22 corruption charges.
The agency had accused Bafarawa, who was Sokoto State governor between 1999 and 2007, and the others of misappropriating and embezzling N15 billion. However, the trial judge, Justice Bello Abbas, dismissed the entire 22 charges against Bafarawa, saying that the anti-graft agency failed to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt. The EFCC, however, rejected the judgment, vowing to challenge it on appeal.
Over the years, episodes like the above where PEPs evade justice either because of poor diligent prosecution by the EFCC; the absence of political will to do the right thing, or loopholes in the system abound.
Without a doubt, some of the most celebrated graft cases in the country since the return of democracy have been committed either by politically connected persons, or PEPs. And the gross failure of the EFCC to securely tighten the noose around the necks of such characters has contributed to its loss of mystique, as well as to lowering the commission’s integrity quotient in the eyes of society.
Last January, the commission tacitly confirmed the perception that prosecuting PEPs has remained a Herculean task for it, when it reopened money laundering cases against 13 former governors and some former ministers, with the amounts involved running into over N853.8 billion.
A few weeks after that, it also confirmed to the world that it was more proficient in hunting down Internet scammers than bringing PEPs to justice with the revelation that it recovered N70 billion within 100 days (that is between October 2023 and January 19, 2024).
Be that as it may, despite the major roles played by key political office holders, especially presidents in the country’s underdevelopment, as well as the gamut of allegations levelled against their administrations, the EFCC has not found the courage to investigate any of them thus far, much less openly prosecute them.
Interestingly, despite the magnitude of sleaze involving 170 state governors that the country has produced in the last 25 years, the anti-graft body has only succeeded in sending to jail a miserable five, out of the 58 that it is probing for alleged embezzlement, misappropriation, looting, or laundering the sum of N2.187 trillion since 1999. This amount does not include seized properties in different parts of the world, which equally run into trillions of naira.
The sixth former governor to be convicted, James Onanefe Ibori, was jailed for 13 years by a United Kingdom Southwark Crown Court after he was found guilty of money laundering and related offences to the tune of £50 million.
A further illustration of how slippery it has been to secure the conviction of PEPs is the fact that of the 6,981 convictions that the anti-graft secured in three years, that is between 2020 and 2022, no ex-governor, or president made the list.
Data on the agency’s website: www.efcc.gov.ng, revealed that in 2020, the commission secured 976 convictions, while 2,220 and 3, 785 were sent to jail in 2021, and 2022 in that order. The data for 2023 is yet to be posted by the commission.
Former state governors convicted for sleaze since 1999 include Chief Lucky Igbinedion (Edo), late DSP Alamieyeseigha (Bayelsa), Jolly Nyame (Taraba), Joshua Dariye (Plateau), and Orji Uzor Kalu, who as a senator in 2019 was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment after he was convicted of diverting N7.1 billion from the coffers of Abia State during his time as governor.
On May 8, 2020, the Supreme Court nullified his conviction, and Kalu was released from prison, while the EFCC said that it would fix the loopholes in its tactics and reopen the fraud case against the former governor.
More theatrics, ‘friendly fights’
OPERATIVES of the EFCC in May 2022 arrested the former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha after a six-hour siege on his house, in the Maitama area of Abuja.
The agency tore through the roof of the facility and arrested the former governor minutes after security operatives fired teargas to disperse protesters. Okorocha is not the only governor to be arrested after a high drama.
The immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, almost suffered the same fate when the commission swooped on him before his successor showed up and took him to safety. Months later, in the company of his successor, Bello drove into the commission’s headquarters in Abuja and drove out unencumbered despite being declared wanted about two months ago.
Days after he left office, former governor Peter Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State printed a tee shirt, packed his bags, and arrived at the office of the agency with loud fanfare backed by his supporters. Years after that drama, his case is still far from being determined.
Godswill Obot Akpabio left office as governor of Akwa Ibom State on May 29, 2015, and his battle with the EFCC began on October 16, 2015. He was being investigated for allegedly stealing N108 billion from the state’s coffers. Nine years after the investigation began, the case has gone nowhere. Akpabio, who was accused by the EFCC when he was in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), switched flanks and joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Since joining the party, his political career has been on the ascendency, while there appears to be a lid over his prosecution. After serving as the Minister of Niger Delta, he is now the senate president, in other words, Nigeria’s number three man.
He has severally claimed that the EFCC had investigated and found nothing on him, even as he also dismissed reports that he decamped to the ruling party because of the fear of being witch-hunted by the commission.
A former EFCC chair, Ibrahim Magu, at a parley with editors, in Lagos when he was in office, stressed that the former minority leader of the Senate had a case to answer.
When the incumbent chair of the EFCC, Olanipekun Olukoyede, appeared before the senate for screening, Akpabio dealt a few quick jabs on the agency accusing it of sensationalism, playing to the gallery, dishing for him, his “fair share” of embarrassment, and treating high-profile suspects as if they were swooping on Pablo Escobar.
The EFCC’s seeming lack of balls to investigate PEPs also showed when public-spirited individuals, and civil society groups stridently called it out for remaining taciturn when two “loaded” bullion vans showed up at the residence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, (then national leader of the APC) on the eve of the 2019 presidential and National Assembly election.
When accosted on February 23, 2019, after casting his vote in the Alausa area of Lagos State, Tinubu said: “What is your issue with bullion vans in my house? I have not done any government business in the last five years. So, I didn’t steal government money. And the bullion van was not said to contain election materials. So, what offence have I committed? I decide where to keep it (money) and how to keep it.”.
As the barrage of attacks continued, the EFCC dared one social media activist, Segun Awosanya, aka Segalink, to write a petition against Tinubu if he felt that it was wrong for the APC leader to have two bullion vans at his Bourdillon, Ikoyi, residence on the eve of a presidential and National Assembly elections.
Human rights activist and legal practitioner, Deji Adeyanju, took up the challenge and petitioned the anti-graft commission even though he added that he was not confident that “they (EFCC) won’t take any action…”
When the commission kept mute after 100 days of lodging the petition, Adeyanju, who is the Convener of Concerned Nigerians, a civil rights group again wrote “Dear EFCC, It’s over 100 days after our petition against Tinubu, the Lagos landlord – still no response from you, but you have suddenly remembered former Abia Governor and his son. Are you still fighting corruption?”
To this day, the bullion van saga appears to have died a natural death as far as the EFCC is concerned. Wilfred Nwachukwu, an economist, is peeved with the friendly fights between political heavyweights and the EFCC. “There must be a great sense of justice when dealing with people. If a governor is accused of stealing a people’s commonwealth, efforts should be made for justice to be served promptly. After all, is justice delayed not justice denied?”
He is happy with the decision to re-list cases against past governors, even though he thinks not much would be achieved. Said he: “I am excited with the decision to relist corruption cases involving former governors and ministers, but I am not enthusiastic that anything positive would come out of it. All the same, the drama by the EFCC and former governors, ministers, and other politically exposed persons must end, and the people given succour.”
Deliberate bungling of cases involving PEPs
INDIVIDUALS, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders are increasingly peeved that administration after administration has continued to treat corruption cases involving their “star players” as a family matter, even as the EFCC has routinely surrendered its independence to the ruling government while acting as if it were a subsidiary of the ruling party.
One of those riled by the curious and glaring loss of high-profile corruption cases involving PEPs is former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, who established the commission. He consequently charged them to tidy their actions and engage experienced lawyers to stop the losing galore.
The immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, had also expressed disappointment with the way that some corruption-related cases were being handled by the EFCC, the ICPC, and other relevant government agencies during his tenure.
In response to the opinions expressed by Obasanjo and Buhari, Deji Adeyanju said: “I hold a slightly different perspective. While I respect their views, I think that politically exposed persons are largely the reason why the EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies have not been able to effectively fight financial crimes. On the suggestion made by former President Obasanjo, who recommended the recruitment of highly experienced lawyers to handle prosecution in the commission, I somehow hold reservations about this…
“In my opinion, what the EFCC truly requires is an increase in resources to enable it to conduct thorough investigations before initiating legal proceedings. It is important to have substantial evidence of financial crimes before pursuing any case. Therefore, I propose that the commission should be equipped with enhanced resources, both in terms of manpower and technology, to ensure comprehensive and diligent investigations.
“I believe that reforming our legal framework and jurisprudence is necessary to address the legal loopholes that politically exposed individuals often exploit through their legal representatives. By undertaking necessary legal reforms and covering these loopholes, we can create a more robust and effective system for combating corruption.
“Additionally, strengthening the legal framework and providing adequate resources to the EFCC are vital steps in enabling the commission to effectively tackle corruption cases involving PEPs. This includes enhancing the capacity of the EFCC through training and employing qualified personnel, as well as, providing the necessary financial and technological resources to conduct thorough investigations.”
EFCC keeps mum over poor credentials
ACROSS the spectrum, many have accused the anti-graft agency of lacking the gravitas and the moral strength to rid the country of economic and financial crimes. This accusation finds credence in the number of the agency’s operatives and past chairmen who are mired in corruption scandals.
On at least three occasions in the last six months, The Guardian has sought to hear from the commission how imperilled or otherwise it is to handle corruption cases involving PEPs, but the commission has failed to respond.
For instance, on Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 14:57:12, an e-mail was addressed to the commission’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, through the organisation’s central email – info@efcc.gov.ng. That mail has not been replied to date.
On Monday, July 8, 2024, Oyewale, during a brief telephone exchange with The Guardian, claimed that the mail was sent to a “wrong” email address, and thereafter availed two new email addresses. The questions under the headline: “Prosecution of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs)” were sent. They were also sent to Oyewale’s WhatsApp number. None of them was responded to.
On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, the same set of questions was, again, sent through the reporter’s official email address to Oyewale. The mail had in its copy, the Executive Chairman of the Commission, Olukoyede, and Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwajaren. Like the earlier ones, it is yet to be responded to.
At a recent public forum, however, the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed that court orders have prevented the commission from pursuing investigations on corruption cases in 10 states.
He also complained about the frequent adjournments of high-profile cases and conflicting court orders secured by suspects to frustrate the commission in the prosecution of corruption cases.
Olukoyede said, “Despite the energy and commitment of our judges in resolving corruption cases across the country and measures such as practice direction and designation of courts and judges to hear corruption matters, there are still some areas of concern that need to be addressed urgently.
“The spectre of frequent adjournments of high-profile corruption cases arising from frivolous applications, conflicting orders by courts of coordinate jurisdiction in corruption cases, intemperate contempt orders hauled at the commission’s leadership, and undue reliance on technicality in deciding serious corruption cases, unwarranted orders of injunction restraining the commission from investigating graft cases, are among a plethora of issues that bother the EFCC, which should be on the table for frank conversations over the next two days.
“The incidence of suspects facing criminal investigation rushing to court to obtain orders of injunction restraining the commission from inviting, investigating, interrogating, and arresting them, including some state governments, has become rampant and worrisome.
“At the last count, the commission is unable to conduct an investigation in at least 10 states of the federation.
“This is despite the clear pronouncements by appellate courts that law enforcement agencies cannot be restrained in carrying out their statutory duties.”
Loss of investors’ confidence, reputational harm
BOTH Nigeria’s Country Director of Accountability Lab, Odeh Friday, and Adeyanju believe that the failure to effectively prosecute high-profile politicians causes the country both reputational and economic harm.
According to Friday: “Failure to hold politically exposed persons (PEPs) accountable can lead to reputational harm for Nigeria, as we have seen in most rankings, such as the Corruption Perception Index and the Public Index of Integrity.
“This primarily impacts foreign direct investments, as we have recently seen the president asking foreign governments to report corruption cases to him instead of focusing on strengthening/upholding the rule of law. For long-suffering Nigerians, delayed justice is often perceived as denied. The failure to hold PEPs accountable encourages a sense of impunity, erodes public trust in government, and can result in a lack of hope among citizens for Nigeria’s judiciary—the rule of law no longer holds the last hope for the common man.
“The perceived preferential treatment of PEPs impacts Nigeria’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking. When high-profile individuals are perceived as escaping accountability, it contributes to a perception of corruption within the system. Despite questions about their behaviours and morals, those who provided political support and votes are brought into public office. Politically exposed persons (PEPs) have not been brought to account,” the country director added.
For Adeyanju: “The failure to effectively and successfully prosecute high-profile politicians in corruption cases has significant implications for the anti-graft war and foreign investors’ confidence in the country, as well as, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Foreign investors play an important role in economic growth and development. They bring in capital, expertise, and technology, stimulating job creation and driving economic progress. However, foreign investors are typically risk-averse and seek stable and transparent investment environments. High levels of corruption and the failure to prosecute corrupt politicians undermine the confidence of foreign investors in the polity. They fear that their investments may be jeopardised by corrupt practices, arbitrary decision-making, and an unreliable legal system. As a result, they may choose to invest elsewhere, diverting potential foreign direct investment away from the country,” he said.
‘EFCC encumbered on several fronts can do a lot better’
THE volume of treasury looting over the years, the lengthy years of prosecution, and the abysmally low number of convictions recorded by the EFCC notwithstanding, the Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) Auwal Ibrahim Musa, said: “We must applaud the effort, impact, and efficiency of the EFCC as anti-corruption institution facing several battles, especially political interference and inadequate resource allocation in the fight against corruption. We also must understand that the appointment of the EFCC leadership is determined by the president. This, too, has a lot to do with the extent of independence of the institution from political interference.
“Moreover, inadequate budgetary allocation poses significant challenges to the operational capability and efficiency of the institution including the judicial pursuit of justice against high-profile corruption cases involving politically exposed persons. We further have the judicial institutions, which in some cases frustrate efforts of the EFCC, ICPC, and other anti-corruption bodies through a series of legal processes.
Apart from this, we cannot conceal the impact of Presidential pardon on persons convicted of financial crimes on the efforts of crime justice institutions and the overall fight against corruption, as witnessed in the past administration. Given this background, we would understand the challenges and frustration of EFCC handling high profile cases,” Musa, who is also the Head of Transparency International (Nigeria) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Amnesty International (Nigeria) stated.
For the Executive Director of Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Mr Lanre Suraj, given the complexities of the Nigerian political environment, the performance of the EFCC in handling high-profile corruption cases is “highly commendable.”
According to him, the EFCC is the only anti-corruption agency that is standing tall and resilient as the “political elite have incapacitated other agencies like the Nigeria Police Force, the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal, and the ICPC is struggling to reposition itself with the new leadership under Dr Musa Aliyu SAN. If the performance of EFCC is reviewed from that context, there is only one conclusion to be drawn, satisfaction. If the assessment is drawn from the cases and ultimate conclusions of the cases by the commission, different conclusions might be drawn, not due to the fault of the EFCC by other different extraneous conditions beyond its control.”
He listed this to include “the compromise of the judiciary, lack of independence and job security of the leadership of the commission, political interference, and conspiracy of the elite.
“The EFCC will still score a pass mark, might not be excellent, in the investigation and prosecution of political heavyweights considering the environment under which it operates. Conviction of suspects is totally outside the control of the commission and some of our current judicial officials are more disposed to setting free, high-profile suspects than convicting them for established crimes. We have witnessed some judges ruling that suspects who received proceeds from crime are guilty, but the giver is free of guilt. Recent cases decided by some judges are setting terrible precedence … Electoral corruption is the fundamental ingredient of economic crimes and corruption in the country and some judicial officers are major enablers of both crimes currently.”
He said to “effectively and successfully assess the EFCC with effect to conviction, our judicial system would be the first point of call for such assessment, and it is only then, that any assessment of EFCC can be fair, credible and effective… Justice has always been delayed in Nigeria for several reasons, mostly political interests, showing some people are above the law. Accountability Lab Nigeria is hopeful that relisting corruption cases that were abandoned is a proactive measure to address past shortcomings and actively contribute to a more accountable political landscape and responsible leadership, but the political will behind this action needs to be questioned and scrutinised to be sure we are building strong and independent institutions, free from political interference.”
