As a certified strategist, an apostle of the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade TRACIT (TRACIT is a global private sector initiative to mitigate the economic and social damages of illicit trade), an advocate for good governance and policy coherence in governments amongst other skill and experiences; I am able not just to appreciate the importance of a sincere and objective fight against economic and financial crimes in societies and Countries; I am also able to dimension the depth of the issues that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria is facing, the trajectory so far achieved, and proffer some ways forward for an efficient, effective and impactful EFCC.
Barely seven months after his appointment as the 5th Executive Chairman of the (EFCC) since the commencement of her operations in April 2003, Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyode had hit the ground running and has so far, built critical momentum in the right direction in the fight against economic and financial crimes which is the fulcrum of the bane of our progress as a nation.
Momentum of high-profile cases
Within the last 7 months, the status of ongoing high-profile graft and other corruption cases at various stages of investigation and prosecutions – with a scope and scale of cash and assets amounting to whopping Billions of US Dollars (Trillions of Naira); are indicators of the critical momentum that the EFCC has built in such a short time under the leadership of Mr. Olukoyede, especially with the seriousness and fearlessness, the EFCC is currently executing her mandates.
Such high-profile cases include: those of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele and his co-suspects, the former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and his co-suspects, former Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Senator Hadi Sirika and his co-suspects, suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, her predecessor and other co-suspects, suspended Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Board (REA) Mr. Ahmad Salihijo, the suspended Executive Directors of the REA, and their co-suspects, etc.
Economic and financial crimes are major crimes against humanity and sabotage to nation-building; which is part of the reason why some countries around the world legislate capital punishments as stringent as the death penalty or life imprisonment for such heinous crimes.
Love him or hate him, The EFCC under the leadership of Mr. Olukoyede is building critical momentum for success. Are there rooms for improvement with regard to the operations of the EFCC? The answer is YES. But what we cannot take away from the current leadership of the EFCC is that they are improving and are certainly moving in the right direction and already making impacts. Therefore, Kudos to Mr. Olukoyede and his team.
In this series of episodes, I also will advise the EFCC on some important points to note in order to sustain the momentum and make significant impacts not just in prosecutions and convictions but more importantly in curtailing and preventing economic and financial crimes in Nigeria.
The level of pushback that is deployed anytime are attempts to stand up against vested interests or fights against corruption, tells any right-thinking person that indeed we are in trouble in Nigeria. I therefore do not envy the situation that Mr. Olukoyode has found himself in. Indeed, the task is enormous, the enemies are formidable and the risks are high.
Accordingly, I wish to encourage Mr. Ola Olukoyode and the EFCC that the first casualty in the fight against Corruption is the truth and therefore he should expect a bigger campaign of calumny against him and the EFCC. Some of the Critical Success Factors focus on Process and tenacity of purpose which Mr. Olukoyede should imbibe not just in himself but across the EFCC as an institution because indeed, “no tree can make a forest”.
The political will of mr. president has been a critical success factor
Indeed, it is worthy of note and commendation, that the momentum so far achieved by the EFCC in the last 8 months is due to the unalloyed support by President Bola Tinubu, who first of all made a “round peg, in round hole” appointment of Mr. Olukoyede and Mr. Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda as Executive Chair and Secretary of the Commission respectively.
Furthermore, from all indications, Mr. President has not been interfering with the works of the EFCC in this administration. This is based on the fact that the aforementioned high-profile cases under investigation or undergoing prosecution are all of the members of the ruling political party the All Progressives Congress (APC) who held public offices during the immediate past administration of President Buhari (who is of the APC), and also officials at the highest level of the current administration of President Tinubu. Hence, so far, President Tinubu has shown the political will to fight corruption with the way he has been allowing the anti-corruption institutions to perform their duties. Accordingly, if the dragnets of the anticorruption war go beyond APC members, the President should not be accused of witch-hunting!
Strategic considerations and ways forward
While I agree that we should critique the operations and performance of the EFCC, it will only be objective if we, as citizens, civil society organizations, arms of government, etc; also take note of the key strategic and operational impediments and challenges that the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies face in the discharge of their mandates, and support the removal of those impediments. Only then could we effectively support critical institutions like the EFCC to succeed for the betterment of Nigeria. Otherwise, our actions/ inactions as citizens, civil society organizations, arms, and institutions of government will amount to asking the EFCC to chase criminals with her hands bound behind her back, which in my opinion is sheer hypocrisy. Let me share some classic examples of such impediments:
•Judicial Impediments: Plethora of Exparte Orders and conflicting judgments
As I have elucidated in my two past episodes where I added my voice to the need for reforms in the judiciary in Nigeria. It is relevant to regurgitate this point which I made in those episodes about how the judiciary in some cases deliberately or inadvertently constitutes impediments to the effective administration of criminal justice in Nigeria. One of the classing examples of how the judiciary enables wanton corruption in Nigeria is the ugly trend of how persons and organizations lean/ hide under section 46 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, to secure injunctions/ judgments to stop investigations, especially on matters of corruption, other forms of criminality, and even terrorism; to the extent that judges grant orders to stop statutory bodies from performing their constitutional responsibilities, which leave much to be desired. This is a serious issue that is becoming an anathema to the progress of Nigeria. In most of the cases where such injunctions or judgments are given, it is very clear that the prayers of the applicants are out of place at no moment. Additionally, some of the injunctions are granted in clear violation of the constitutional provisions given those Arms or agencies of Government, for example; the National Assembly in line with Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, or the provisions of the Acts of the EFCC, ICPC, Nigeria Police, DSS, etc. In any case, it is elementary to note that anyone trying to stop an investigation into criminal allegations is actually indicating that he/ she is trying to avoid investigation and possible prosecution, and therefore, such applications should not be granted by the honorable justices. This is because innocent parties will set the records straight and clear their names when they face an investigation. Unfortunately, we are all witnesses to this ugly trend which if not stopped, will certainly legitimize corrupt practices, and all forms of criminality including terrorism and acts that could threaten our territorial integrity. These are serious issues with potentially serious consequences on our polity, and should not be entertained by any well-meaning judges or citizens of Nigeria.
Accordingly, on the basis of legal reasoning, the judiciary should allow and support statutory institutions to perform their duties, rather than prevent valid investigation or obstruct the principles of separation of powers that they- the judiciary should protect! Legislative, regulatory investigative, and prosecutorial institutions should be allowed to undertake their mandates as enshrined in the Constitution. If some judges continue the habit of forestalling investigations under the guise of fundamental human rights, as long as the investigation (civil or criminal) does not violate any constitutional provision; then that Judge, in my opinion, is supporting the obstruction of justice.
I will continue elucidating more of my insights and perspectives on this very important topic of judicial reforms in subsequent episode(s).
