Recent developments have shown that the agency could not detain the former Governor despite spending over three hours on their premises.
Those who witnessed the early years of the EFCC under Ribadu laugh at the administrators currently operating the agency. There is also anger toward the abuse of the office that was designed to be beyond reproach.
The ongoing circus between the Kogi State former governor, Yahaya Bello, and the agency—or, better said, the EFCC administrator—has exposed the once formidable agency’s image. The agency has undergone several changes since its inception, but none of the administrators has ever been in such a ridiculous situation as Mr Ola Olukoyede. Let’s not forget that the EFCC Chairman announced he would resign if Yahaya Bello was not put on trial.
Bello was declared wanted by the Commission for alleged N80.2 billion money laundering charges, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. They started a cat-and-mouse chase for over six months. The drama attracted much media attention to the agency but for the wrong reasons. Recent developments have shown that the agency could not detain the former Governor despite spending over three hours on their premises. The only thing they could do was send out a tweet to confirm that Yahaya Bello was not in EFCC Custody.
Many groups are now calling for the EFCC boss to honour his words and resign. Some see his action as demonstrating gross incompetence and shame to the once formidable agency.Rightly so. Some even feel Mr Ola Olukoyede’s primary qualification is his tribal affiliation with the President. But yes, this cannot be denied.
As things stand, many financial crimes require the agency's attention. For example, if the EFCC Boss was serious, he would pursue the outcome of Obazee's special investigation of the CBN. It has been nine months since the Obazee team concluded their special investigation. They submitted theirreport to Tinubu, which revealed fraudulent activities and racketeering in the CBN. However, it was reported that the President had terminated the investigation in early August during the last protest. This case involves hundreds of billions of Naira that demand better attention than Yahaya Bello’s case.
Another more significant case is the Malta racketeering following Dangote’s exposé. The money involved in this case is yet to be accounted for, but we are talking of billions of dollars or trillions in Naira value. Due to many constraints, the public finds it difficult to scrutinise the NNPCL. The issue was taken to the National Assembly, but the House of Representatives dissolved the committee probing the importation of adulterated petroleum products into the country. The Nigerian government would have pursued such cases if we had a formidable agency like the old EFCC. But we don’t.
If the EFCC is obsessed with former Governors, he could begin to look at higher-profile cases like those of el-Rufai following the indictment of Kaduna State Assemblymismanaging N423 billion.
Similarly, the former Governors of Borno State and Abia Stategovernors, Ali Modu Sherriff and Theodore, are still at large. The former was arrested for allegedly mismanaging over N300 billion, while the latter was alleged for misappropriatingpublic funds and money laundering worth around N551billion. There are currently no updates on these investigations.And given Olukoyede's toothless nature, the public has no confidence in his ability to carry out such a daunting task. These kinds of cases never see the light of day.
However, it is unfair for me to say that the current EFCC boss is full of faults and without merit. He tries, albeit within his capacity and the parameters his superiors allow him to operate.
No doubt, Olukoyede has made EFCC to become a specialist in small-scale fraud cases. They now entertain the public with crime reports involving individuals with no political clout. It is more common to see the EFCC parading suspected internet fraudsters, some accused of stealing as little as ₦1 million.
They frequently boast about raids that lead to confiscatingcomputers and phones from the so-called “Yahoo boys,” many of whom are later found to have been wrongfully profiled. This persistent targeting of street-level offenders gives the impression that the EFCC is more effective at pursuing low-level fraud than taking on the politically shielded elites who steal public resources and even boast about it.
In truth, this man only brings shame to an institution tasked with improving Nigeria's standing in the global fight against corruption. The public opinion is that the EFCC under Olukoyede is no longer that “formidable eagle” it used to be;it is currently a “paper tiger.”
N.A.