The

The 'devil' the EFCC Can't arrest

Crispin Oduobuk

"Damned if they do; damned if they don't. The EFCC can't win the image war because many Nigerians believe some looters who are friendly with 'everybody-knows-who' won't get the stick, while other looters not friendly with the man are getting hell."

Let nobody play the ostrich in this matter: barefaced looting of the nation's treasury by public servants is still doing incalculable damage to Nigeria's growth. Moreover, the flaunting of this ill-gotten wealth continues to warp the values of Nigerians. "Get into government, steal as much as you can and be hailed a hero," seems to describe the situation. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is making attempts to check this anomaly. Whether it is doing so in a proper and just manner appears to be the archetypal catch-22 situation: damned if you do; damned if you don't.

All the same, there are several sides to this issue. One side sees nothing but evil in the EFCC and the commission's chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. To them, EFCC is President Obasanjo's Gestapo, short and simple. At the other end are supporters of the agency, who suspect looters and their benefactors sponsor criticisms of the organisation. Your correspondent's peculiar position is defined by a concern for the 'big fishes' that continue to swim free, and EFCC's get-back-the-money-and-let-the culprit-go approach which one finds most unhelpful. (Haven't we heard what the Chinese do to corrupt officials?)

Now, although Ribadu lacks the finesse and discretion that his sensitive position requires, the prevailing evidence at this time is that he's one of Nigeria's finest police officers. Seemingly aware of his limitations where tact and decorum are concerned, Ribadu sometimes has to apologise for his overzealous attitude, pleading that he is not being arrogant. As such, on one level, it is easy to sympathise with this passionate man who is doing what is--and will always be--a thankless job. This makes it the more unfortunate that sometimes it does seem Ribadu and his EFCC are--to employ the pervasive term--"being used" to settle political scores while favoured looters are left alone. And that's the peg of EFCC's image problem--the 'devil' they can't arrest.

It is also here that the nay-sayers come into their own. They contend, not without some outward justification, that those being investigated and arrested are those who have fallen out of favour with President Obasanjo or the powerful men around him. And considering the well-known and irredeemable track record in vindictiveness attributed thereto, the principal in this matter is quite capable of fostering or ignoring this slanted approach to fighting theft in public service. This is why one observed in an earlier article that the anti-corruption war "…demands a concerted effort on the part of those whose constitutional role it is to check the selectivity…" because "…it is the height of corruption itself to prosecute a selective anti-corruption campaign, or to silently acquiesce in such an unwholesome undertaking." Apparently, those whose role it is to check excesses by the executive branch of government--which has the statutory duty of implementing and enforcing laws--are either acquiescing, or have chosen to do nothing.

In consequence, it seems while a determined Ribadu keeps recovering loot from some former and serving public officers, pays this money back into the appropriate coffers, other looters currently enjoying special protection are standing by to pilfer the returned funds. The low deterrence against looting ensures there are new looters everyday.

Meanwhile, the EFCC on its part isn't just shrugging off these accusations of bias. One of Ribadu's handlers asked this writer during a telephone conversation whether former Police IG Tafa Balogun wasn't supposed to be very close to President Obasanjo. "Is he not the one they said 'delivered' 2003 elections?" The handler also asked if there were no genuine cases against those arrested so far: "Even if it is selective, the people arrested so far, have they not done something wrong?" Okay. But what about the case of the present Kano State Government against a former governor of the state which involves huge sums of money? And what about the over 300 billion naira supposedly meant for roads that so obviously disappeared? Besides, why does the EFCC fail to prosecute some high-profile culprits once stolen money is recovered?

Ribadu himself is even less concerned about these charges of bias. In an interview with the Trust editorial board last year, he made it clear that he believes the war against theft in public service is entering a phase where nobody can protect anybody. He may well be right. A time will come when the protected looters of today will lose their current protection. And then they may learn that, as the EFCC's motto has it, NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW, even if it means sharing Tafa Balogun's six months in jail.