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EFCC Vs AG and Matters Arising By Babs Iwalewa The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has of late been embroiled in a series of controversies with the Attorney General of Federation and the controversies range from all manner of arguments as regards the legal technicalities involved in the prosecution of corruption cases in the country .But it is at this point that we must stop and ponder on what is actually wrong with our country, because if we have accepted that corruption is indeed a cankerworm that has retarded the growth and progress of this country and it is this same corruption that has dispatched many ordinary Nigerians and so called "big men" in Nigeria to their early graves ,through road accidents which could have been averted if funds appropriated for roads construction and rehabilitation had been used for what they were meant for, that it is also this same corruption that has turned our universities and indeed the whole educational sector into a moribund sector, that it this same corruption that has incapacitated the health sector ,that it is corruption that as turned Nigeria into an "agbero" country where able bodied young Nigerians are desperate to get out of the country at all costs into foreign lands to go and do all manner of odd jobs thereby developing such countries with their hard labour, that it is this same corruption that has made otherwise highly educated and respectable person[s] to shamelessly conduct terrible elections without showing any sign[s] of remorse ,that it is this same corruption that has turned "elected' representatives of the people into emergency contractors, then why cant a concerted approach be adopted to fight corruption? As a matter of fact neither the AG nor the chairman of the EFCC could claim ignorance of the destruction which corruption has visited on the socio/political/economic/cultural fabric of the country hence most informed Nigerians should be worried at the current ego war which will inadvertently slow down the crusade against corruption The current controversy looks like an offshoot of the capacity and willingness of Nigerian rulers both past and present to undermine institutions, and preventing such institutions from functioning properly this may be as result of poor education, porous intellect or outright ignorance often exhibited by these rulers. The Office of the Attorney General and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission still remains the most important and effective institutions that can really tackle the issue of corruption frontally in this country today, but unfortunately these institutions have been seriously undermined and compromised by past rulers. Take the EFCC for instance, the willingness of the EFCC to be used to fight the "political wars" of the former president Olusegun Obasanjo is one fundamental mistake the anti graft body made, from which it may never fully recover by so doing it has exposed its underbelly to corrupt politicians who now resort to the courts to obtain one frivolous injunction or the other in order to escape prosecution. Infact the way it seems now most of these politicians are now plotting different strategies and stratagems to abolish the EFCC The Office of the AG of the federation is also a constitutional office that ought to be at the forefront of fighting corruption and infact bringing corrupt officials of state to justice or taking justice to them as rightly pointed out by eminent lawyer Gani Fawehinmi [SAN] but what is the situation in Nigeria? the Office of the AG has been seriously compromised that you now find Attorney Generals of the federation taking legal advice from the president instead of giving legal advice, or the current situation we now find ourselves where the AG covertly fraternises with corrupt politicians in order to shield them from justice. Infact the Office of the AG has been so desecrated that a sitting Attorney General of the federation was murdered in his bedroom by yet to be identified assassins In conclusion, for the war against corruption to be effective and make meaningful headway, the constitution must be reviewed in such a way as to make both the EFCC and the Office of the Attorney General truly independent and the AG's Office should be separated from that of the Minister of Justice. The appointment of person[s] to head these institutions should be made in such a way as to reduce or out rightly eliminate the pervasive influence of the President or whoever is in power. The means and manner of funding the EFCC and the Office of the AG should also be stated clearly in the constitution and should NOT be tied to the executive arm of government they should be funded independently The tenure of the EFCC chairman and that of the AG of the federation should also be stated in the constitution preferably 6years .These recommendations will at least ensure that we stop chasing shadows and attack the substance in our fight against corruption Babs Iwalewa Kaduna Kaduna State
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