It's no more news that the embattled Acting Chairman of The Economic and Financial Crime Commission EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, is facing an uncertain future as his sit continue to hover on the air due to the fact that the Ayo Salame led Panel recommended for his suspension to pave the way for a free investigation in line with standard procedures.
As the Presidential Panel led by Justice Ayo Salami, a former President of the Court of Appeal, continued with its interrogation of the embattled Magu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. And pending any possible outcome of the investigation led by the Panel, the presidency is already shopping for his possible replacement according to several sources. The names of four people including a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) and two serving police commissioners have been pencilled.
It had been reported in June, 2020, that "AGF Malami had suggested three names for President Buhari to pick one as EFCC chairman after he allegedly recommended that Magu should be sacked. These included Deputy Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Sani Usman (rtd); the FCT Commissioner of Police, Bala Ciroma; and a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, from Kebbi State. But other sources said the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Ahmad Abdurrahman, had been added to the list. One of the sources said the four people are being considered and would be presented to President Muhammadu Buhari “after diligent screening at the presidency and by relevant security agencies.” As Daily trust Newspaper gathered that any of the above names could be sent to the Senate for confirmation anytime soon, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Mohammed Umar Abba is most likely going to take over the commission in acting capacity."
While we await to see how rough the exit path of Ibrahim Magu may be, it's also time to critically reflect on a missing link in our journey to fighting the menace of corruption. Corruption is endemic in our system, and no doubt it needs to be approached as pragmatically as viable. It is a general knowledge, whether we like it or not, that the Nigeria Police Force have severally been labelled as the most corrupt Organization in Nigeria, and one must often found it difficult to understand why our government found it imperative to place the apex duty of fighting corruption in the hands of our Police Officers (whether serving or retired), despite the fact that all efforts to prove they can deliver returned aborted.
Since when EFCC was created in 2003, it has been headed by one police officer to the next and all of whom were later rubbished out of office due to corruption related cases. From it founding leader CP Nuhu Ribadu, to DCP Ibrahim Lamorde and to retired AIG Farida Waziri, all were embarrassed out of office for one case of corruption or the other. And now Ibrahim Magu, a very credible and hard-working Police Officer we were told before his appointment is now under intense scrutiny with stints of corruption charges and is also on the verge of following the path of his predecessors.
Looking at these scenarios, one must be tempted to raise the poser: why only the Police? Since the 2004 Act establishing the EFCC stated clearly that: The Commission shall consist of the following members–
(a) a chairman, who shall-
(i)be the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of the Commission.
(ii) be a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent;
and
(iii) Possess not less than 15 years cognate experience
(b) the Governor of the Central Bank or his representative; and
(c) are presentative each of the following Federal Ministries
(i) Foreign Affairs,
(ii) Finance,
(iii) Justice,
(d) the Chairman National Drug Law Enforcement Agency or his representative;
(e) the Director General of–
Then why are we going round in a circle that always failed to led us out for about two decades? In other words, we do not need a Policeman to head the EFCC for us to get desired results. The EFCC can be ably led by a fearless, tested, and incorruptible anti-corruption crusader from the other law enforcement agencies or the civil populace, while being supported by a well trained operative/enforcement team who do not necessarily have to be Police Officers. It's also long overdue for the EFCC to embark on its own internal capacity building, by training and grooming its own enforcement team away from the Police Force to rely solely on its own operatives in carrying out enforcement duties.
And I also found it absurd that having adorned our police with an obnoxious kirtle of corruption, we still reckon them fit and proper to handle the preeminent albatross of fighting corruption in a corruption tainted country like ours. Without any sentiment, Nigeria need to go back to the drawing board and reassess it approach to fighting corruption.
A stitch in time saves nine.
Usama Dandare, a social commentator write from Sokoto.
Comments
Post a Comment