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“Life laughs at you when you are unhappy; life smiles at you when you are happy; but life salutes you when you make others happy.”
—Charlie Chaplin
By Cosmas Omegoh
Interesting vibes from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) last week meant different things to different ears that listened to them.
Nigerians desirous to see an EFCC straight as an arrow celebrated news of the sacking of 27 officers of the Commission by its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, for various infractions. Nigerians were happy with Olukoyede for his bold efforts at cleansing the Augean stable.
On the flip side, some persons were taken aback by the humongous revelations of infractions the agency said its officers had committed in the outgone 2024.
In a statement sacking 27 of the personnel, EFCC announced that its action was driven by its “quest to enforce integrity and rid its fold of fraudulent elements… from its workforce in 2024.”
About the time that the news was filtering out, another followed on its heels disclosing that the EFCC had detained 10 of its officers following alleged theft of operational items.
Although the said operational items were not disclosed, suspicions were rift that the accused personnel might have re-looted monies, gold and other materials seized from suspects.
EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said the officers were arrested following the directive of Olukoyede.
He announced that: “In its continuing efforts to sweep the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) clean of corrupt tendencies, 10 officers of the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC are being detained over the investigation of some missing items involving them.
“Investigators are making good progress, and those found culpable will be subjected to internal disciplinary processes.”
EFCC had earlier explained that it dismissed 27 officers because of “various offences bordering on fraudulent activities and misconduct.” According to it, “their dismissal, following the recommendation of the Staff Disciplinary Committee of the EFCC, was ratified by the Executive Chairman, Mr Ola Olukoyede.”
Beating its chest, EFCC noted that “Olukoyede reiterated the commitment of the Commission to zero tolerance for corruption, warning that no officer is immune to disciplinary measures.”
It promised that “every modicum of allegation against any staff of the Commission would always be investigated.”
EFCC further emphasised its commitment to investigations into alleged gross misconduct “including a trending $400,000 claim of a yet-to-be-identified supposed staff of the EFCC against a Sectional Head.”
What the EFCC later said rehashed what the public knows about many of its personnel. Listen to it: “The Commission also wishes to alert the public of the sinister activities of impersonators and blackmailers using the name of its Executive Chairman to extort money from high-profile suspects being investigated by the EFCC.”
Those who have had a rough patch with bad officials of the anti-financial crime body testified that what it said happens often.
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Shocking rot around the agency was further brought in the open when the EFCC revealed that: “Two members of an alleged syndicate, Ojobo Joshua and Aliyu Hashim were recently arraigned before Justice Jude Onwuebuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), High Court, Abuja for allegedly contacting a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Mr Mohammed Bello-Kaka, and demanding $1million from him for ‘Olukoyede to give him soft landing’ for a non-existing investigation.” It, therefore, warned that “such characters are still on the loose seeking victims.”
EFCC’s big disclosures confirmed the belief that corruption allegations swirling around it might have indeed, taken a life of its own as a well-oiled corruption machinery which Olukoyede is now trying to dismantle.
EFCC further reinforced that belief with its admission that “it is aware of moves being hatched in some quarters to blackmail officers of the Commission through unwholesome means.
“Suspects being investigated for some economic and financial crimes who have failed to compromise their investigators would always clutch at any straw. Such blackmailers should not be accorded any form of attention.”
Indeed, it is public knowledge that historically, the EFCC has always had fingers pointing at it. At inception, there were good intentions; things kept going good until the evil days arrived.
Some persons noted that thing began to go wrong when politicians found a way of using the EFCC machinery to harass and even run their opponents out of town. Then gradually, the rot now proving difficult to tackle began to accumulate, forcing the agency’s integrity curve pointing downwards.
Those familiar with EFCC will tell you that at the point when its helmsmen began do things differently, those below them kept watching. After all, “when the mother goat begins to chew, her kid watches.” Perhaps, that was how the agency with time, got peopled by many rogue operators ever ready to exploit every opportunity open to them for their personal gains. Perhaps, that was how a bazaar culture grew and became entrenched. Probably too, that was how such operators began to assume that they had the “key of life.” So, they began to terrorise sinners alongside with the saints, blackmailing members of the public and taking bribes from them. They began to force the agency founded on solid foundation to begin to shake. Then, the colour of what is seen today began to emerge.
But happily, the arrival of Olukoyede appears to be the oxygen EFCC has got now to revive and recreate itself.
Many are hailing the pastor for bringing some decorum to the agency and for smashing the identified bad eggs in the establishment with his sledge hammer.
A yet-to-be verified claim pointed out that the Olukoyode action is the first ever major room-sweeping in EFCC.
Happily enough, Olukoyode is going about his internal-cleansing assignment not minding the image deficit it might bring to the body.
Indeed, some persons affirm that there is no better time to do what the man is doing than now. They cheer him on for realising the need to first remove the dust in EFCC’s eyes before charging his men to fan out on financial crimes fighting.
Only then, they say, will EFCC be perceived as real; only then will its will and words be believed. And only then will it begin to restore its fading image and reclaim its once enviable respect.
Aside from launching sting investigations in the days ahead to unravel the rot in its fold, Nigerians want Olukoyede to expose the identities of the said 27 officers it dismissed. They want to see their faces in court to serve as deterrent to the ones currently in service.
Nigerians who are eager to see a Nigeria low of sleaze salute Olukoyede for his works thus far.
They will perhaps believe more of EFCC’s claim that its helmsman “remains a man of integrity that cannot be swayed by monetary influences.” They want more of his deeds.
Certainly, Olukoyede will be doing the country a world of good by listening to suspects whom his men extort – those his men steal from in the course of their operations. He needs to balance out their opinions.
It will serve a great purpose if he goes ahead to institute a probe that will unravel the misdeeds of yesteryears – perhaps over a 10-year period so as to see how bad things had been. And he needs to be told that there are a lot more of his rogue officers lying low, waiting for the right time to pounce. It is only when he bends low that he will see them.
