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On December 12, 2002, former President Olusegun Obasanjo deemed it necessary to establish an anti-graft commission known as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by an Act of the National Assembly.
Many who had followed the ugly and unpalatable consequences of corruption that was eaten deep into every fabric of our society roundly applauded the presidential move. The signing into law of the anti-graft agency’s law presupposed that the country was ready to not only fight corruption but to send a message to the world that the government was willing and ready to erase the wrong notion across the globe that Nigeria was a corrupt country. Already the commission which is 21 years old, had been supervised by four trained and tested police officers. They are Nuhu Ribadu, Farida Waziri, Ibrahim Lamorde and Ibrahim Magu, while the only non-police officer head of the agency, Abdulrasheed Bawa, is presently in detention under presidential investigation for alledged fraudulent activities. The recent happenings in the commission have further raised eyebrows concerning the entire structure of the commission, which was alledgedly crafted by Mallam Nasir el-Rufai to favour the North rather than have a national spread of personnel to comply with the federal character policy.
However, one persistent error that looks like an unwritten directive is the high number of northern staff, which constitutes over 75 percent northerners and merely 25 percent making the rest of the country. An unpopular idea injected into the agency. Many had consistently questioned why the since its establishment all the five heads of the commission had been northerners while the staff strength had been the ratio as stated earlier. Such imbalance in staff recruitment does not augur well for the anticipated new orientation in the country. Federal institutions and agencies should have a balanced share of ethnic recruitment.
Even the 2022 bill, which was tabled on the floor of the National Assembly and passed the second reading, ought to include the ethnic balancing of staff, while the issue of unnecessary tampering with the leadership tenure by the executive is protected under the constitution.
The bill seeks to limit the President’s powers to remove the chairperson of the anti-graft agency. The bill which seeks to amend the EFCC Act to subject the termination of the appointment of the chairperson of the commission to the confirmation of the Senate “in order to guarantee the security of tenure, was sponsored by the Senate Minority Whip, Chukwuka Utazi, from Enugu North.
He had argued that all the anti-graft agencies, including ICPC and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), had the security of tenure by ensuring that their appointments and removal, as the case may be, were subject to the confirmation of the Senate.
While applauding the spirit behind the bill, the appointment of the chairman should completely be off the hook of the Presidency, bearing in mind that the President is a political office and could at his own whims and caprices influence the direction of investigation of loyal politicians who are suspects of corruption. The commission should be an autonomous agency under a constituted body devoid of any interference from either the presidency or the legislature.
A senior Lagos-based legal practitioner, Mr. Iyke Imoh, believes in the complete autonomy of the commission, adding, “it is a laudable initiative.
“Any time you have an ombudsman that is mutual and impartial, it can only be for the good and service of the people. However, I do not see any political will to implement whatsoever the legislators are about to turn into law.”
Many are of the opinion that the legislators should focus more on how the chairman is appointed and they should ensure that recruitment has federal character, while the chairman is made to face a consistuted body, thereby removing the commission from the apron strings of the Presidency for complete overhaul. The time for such is now as the President scouts for the right southerner or easterner to be so appointed. Meanwhile, names like Deputy Inspector-General of police, Mr. Frank Mbah, Police Commissioner Olayinka Balogun and CP Dan Okoro are being touted as possible names before the President. Security observers ruled out both Mbah because of his present position in the police, while Okoro is presently a political appointee of the governor of Imo State, where he serves as the special adviser on security matters. Many, therefore, believe that Mr. Balogun may eventually get the presidential nod because of his intimidating security and anti-graft investigation track record, potential and educational background as a lawyer, police investigator and former head of SCID, Panti, Yaba, and Special Anti-Fraud Unit, Milverton, Ikoyi. Records show that Mr. Balogun is an exceptional police officer with impeccable character. He attended Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, where he studied political science, University of lbadan and University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he obtained his LLB degree.
Mr. Balogun also had security exposure at the Federal Bureau of lnvestigation Academy in Quantico, West Virginia, USA.
He has received training in several local and international institutions in various security, money laundering and economic crimes. Mr. Balogun is widely described as an experienced investigator who has served in several security committees in the country both at federal and state levels on behalf of the Nigeria Police Force. He has also served as co-chairman/member, Presidential Committee on Internal Security and Community Policing, Nigeria Police Task Force on Police Conduct during the 2019 general election. A well exposed police officer whose integrity speaks profoundly about him projecting further his humility and discipline, which is usually noticeable in the course of his official activities. He also served as commissioner/member, Code of Conduct Bureau, East chapter retrainer course for FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA), organized by US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gaborone, Botswana. He has served as a divisional police officer, police public relations officer in Enugu and Benue states, commissioner of police for Edo and Ekiti states, principal staff officer to Inspector-General of Police and also as staff officer to the chairman of the Police Service Commission. Mr. Balogun is widely respected in police circles and regarded as the silent achiever.
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Strangers in the house (1)
Indeed strangers are not known neither are they familiar in any well organised community or house. Their presence ignite suspicion and attracts inquisitive questions. Most often, strangers could be angels in disguise, like the biblical strangers that visited Abraham only to turn out that they were messengers from heaven.
Similarly, there are strangers who come specifically to create an impact, while others have nothing to impact on the community. Two very important communities that recently received two, three strangers at the same time are the Nigeria Police and the Defence, being the umbrella body of the army, air force and navy. These security communities were jolted when the President and Commanderr -in -Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu allocated ministries to 45 minister, among whom are Bello Matawalle who was made Minister of State for Defence, and Muhammed Badaru as the Minister of Defence, while Ibrahim Geidam was appointed Minister of Police Affairs.
(To be continued)
