It appears that war on corruption is gradually coming back to life after years of inaction under former president, Goodluck Jonathan. Former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido and two of his sons was recently arraigned before Kano High Court on fraud and money laundering charges. They were granted bail few days ago. Same thing happened to former governor of Imo State, Mr. Ohakim. Former head of civil the service, Steve Oronsaye was also arraigned on fraud and embezzlement charges and was granted bail recently. These are high profile cases.
It is noteworthy that the crime these individuals were arraigned for were committed under previous governments. Some of the governors could not be arrested because they had immunity and could not be prosecuted while in office. To be fair, Sule Lamindo’s son was arrested and arraigned during President Jonathan’s administration but their father had immunity.
The question that must be addressed is why are these arrests and arraignments happening now? How did same Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) under same chairman during last administration suddenly made a U-turn by vigorously prosecuting these high profile cases. Why did EFCC suddenly woke up from their slumber. The obvious answer is because we now have a new president who is interested in waging real war on corruption. EFCC chairman was either pushed by the new government to step up the fight on corruption or the chairman now feels that this president shares his view and will not punish or restrain him from prosecuting these individuals.
It is clear that the current chairman of EFCC was not able to carry out his job responsibilities due to interference by the executive branch primarily the former president and his attorney general. If same EFCC chairman appears to be doing what he was not able to do under previous administration, one can safely conclude that there is a structural flaw in the system that must be addressed.
The structural flaw in the system appears to be interference by the executive branch who can tie the hands of the anti-corruption organization by preventing them from carrying out their job responsibilities. I have heard one of the EFCC prosecutors say that all Mr. Buhari need to do is to tell EFCC chairman to go and do his job and not consult him or his attorney general on any arrest or prosecution. What the whole scenario points to is that the inherent flaw in the system must be addressed by the new government so EFCC can do they job without interference, irrespective of the wish of the sitting president at the time and his or her attorney general. It is also true that EFCC in some cases often fails to conduct thorough investigation and gather evidence that will stand up in court. They have lost some of their high profile cases due to lack of convincing evidence.
The inherent structural failure in the system can be corrected by moving EFCC out of the executive branch to a neutral body. These body should be in charge of appointing EFCC chairman or recommend 3 nominees which the president must choose from subject to senate confirmation. Independent EFCC that is free of political inference by the executive branch will ensure that war on corruption will be ongoing irrespective of the wishes of the president in power. Presidents come and go but the institution they left behind is what matters in the long run. Moving EFCC out of the executive branch will take away reoccurring accusation of selective prosecution. If president Buhari wants to make effectively fight corruption, he should make sure that EFCC is moved out of the executive branch. Moving this important organization out of the executive branch is the only way to make sure that corruption can be stamped out by him and his suscessors. Trying to manage the situation will only be a band aid. The lasting legacy of president Buhari’s presidency will be the reform of existing institutions that are under-performing due to interference from other branches of the government.
Merging of EFCC and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) as proposed by President Buhari is a great idea. It is an unnecessary duplication of functions. However, any organization is as good as the leader. Former chairman of EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu was so effective in carrying out his job responsibilities that Nigerians came to regard EFCC as the premier anti-corruption body in the country. EFFCC must have presence and offices in all the states and all the Local government Areas throughout the country in-order to reach all corners of the land. EFCC’s presence in all parts of the country on an ongoing basis will make would be embezzler or others who are thinking of engaging in any type of corruption think twice before doing so. The police should also be reformed and trained to be part of this effort.