By Sunny Anderson Osiebe...
Corruption, like a tentacled monster
has had a ubiquitous grip on every institutional frame work of the nation for
years. However the unprecedented fight against corruption championed by the
President Buhari in this administration is unquestionable. Hon. Kayode Oladele
who himself is an anti- corruption crusader and Chairman, House Committee on
Financial Crimes, in this interview with Anderson Osiebe commends the
President’s effort and political will in leaving no stone unturned in the fight
against corruption. He also sheds light on the misconceptions surrounding the
anti-corruption crusade of this administration and its anti-graft agencies as
well as the gains of the crusade among others. Excerpts:
How would you assess the anti-corruption war as being
prosecuted by the Buhari administration, given that the President has spent a
year in office? Is the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) right to say that they have been the sole targets of the anti-corruption
agencies?
I can tell you that never in the
history of the country have we fought corruption the way the president is
doing. One of the things that have made the anti-corruption fight under the
current administration different is that there is a clear show of political
will from the leadership. No one is in doubt that he has the will, the passion
to fight corruption. Also in the past one year, we in the National Assembly
have played an important role by supporting the president's fight against
corruption. You will recall that part of our legislative agenda is to fight
corruption and to also effectively collaborate with the Executive in this
regard. The Speaker of the House and all members are united on the need to
confront corruption. How have we gone about this? We have used the
instrumentality of the budget. If you look at the 2016 Appropriation Bill
signed into law by the president, especially the monies appropriated to anti-corruption
agencies, the EFCC to be precise is different from that of the previous years.
This is to ensure that it enjoys some financial autonomy, that it has
sufficient funds to discharge its functions. In the budget, we provided the
agency with funds to complete its head office, so that it can stop renting
offices like they have done in the past 13 years. EFCC spends as much as N20
million per year on rent alone. We are also mindful of the fact that EFCC is
involved in work that exposes them to danger, so provided life insurance for
staff of the agency in the 2016 Budget. And for the first time, the agency is also
embarking on recruitment in an unprecedented manner. The vacancies have been advertised.
More importantly, in terms of legislation, so many Bills are being looked into
by the National Assembly. For example, the President has sent money laundering
bill. There is also the amendment bill on the EFCC Act which has reached the
public hearing stage. We have the Mutual Legal Assistance Bill which is also
before the National Assembly and Civil Assets Forfeiture Bill. These are Bills the
National Assembly is looking into with the view of assisting the
anti-corruption agencies, particularly the EFCC in doing its work.
On the issue that the PDP has been
the target of the anti-corruption agencies, we have to be careful with what we
say in order not to water down the enormity of the crisis the country is facing
as a result of the 16 years misrule of the PDP. It was the PDP that governed
the country for 16 years, so it is the years of running government that will be
looked into. But as I always say, if there is any allegation of wrongdoing
against anybody in the APC, people should feel free to call on the
anti-corruption agencies to look into it.
There were grave allegations leveled against the former EFCC
boss, Ibrahim Larmode, over the management of seized monies including those in
offshore accounts. Many expressed worry that the new EFCC boss, Ibrahim Mangu
being a junior colleague to Larmode might not be able to investigate him, what
has your committee done about these allegations?
I believe that as a journalist, you
should also be concerned about the person who leveled the
allegations. I think that it is right we ask ourselves questions when
allegations are leveled against anyone. The media needs to be more circumspect.
The man that made those allegations at the time was George Uboh. He made the allegations
at the same time that he was standing trial for fraud. He was actually charged
to Court by Larmode because of the Police equipment fraud matter. It is the
same individual who had served a seven year jail term in the United States.
Recently too, he was jailed in Nigeria for three years. So who is corrupt? The
man he wrote petition against? It is simply a case of corruption fighting back.
You will also recall that when the current EFCC chairman appeared before my
committee, he was asked a similar question and he said there was no truth to
the allegations.
What is your take on the president's response to Prime
Minister David Cameron describing Nigeria as fantastically corrupt? President
Buhari simply asked the UK Government to assist in ensuring that the monies
stashed or invested in England by corrupt Nigerians are returned. How do you
think we can do a proper follow-up to this?
I have to give it to the president.
He reacted the same way my father would react, given the circumstances. He must
have thought that in that situation, the end would justify the means. He
probably was thinking that, 'you can call me any name you wish', but
return my money". But definitely, my reaction would have been different.
For me, the statement was uncalled for, unwarranted, reckless and very
demeaning to the image of the country. Of course the President reacted like any
peace loving person would. But also that response was a loaded statement because
we know in our society; it is not just the person that steals but the receiver
of the stolen goods is not also free.
How much has been fleeted away and how much has been
recovered? Are you satisfied with the way the returned monies are declared?
You see, when it comes to the amount
of money that has been recovered. When Nuhu Ribadu came in, there were
some recoveries regarding the Abacha loot and it was returned to the government
purse. Then, under Farida Waziri and Lamorde, there were recoveries also. I
have to tell you that when money is recovered, it is not kept in order for us
to say, this or that amount is what we recovered in the past ten years. They
are returned into the federation account and injected into the economy. But I
know that since Mangu came in, I know that at least we have recovered well over
three billion USD and we are still counting. I believe that the President is in
a better position to speak on this and very soon he will be making broadcast
and am sure he will tell Nigerians what has been recovered.
Do you think the EFCC has conducted itself in a manner
that shows that it respects the Rule of Law, under the Buhari administration?
There have been cases where accused persons are being re-arrested immediately
they are granted bail, there has been allegations by Former President Goodluck
Jonathan's cousin that he is being coerced into making incriminating statements
against the former president. What is your take?
There are misconceptions of the
granting of bail to persons and the consequences of granting an accused
person bail. Yes, EFCC can re-arrest somebody after been granted bail, based on
fresh evidence. For example, if a person was charged to court based on the
allegation that he stole five million dollars and he is granted bail, based on
application for bail. Meanwhile, investigations continued even as the case
continued in court and there are new revelations of another amount that is fresh
evidence that has nothing to do with the case in court. The accused can be
re-arrested based on the fresh evidence.
Can you confirm whether or not your Committee is in receipt
of the audited account of EFCC?
We are trying our best and we are
going to do everything possible to ensure that the EFCC is also accountable to
our committee being the Representatives of our people. There's a general saying
that who is policing the police? Policing the police in this context means
that, we as members of the Committee on financial crimes in the House of
Representatives together with our Colleagues in the Senate are doing everything
possible to hold the EFCC accountable to the people.
Annual Report?
On the issue of the annual report,
I'm aware that the Commission do lay before the National Assembly every year,
may be around October or so, it's annual report in accordance with the law
because what the law says is that every year the Commission should present to
the National Assembly its annual report, whether it is audited or not audited
is a different thing. But at least the law says that they must present an
annual report. And from what I understand, most of the time it is audited
annual report. We are going to ensure that what they present this year will
also be the audited annual report.
Dump site
Number two, on the issue of the dump
site, dump sites easily create little confusion, and I will tell you why. Most
of the vehicles that are dumped or put at the dump sites are items/exhibits
that were seized from individuals EFCC is investigating. EFCC does not have the
power to dispose off a property until there's a conviction. So if EFCC seizes a
property from somebody or a vehicle and they put it there, they do not have the
power to dispose off that vehicle until there's a conviction. Because that
person might be acquitted and if he's acquitted, definitely, he will be made to
go away with his items. But the problem we have is that, most of the people
from whose hands that these vehicles were seized have ran away. They don't have
any interest in claiming those vehicles again and those who even have interests
in claiming those vehicles also delay their own trials in courts for years. As
I said earlier when somebody is delaying, the vehicles are getting rotten, but
the EFCC is incapacitated because they are waiting for a decision, whether convicted
or acquitted. If he's convicted then there will be a forfeiture order by the
court, then they will forfeit the property to the Government or the victims of
his action. But if that person is acquitted of course, all his property will be
released to him. So when you see them there, some of them are subjects of
litigation and these cases are unending, and because they're unending, they
have not reached conclusion, the EFCC is powerless and they cannot do anything.
We also know that a sizeable number of them belong to people that have ran away, that are no longer interested in claiming them. So what we want to do is this, my Committee is planning to have an oversight visit to the dump sites. What you see in Abuja that you're talking about is a child's play compared to what they have in Lagos. As a matter of fact, what you have in Abuja is like a quarter of the dump site in Lagos, another very big dump site is in Port Harcourt. As a matter of fact, there's a ship there that is sinking already. Because it's been on one point for a long time and it's sinking. It's a seized ship from an accused person. So we want to visit these areas and without any attempt to pre-empt what we want to do, we have some plans to decongest the place and by the time we come back from the oversight visit if you come for another round of interview, I will tell you what is going to happen.
We also know that a sizeable number of them belong to people that have ran away, that are no longer interested in claiming them. So what we want to do is this, my Committee is planning to have an oversight visit to the dump sites. What you see in Abuja that you're talking about is a child's play compared to what they have in Lagos. As a matter of fact, what you have in Abuja is like a quarter of the dump site in Lagos, another very big dump site is in Port Harcourt. As a matter of fact, there's a ship there that is sinking already. Because it's been on one point for a long time and it's sinking. It's a seized ship from an accused person. So we want to visit these areas and without any attempt to pre-empt what we want to do, we have some plans to decongest the place and by the time we come back from the oversight visit if you come for another round of interview, I will tell you what is going to happen.
What is your Committee's plan to address backlog of cases
lined up on political exposed persons (PEP) being tried by EFCC that are no
more made public?
As I said earlier on in this
interview, the criminal justice system is a big factor and the President also
understands that problem, that even if EFCC finish their investigation and
charge the case to court, the bulk does not stop at the EFCC desk, it is left
to the Judiciary to do its work. And you know that some of these people are
very powerful. Some of them have many SAN defending them, they frustrate cases.
But what's the way forward?
There will be special courts and I
think when we have that, it might go a long way to quickly expedite action. I
hope the President would approve that. I know there's recommendation for that.
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