BEVERLY HILLS, May 30, (THEWILL) – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has stated that it is still investigating the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal, and will act based on the outcome of the probe.
Spokesperson of the agency, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said this on Tuesday during the Channels Forum which brought together experts and policymakers to discuss key issues in the country.
This comes amid questions about the fate of the former SGF who was fired after being indicted for corruption and investigated for the same.
Critics of President Muhammadu Buhari have argued that the failure to prosecute Mr Lawal and other people close to his administration or in his party, the APC, hurts his much-talked-about anti-corruption war.
At the forum, a former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Mr Chidi Odinkalu, brought up the issue, while explaining why he believes the fight against corruption has been discredited.
“I think quite honestly, the war on corruption has been discredited. And I will give you an example just to illustrate it. The Minister of Information goes on record to release a “looters” list. And who are the looters? All of them are undergoing trial,” Odinkalu stated.
“If you are going to put out a list of looters, all of whom are undergoing trial, then just do that for everybody. So, you have to include in that list somebody like Orji Uzo Kalu who is now a close confidante of the President and who is now undergoing trial for allegedly looting Abia State.
“Now, the question people are going to ask is, ‘where is Babachir David?’ ‘Where is Maina?’ ‘Where are the folks who are operating snake farms and buying property in Dubai?’
“When you don’t find those people in court and when tales are being told about people who have been in court for yonks and nothing has happened to them, then you’ve got a credibility crisis with your ‘fighting corruption’. And when you do that, your entire ethical narrative for governance collapses.
“If the Secretary to the Government of the Federation has been investigated by the vice president, the national security adviser and the attorney-general of the federation on the basis of which the President has fired him and you are telling me that that is not authoritative enough to send him to court, there is a problem.
“Something as significant, as important as fighting corruption cannot be sacrificed on the later of political expediency.
“This, really, I think is the problem that people have got with what is said to be fighting corruption. You’ve got to fight it without regard to the political camps people belong,” he added.
Responding, the EFCC spokesperson who confirmed that “the case involving the former secretary to the government of the federation has been investigated by at least two panels before now.
“The matter is on the table of the EFCC. We are currently doing our investigation and at the end of our investigation, if we have credible evidence to take him to court, we will take him to court,” he declared.
