The Transparency In Government Initiative (TGI), a network of anti Corruption NGOs has advised Nigerians to disregard the vituperations of Femi Falana who railed against the National Assembly and the Department of State Services for revealing only the tip of the iceberg on the monumental corruption, extortion .human rights abuses and impunity going in the EFCC under the watch of Ibrahim Magu.
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Speaking on behalf of the network at a press briefing in Port Harcourt, Messers Chinedu Nwankwo, (Convener) Ogaba Ochefu (National Secretary) and Obaiton Musa (Publicity Secretary),maintained that any attempt to ridicule or impugn the integrity of the National Assembly, the arm of Government that defines democracies will be an invitation to anarchy. The group threatened to expose the schemes whereby Falana has corruptly benefited from various heads of the EFCC by acting as intermediary for massive rewards for interventions in high profile matters, on account of his false perception as a vocal anti Corruption crusader, when he is indeed profiteering from the fight against Corruption by currying favours from every head of the EFCC since the time of Ribadu and Waziri.
While maintaining that they are in full support of the war against corruption and exposing all underhand dealings of some high profile individuals, the group however said corrupt that must be fought in keeping with the rule of law and due process, and through the nurturing of strong institutions and not by arbitrariness and impunity.
The group frowned against the exploitation of the war for material gains by IPOs and criminal gangs, while alleging a whole industry of corruption has grown around the EFCC under Magu.
While noting that they are also aware that a lot of members of the National Assembly are not also without blame, the anti corruption network disclosed that the law and our constitution has assigned certain roles to them, and they are not the ones currently on trial at the moment.
The group disclosed that Falanas flippant dismissal of the DSS and the senate is because he has no pecuniary benefit from defending them and believes that the masses are not on their side, as he always pretends to be on the side of the masses.
Can he account for his superfluous wealth only from legal briefs as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria?.Is he not receiving money corruptly by underhand dealings on corruption cases? Is FALANA not aware that suspects are paying missives bribes to IPO”s in order to either have their charges reduced, or simply from avoidance of the negative image and trauma that an EFCC trial is designed to bring on suspects. Is he not aware of the massive bribes paid to EFCC Lagos office under one Iliasu Kwabai by many banks and their MD’s to settle issues of Diezani and other loots? ls that the kind of agency that should fight corruption in a transparent manner to earn the respect of Nigerians? The group queried.
We advise Falana and the likes of Prof. Itse Sagay to rather call for the resignation of Magu and setting up of a commission for a wholistic investigation into the affairs of EFCC under the tenure of Ibrahim Magu. This enquiry should offer witnesses protection to volunteer information on how they were threatened to part with huge amounts of money and locked up with renewable court orders until they settled the IPOs.
Continuing the group stated that the media was also commissioned by these IPOs to give such cases huge publicity and pronounce suspects guilty before trial and queried, Is the EFCC a court of law? Working in tandem with the media include a cascade of Magu sponsored NGOs including CACOL, SERAP etc to demonize and harass critics of the EFCC.
Look at the show of ignorance and lack of articulation that Magu displayed in the senate screening; is that the calibre of officer that should head such an important Government agency like the EFCC? .A man who doesn’t know how much the organization has recovered yet he is an accountant. Why won’t there be re-looting of the recovered loot in such circumstances where the head doesn’t keep records!
The fight against Corruption is not physical but mental and calls for someone with a high IQ and adequate formal education. Not someone who doesn’t understand that he even reports by law to the Attorney General, the chief law officer of the Federation .Someone who sees the fight against Corruption as a lucrative business and where there is broad day-light robbery and extortion of suspects just because gullible Nigerians have been whipped into an anti corruption frenzy by the media- where any suspect is assumed guilty and any treatment is accepted by the populace.
The group equally called on President Buhari to sack and investigate Magu and send a replacement immediately to the National Assembly. Magu has failed to build any structures in the EFCC and runs the place like a one man business, where everything begins and ends with him. No wonder he has lost control of the IPOs and the various atrocities they are committing in his name. The group also warned Falana to stop misleading Nigerians just because he is a loquacious lawyer or risk full exposure of his corrupt dealings, maintaining that he is not even that sound as a lawyer.
