Former Delta state governor, and
convicted money launderer, James Ibori, was never Nigeria’s worst
plunderer of state wealth. He may only have been less smart.
Far worse
official thieves are walking free today, and are celebrated as heroes,
former head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu
Ribadu, has said.
“There are worse people than James Ibori
in Nigeria. Probably, he was not the smartest one among them, but there
are some crooks worse than James and I still see them. Some of them are
even being celebrated right now in our country,” Mr Ribadu said in a
recent interview with Zero Tolerance, a magazine published by the EFCC’s
media unit.
Mr. Ibori is serving a 13-year jail
sentence in the UK after a Southwark Crown Court 9 in London, on April
17, 2012, found him guilty of stealing and laundering billions of naira
of Delta state money.
The former governor, who led Delta state
between 1999 and 2007, was first investigated by the EFCC under Mr.
Ribadu and later, under Farida Waziri.
Mr. Ribadu’s unceremonious exit from the
post was largely blamed on the Ibori case as the former governor was a
major backer of the then president, Umaru Yar’adua.
The case soon went cold after Mr.
Ribadu’s removal, amid allegations Mr. Ibori was shielded by the
government with the support of the EFCC. Mrs Waziri, who took over from
Mr. Ribadu, has denied that claim in a separate interview with the same
magazine.
She said it was her pursuit of Mr. Ibori
that forced him out of the country to the United Arab Emirate, where he
was eventually arrested and repatriated to Britain to face charges.
The Ibori case stirred further
controversy after former President Olusegun Obasanjo told the same EFCC
magazine that Mrs Waziri was appointed on Mr. Ibori’s recommendation.
Again, Mrs Waziri denied that claim.
While Mr. Ribadu is widely regarded as
the best hand yet to have headed the anti-graft agency, his critics say
he was manipulated by Mr. Obasanjo to go after the former president’s
political enemies. In his interview, Mr. Obasanjo dismissed that
suggestion and spoke highly of him and his achievements, but scathingly
faulted Mrs. Waziri.
Mr. Ribadu said there were and still
are, smarter criminals who did more damage to the fight against
corruption in Nigeria than Mr. Ibori.
He said while he fought corruption
passionately and diligently, he never took the effort personal as he
strove to do only what was expected of him as a law enforcement officer.
He also said there were people who he
investigated and brought to justice who attempted to do more damage to
him than the former Delta governor.
“James was not different from all
others; and while doing this type of work, they will fight you back. I
have seen a lot of fighting back all my life, and that of James was not
as bad as the others. His own was very public that is why. There are
those that even attempted to kill me who are still out there. This is
the type of work that when you do, you must expect a thing like that,”
Mr. Ribadu said.
He criticised some judges, while also
commending others. He said many criminals in Nigeria escape justice with
the connivance of some judges. He said while Mr. Ibori was acquitted of
170 charges by a judge, another Federal High Court Judge “sent him to
prison for two and a half months”.
Tafa Balogun arrest
Mr. Ribadu, now a stalwart of the
opposition, All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Presidential flag
bearer of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in the 2011
election, also explained the circumstances that led to the arrest and
prosecution of a former Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun. He
said the former IGP “crossed the line”.
“Whoever crosses the line will be dealt
with, whether a constable or an IGP, it is the same thing. The solution
is not to cross the line,” he said.
He said he arrested the former IGP
because he had to execute a mandate honestly, and to do that he had to
be blind to the position of an individual because justice is blind.
Mr. Balogun was arrested by operatives
of the EFCC on March 28, 2005 and was charged with eight count
indictment of corruption. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was
sentenced to six months in prison.
He was also ordered to pay a fine of N4
million while N20 billion in cash and some properties were seized by the
Federal Government.
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Please Mr. Rimbaud, give names and let Nigerians start dealing with them. I really haven't seen any dividend of this democracy in Nigeria other than breeding corruptions and freedom of looting. From their generations to generations, God will surely punish those who hold Nigeria hostage.
ReplyDeleteHow many thieves did u catch as the EFCC chairman? You were nothing but a witch hunting tool.
ReplyDeleteSo you know them but you will not give them up and expose then?
ReplyDeleteMr Ribadu,u are not smarter than Ibori.A time will come for your arrest also.You thieves,thunder strike all of una family
ReplyDeleteRibadu, thru out your tenure as EFCC Boss, how many people did u convict. Your were hired to secure OBJ second and possibly 3rd term which God did not allow. You only chased those OBJ percieved as his political enemies. When Ghana must-go bags was brought out on the floor of National Assembly as bride given by oga at the top to influence NASS did you do anything? You looked away. Tell Nigeria, any person you covicted or arrested who was not Baba political enemy then. Your job scope ended in chasing only Baba's contenders away. Tell us milestone gained in fighting corruption during your era in EFCC? The people you call corrupt now, were they not corrupt while you were still in office, what did you do? Will u please allow us hear something. Waziri scored far above you in fighting corruption, check records. No supporter of OBJ was touch by you then, even when their case was obvious. Please stop, we are not fools. You owe GEJ thanks for letting of hook from corruption charges against, which was the reason you ran out of the country. When your fellow Northern was in power, Yar'dua, you and former Abuja Minister ran away due to corruption charges against you. Now you open your mouth to insult Nigerians. You did not achieve anything while there as EFCC Czar, now you are looking for somebody to blame. If corruption is so bad in this country you should be blamed because you set a very wrong precedent, by turning EFCC to a political tool to clamp down on only political enemies of your employer, nothing more. You were largely used by Oga-at-the-top to just do that.
ReplyDelete