Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has announced the dismissal of two officials over alleged corruption.
Speaking on Tuesday at the annual criminal law review
conference organised by the Rule of Law Development Foundation in Abuja,
Olukoyede said the staff were sacked two weeks ago.
He said the commission is undergoing significant reforms,
including addressing staff misconduct.
Olukoyede challenged Nigerians to come forward if they had
evidence of him receiving bribes.
“Just two weeks ago, I have cause to dismiss two staff. You
can’t be fighting corruption and your hands are dirty,” Olukoyede said.
“He who comes to equity, your hands must also be cleaned.
And I say I will not only be dismissing them, I will also be prosecuting them
because that is what we prosecute others for.
“So, you will see that we are preparing the case files of
some of the people we have dismissed.
“If an EFCC staff will not be able to stand publicly with
his two hands up and challenge the entire public… whose goat have I collected?
Whose bottle of water have I taken illegitimately?”
“And I have said this to Nigerians; who has ever given me
one kobo in the course of my work, come out and say it. I stand to be
challenged.
“I can’t be easily influenced by things like that. That’s
why we must make up our minds to work together to do the right thing.
“Any staff that is corrupt, I will show you the way out.
Again, there are some people who may want to be overzealous. Out of 12, you
must have Judas.
“I can’t stand here and say all is perfect. As many as you
see, report them to us and we will do justice.”
Olukoyede shared his personal experience of being
investigated for two years while serving as the commission’s secretary.
“I am not just sitting there as chairman of EFCC. I have
been on the other side,” he said.
“I have been subjected to investigation myself for two
years. So I know what it means to subject people to investigations.
“My major objective is to use the instrumentality of this
mandate to stimulate the economy and to also follow the rule of law.
“Integrity is not about law, it is not about your advocacy
ability to write beautiful briefs. No.
“It is about law and morality. Your conscience must tell you
to do the right thing. That is what integrity is all about.
“Finally, ethics, value and standard of legal practice must
also be reviewed. These are essential to me because the job of EFCC is to
ensure that corruption does not find space in our national life.”
Olukoyede said he welcomes constructive criticism of the
agency, emphasising that he is not opposed to scrutiny.
“But let us do it in a responsible way. What do we benefit
from running down our institutions? If you notice EFCC is doing anything wrong,
come to us,” he said.
“We will sit down and I will explain some reformed agenda we
are carrying out. Upon my resumption of office, we have put some reformed
agenda in place.
“We have reviewed our arrest and detention policy. I have
had cause to investigate a whole ministry; minister, directors and all of that
without detaining anybody over night.
“And I got all the information I needed and the matter is
going on fine without detaining a single soul.
“But that does not preclude that if there is the need to
detain, we do not detain. We have also had cause to equip all our interrogation
rooms in compliance with judgment of court.”
’CHARGES LIMITED TO
15 COUNTS’
Olukoyede said the EFCC no longer files “100-count or
150-count charges” which were common in the past.
The chairman said no prosecution should exceed a 15-count
charge under his directive.
“If your case is water tight, that is why I will never rush
to court until I am sure of my proof of evidence,” he added.
“I vet case files myself, particularly high-profile cases,
and the lawyer must give me a draft of the charge.
“We will look at it together, compared with my proof of
evidence, sleep over it before I give my go-ahead.
“If we are losing a case, it shouldn’t be on grounds of lack
of diligent prosecution.
“If there are other technical issues, fine. But I will be
sure that I have done my job and it’s done in such a way that I can defend long
after I leave office.”
Joseph Daudu, coordinator of the foundation, said the
conference aims to provide a platform for reviewing developments in crime
apprehension, prosecution, adjudication, and other post-adjudicatory processes.
On November 15, the Supreme Court dismissed a suit filed by
16 states challenging the constitutionality of the EFCC Act.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Uwani Abba-Aji, who led a
seven-member panel of justices, ruled that “the EFCC Act, which is not a treaty
but a convention, does not need the ratification of the houses of assembly”.
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Former Kogi State gov matter which the EFCC Chairman promised to take action and all the drama that followed is still unattended to. Has the big fish compromised the EFCC Chairman? Nigerians wish to know.
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