John Shiklam
15 August 2008
interview
Lagos — Former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, is in serious danger. This was the position of the former governor of Kaduna State Alhaji Balarabe Musa who added his voice to the raging controversy on the recent demotion of Ribadu, along with other police officers recently by the Police Service Commission. Musa spoke in a telephone interview with Correspondent, JOHN SHIKLAM in Kaduna.
Several interpretations are being given to the recent demotion of the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and other police officers who were said to have been wrongly promoted without due process. What is your reaction to this?
You know Ribadu and about 140 others were demoted. Talking administratively, one of the two things happened, either those 140 were demoted intentionally for good reasons or then it was decided that Ribadu should be included. On the other hand, may be the intention was to demote Ribadu, and in order to hide it from being seen as an open witch-hunting, those other 140 officers were included.
The second thing is that others should learn from what is happening to Ribadu. He was promoted in the first place so that he could hold onto that position of the chairman of the EFCC, and continue to discharge the responsibilities of the office. He was selected because they thought he will do their bidding. He actually started doing their bidding, but I think later, his conscience must have pricked him and I think he started doing what he ought to do. This did not please those who appointed him, so they wanted to deal with him.
How would you advise Ribadu to handle this kind of problem?
It is very, very difficult to advise him. I think he is in danger. He should know that he is in danger. First, he knows too much, secondly, it will be very uncomfortable for him to remain in the police as Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Are you saying that the best alternative for him is to resign from the police?
If he resigns, then it would be easier for them to deal with him, but of course, they can deal with him no matter the option he goes for. They will deal with him because, like I said, he knows two much. If he lies low like the former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun did, then maybe that will save him. He is really in danger and I think he should know that.
What do you mean by him being in danger?
They could bomb him because he knows too much. Why are they keeping Major Hamza Al-Mustapha in prison all these years? If Ribadu is not careful, they will treat him the way Al-Mustapha is being treated. Al-Mustapha is being treated because he knows too much and he is very articulate. I think the same thing can happen to Ribadu, so he is really in danger.
You know the thieves in this country are very strong, they are in government and they are the government. They are very powerful and they can deal with any body.
It is being insinuated that some of these powerful crooks are behind Ribadu's problems, do you believe that?
Of course yes. Why was he removed from EFCC? Those people who are now in government know that he knows too much about all of them, so they will not leave him. He just has to lie low like Tafa Balogun because when he first appeared in court, remember what he said when he was confronted with some of the allegations. He said it was the tip of the iceberg but there was nothing that was said again. Then the second thing he said about some of the issues was that Obasanjo introduced someone to him, we never heard anything about this anymore. I remember again when he appeared again in court and he thought he had been granted bail and he was going out of the court, but he was mistaken and a policeman, an ordinary police man knocked him and he fell down and put his leg on his neck and Tafa Balogun started shouting saying "Do you want to kill me? Do you want to kill me?"
Now if you remember, as powerful as Balogun was, because he was a danger to them, they were afraid he could spill the beans, they decided to get rid of him. But later, they bargained with him to keep quiet so that they can give him a lesser sentence. In that case, the judiciary was also involved. At the end of the day, in spite of what Balogun was found to have stolen, at least N17 billion in cash, he was sentenced to six months imprisonment, by that time, he had spent four months in detention and after two months, he was set free. Since then, have you heard anything about him? If Ribadu cooperates with them and they bargain with him to keep quiet, they can decide to save him, but he has to lie low like Tafa Balogun . This is what they did with the chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). When they were removed, they started talking, but later, they lay low.
The National Deputy Chairman of the PDP in the South West, Chief Bode George has been arrested by the EFCC. Are you impressed with the new leadership of the Commission?
No. Others who have stronger case than Bode George, what happened to them? Nothing has happened to them. So the matter will just end up like that. Look, as I have always said, this anti-corruption campaign has collapsed. It has been destroyed for the third time in the history of Nigeria . The first time was when Gen. Murtala Mohammed was killed, the second time was when Gen. Mohammadu Buhari was overthrown and now we have the third one and it has collapsed completely. It has died.
Are you saying you don't have confidence in the new chairman of the EFCC?
Well, as a woman, she should be given the benefit of doubt. Let us give her few months and see.
Several probes have indicted former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Do you see the possibility of the new leadership at the EFCC beaming its search light on the former president?
You can say this only when you are assuming that the anti-corruption campaign is alive and genuine. It is dead and it is not genuine, everything is done as a public deception.
So you don't think that the EFCC can arrest Obasanjo to find out some of these allegations against him?
To arrest who? Obasanjo? She cannot because she will rock the boat. She cannot afford to rock the boat because they made her. They put her on the board, so she can't rock the boat.
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Following the nomination of Madam EFCC, the man who institutionalised corruption in Nigeria boldly proclaimed that Abacha never looted public fund, neither did he, Babangida. He must be certain that, having, along with ACF (the custodian of corruption and impunity), removed Ribadu, (his Nemesis), and installed their own woman, no one would ever talk of his loots again. Yet, without dealing with Babangida's loots any talks about rooting out corruption is a non-starter. Balarebe Musa is right. We are likely to see the new EFCC chasing after shadows while real objects remain untouched. We are not deceived by her boasts. The real test is whether or not she will resume the recovery of Abacha's loots and even more importantly, Babangida's. Go after Babangida and the ACF sacred cows, then we will know you are not taking us for a ride. STOCKHOLM
hello nogerians, alhaji balarabe musa is right to some extent, but not totally right. the corrupt rich people are powerful, but the masses are more powerful. anti corruption crusade is temporarily dead, but i assure nigerians, it will ressurrect at the appropriate time. and these are the steps of ressurrection. 1--the EFCC will arrest the crooks and create some loope holes in their charges, so that their legal counsels will cash in on them. from there, they will be freed, through cover ups.don,t forget, the incumbent president has not looted his own. 2--the public anti corruption crusaders, will go to court, and the judges, will in turn, collect their own share of the loot and kill the cases. but the public will be watching. 3--finally,when the public has seen enough and they are angry and hungry, they will adopt a two pronged approach. a/. go on strke to call for justice. b/. the public will eventually take laws into their hands and enforce the recovery, through voilence. the voilence will go to the extent of asking the culprit, to refund the money, or be dead in 30 days, in that way,nobody gets to squander the money. this will happen in nigeria. go write this down somewhere. both the present and past looters of the treasury, will never escape justice. jerry rawlings single handedly, did it in ghana. i stand corrected. when the timing is right, what is happening at MEND, will be a child,s play. i am as usual,capital G.C
Truth is perennial and will eventually be revealed. Now it is getting clearer to any Nigerian with healthy intellect why the present administration actually replaced Ribadu. As pointed out, Ribadu knows too much about the players in this administration due to his former position and the fact that he was discharging his duties as a real PATRIOT. But these people with dirty hands will do anything to get rid of those who stop them from dipping their hands into the state treasury and scooping money in the billions of dollars while using propaganda to not only cover themselves up but also to try to deceptively convince the gullible public ironically that the REAL NIGERIAN PATRIOTS ARE CORRUPT. This makes it difficult and dangerous for any Nigerian who believes and likes to live as a patriot to live in Nigeria. Little wonder why many Nigerians run out to live in foreign countries as soon as any opportunity shows up. Nigeria seems to have now returned to the era of Abacha wherein EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. WILL THIS CONTINUE TILL THE SEAL OF DOOM?