Boco Edet
27 September 2008
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri says Nigeria in the next couple of years will place 50th position in the assessment of nations with corrupt practices by Transparency International (TI). Mrs. Waziri made the promise when she played host to the Program Manager of Transparency International Middle East/ Africa, Doris Baisler at the headquarters of the Commission, yesterday.
According to her, one of the challenges the commission is facing is "interference and bias from people who want to decide for you who you should arrest or should not arrest. It is the Nigerian system and I have come to understand it but I have learnt that if you operate within the rule of law then there is no problem. My job is to look at the facts before me and if I feel there is a case then I pursue it. Nobody can influence me," she said.
Mrs Waziri also said the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation did not interfere with operation of the agency. She said the relationship with the IG was based on the fact that the bulk of the officers and men of the Mobile Policemen, who work and provide security at the EFCC headquarters were drawn from the police. "Having worked in the Nigeria Police Force, I have a personal knowledge of the officers and men. Based on this experience, I requested for the release of those with track records to us. The IG-P does not and cannot impose anybody on us," she said. Waziri also said the Attorney General and Minister of Justice had a constitutional role in the affairs of the commission in the prosecution of those being charged to court.
The EFCC chief said given the peculiar circumstances of Nigerian culture with extended family system, "there have been challenges with appeals from several quarters when people are arrested. What we do is to look at the facts and evidence in doing our work. Indeed, this has been more straight forward because of the presidential emphases on the rule of law and due process,"' she added.
The EFCC boss also alerted the nation of a new wave of hijacking of persons invited for interrogation by the commission. She said the commission had received reports of people being hijacked before getting to the EFCC headquarters by those she described as crooks. "These crooks pose as EFCC officers, intercept those invited and extort money from them," she said.
In the latest survey by TI, Nigeria ranks 121st position out of 180 countries assessed in its Corruption Perception Index (CPI). This is an improvement from the last report where Nigeria occupied 147th position. Other Countries on the same position with Nigeria are Viet Nam, Sao Tome and Principe and Nepal with a CPI score of 2.7.
The EFCC Chair said if this feat is to be achieved, the anti-graft agency must be built as an enduring institution and not around personalities who co-ordinate her affairs. She fell back on the controversy that greeted her appointment as chairman saying, " when I was appointed there were so many problems I encountered but I am bent on ensuring they do not happen again especially for whoever will pick up the mantle after me."
She said EFCC is working closely with other Intelligence gathering bodies outside Nigeria like the French Government, Interpol and Scotland to enable the commission meet international standards. Mrs. Waziri said the EFCC was also making efforts to re-orientate Nigerians at the grassroots to become "whistle blowers" so government officials can be held accountable when they fall short of their responsibilities.
She said: "They should report people who spend their tax payers' money. People lack the basic amenities and to show our seriousness in this regard we got records from the Federal Ministry of Finance and were able to trace some colossal sums of money that were to be used for projects that were never executed."
Doris Baisler said Nigeria's improvement on the TI survey "might be a sign of hope" but is not enough reason to rejoice as corruption is still a big issue in the country. Baisler advised the Federal Government to strengthen anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria and outline clearly the mandate of each body so there is no clash of interest. "Corruption should not be seen as the responsibility of Government or the anti-corruption agencies but we should all feel a sense of responsibility and combine efforts to build a strong integrity system," she said. She reiterated the support of TI in playing a role in the fight against corruption through the implementation of some projects in Nigeria.
"We would be monitoring budgets in the educational sector at the local levels and identify what sectors seem to be most affected with corrupt practices," she said. Osita Nnamani, an official of Transparency International in Nigeria noted that the EFCC act does not meet international standards and advised that "an enabling law to make EFCC very strong."
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