Abuja — The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri, caused a stir in the political circle last week when she declared that her commission has planned to bar some politicians that have been indicted by the anti-graft agency from contesting the next year’s general elections. The EFCC boss also said that her commission is already liasing with other security outfits to stop the indicted politicians from being elected  into public office.

Waziri who made the declaration while receiving board members of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) at the EFCC headquarters said her agency would produce a security report on every candidate that shows interests in the election.
She said  “Based on their security reports, they will be stopped at the right time, there is no way that we will allow the political parties to field corrupt people. Legally, we are empowered to look into some of these issues,” Waziri declared.

To underscore the resolve of her agency she said,  “How do we allow these people to come back and say that they are going to lead us? The world will laugh at us, we see that some of them are already printing posters and I will see how they are going to work that out. We are not going to allow that. We want to ensure that only the proper persons will represent us.”
Although Waziri had stopped short of listing the names of the affected politicians  but she indicated that the commission is already in possession of the list of those to be barred from contesting the 2011 general elections.

However, Waziri’s declaration has thrown panic into the camps of the political parties, which are expressing worries over the new development and are already weighing the implication of the EFCC boss statement on their plan to field some candidates.
Apart from the political parties, political analyst have been coming out with various positions on the issue especially taking into account, what happened during the Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime when some perceived enemies of the administration were persecuted and prevented from contesting the 2007 general elections as a result of their indictment by EFCC under the leadership of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

EFCC had in 2006 announced that 33 out of 36 state governors were being investigated for corruption related offences. Besides, the agency came out with a list of 135 politicians indicted of corrupt practices. the list included  former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Abubakar Hashidu , Dr Chris Ngige, Peter Okocha   Orji Uzor Kalu, Danladi Baido, Rabiu Kwankwaso , Bello Gwandu , Hon. Rotimi Amaechi , Abubakar Audu , Sen. Usman Albishir,  Mahmud Shinkafi Zamfara Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff , Isah Yuguda   Ibrahim Shekarau and  Sen. Bola Tinubu and others.

The list was considered to contain the names of those who were opposed to Obasanjo’s bid to stay in power for third term.
However, based on his indictment for corruption, former Vice president Atiku went to court to challenge EFCC which had earlier indicted him of corruption in the disbursement of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF).
Atiku claimed in  his statement of claims that he ought to have been given a fair hearing by the panel of inquiry and EFCC before his indictment.

The former vice president had alleged in an affidavit deposed before the Abuja Federal High Court to the effect that both the EFCC and the Administrative Panel of Inquiry headed by the former Attorney-General, Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN) that investigated him on the fund breached the principle of audi alteram partem.

He said he was not asked questions on the basis of his indictment and that the rule of natural justice demanded that he be given fair hearing before he could be indicted. The court subsequently dismissed the charges,  noting that the charges were unfairly pursued against Atiku and also noting that they were ‘grossly unconstitutional’ and a ‘deliberate usurpation of the judicial power."
It was believed that the issue of corruption was the major weapon  Obasanjo administration  to deal with the opponents who might have disagreed with him  over political beliefs and state policies.

Specifically, it was believed that the ultimate aim of Obasanjo was to stop the presidential ambition of Atiku using  EFCC under  Ribadu, to execute the project through phony  indictment. According to Section 137 (1) (i) of the 1999 Constitution: "A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if he has been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by a judicial commission of inquiry or an administrative panel of inquiry or a tribunal set up under the tribunals of inquiry act, a tribunals of inquiry law or any other law by the Federal or state government which indictment has been accepted by the Federal or state government respectively."

To underscore the  argument that EFCC then was used as a tool of political persecution, Obasanjo had while flagging off the PDP campaign in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, in 2006 declared that Dr  Olusegun Mimiko (former Housing Minister, now governor of  Ondo State) refused his entreaties to support  governor Olusegun Agagu for second term and  he then threatened him with EFCC arrest.

The statement according to political analysts was an indication  that EFCC under Obasanjo  “was nothing but a willing tool in the hands of Obasanjo. Therefore, all those who will appear on the corruption list of EFCC are those who have disagreed politically with Obasanjo,”

Also it would be recalled that one of the reasons so many elections were cancelled under the 2007 general elections  was the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), nullified the candidature of  some candidates on the basis of the so-called indictment list that was submitted to them by the EFCC.

The Supreme Court had ruled that  indictment does not mean conviction and it is like  condemning  someone who has not been convicted. The  Constitution itself says that you cannot be said to be guilty of an offence until there is a pronouncement of a court to that effect.

However, it is not clear under what law that Waziri wants to stop indicted candidates from contesting since under the amended constitution, only the court of law can disqualify an indicted candidate. Also commenting on the issue, Senator Olorunmibe Mamora said that it is against the principle of human rights to stop a person from participating in what he should participate in. He said that during the  build up towards 2007 election, some powers that be, whether at the state level or at the federal level, were using it (indictment) as a political weapon. “For example, you will recall that the administrative panel that was set up in Abia State in 2007 indicted former President Olusegun Obasanjo and (Senator) Iyabo Obasanjo. “These are people who had nothing to do with Abia State and yet an administrative panel was quickly put in place to indict them. So, we saw it as something that was abused and used as a political weapon against perceived opponents or enemies.”

Many analysts believe that Waziri’s latest outburst is in conflict with the laws which established EFCC and the powers given to it.
According to the analyst, “the power of the EFCC is to investigate, and to prepare for trial, the cases under its jurisdiction. It has no power of enforcement other than the criminal courts. If it feels it has evidence against an individual or groups of individuals it must proceed by instigating criminal proceedings against that person or persons within the framework of the Nigerian Constitution”.
“There is nothing in the law establishing EFCC that  allows it to pronounce on the fitness of any candidate for political office. This is a power it has arrogated to itself.

“If the EFCC has a case to make against any of those it excoriates, it is obliged to bring a case before the courts on the evidence it may have and to allow the justice system to pass on the guilt or innocence of the person under the law.”
There is no gainsaying that Nigerians who have been bruised by decades of corrupt practices on the part of the leaders are yearning morally-upright representatives in the next dispensation but many people are opposed to INEC wielding the big stick on who is eligible or not to contest based on alleged corrupt practices, rather, court and the voters should be left to decide who is morally qualified to represent the people.

According to a legal analyst, Mob Lawole, “  a person may be disqualified if indicted by any of the panels enumerated in Section 137(1)(i), such indictment is subject to review by a court of law including a Magistrate Court.

Also speaking on the issue, foremost legal analyst and  senior advocate of Nigeria, Prof Itse Sagay said, the power of EFCC does not include disqualification of candidates based on alleged corruption charges. "What EFCC can do is to prosecute and leave the decision for the court," he said.

According to Sagay, the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Atiku’s disqualification from the 2007  presidential election by INEC is instructive. The Supreme Court, awarding to Sagay, had ruled  in 2007 that the electoral body or any other body had no power to disqualify candidates.