A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has said there are many corrupt Nigerians getting away with corruption with the help of the judiciary.
He stated this in an interview he grantedZero Tolerance, a magazine published by the EFCC.
Reacting to a statement that former Delta Governor, James Ibori, was cleared of corruption by the judiciary in Nigeria, he asked, “How many people have been cleared by our judiciary?
“A judge even said one man should not even be taken to court. So, there are many Nigerians getting away with the help of the judiciary. The judiciary is also part of the challenge. Not to say that all judges are bad, no. There are judges that got a lot of them convicted.
“Even in the case of Ibori, a Federal High Court Judge sent him to prison and kept him there for two and a half months. He was a judge that exhibited unbelievable honesty, integrity, competence and knowledge of the law. He is also a Nigerian, let’s celebrate him and forget the other judge that gave our country a bad name,” he said.
Responding to another question, Ribadu added, “There are worse people than James Ibori in Nigeria. I think probably Ibori was not the smartest one among them. There are some crooks worse than Ibori; and I still see them. Some of them are even being celebrated right now in our country. Some of them are trying to re-write history. Ibori didn’t handle his own criminal affairs smartly, and he ended up paying dearly for it. There are smarter crooks than Ibori, who did more damage to the EFCC; but God will judge them.”
Asked why he prosecuted a former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, the former EFCC boss replied, “Well, the point is that whoever crosses the line will be dealt with; whether a constable or an Inspector- General of Police, it’s the same thing. The solution is not to cross the line.
“When you execute your mandate honestly, you become blind to the position of individuals. Justice is blind. So, Tafa Balogun was my boss as the IGP, but he crossed the line. He did things that were wrong and was brought to our attention, and the law took its course.”
In a separate interview with the magazine, the incumbent EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, said corrupt individuals had developed other means to perpetrate fraud in order to beat prosecution.
He lamented that the anti-graft agency was operating under a tight budget and was impeding some of its activities, especially abroad.
Besides, he said, the operatives of the commission now live in danger because of the desperation of corrupt individuals.
He said, “For example in 2003 up to 2006, we could afford to send people to any part of the country to go and carry out an operation and you will not have fear in terms of safety; but now there are places you can’t go in Nigeria even if you have a serious matter. A reasonable boss will not subject the life of his members of staff to danger unnecessarily by sending him to certain areas.”
Source: Punch
