By Fareedah Bala Abubakar
I read a statement by some Civil Society Organizations who called out the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for allegedly shielding perceived friends of the system and unfairly persecuting those in the bad books. They made particular reference to the series of past and fresh petitions against a former Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, over alleged multiple cases of monumental corruption, which the EFCC has ignored.
It was indeed a wake up call for Nigerians, who have allowed politicians or public officials that should be scrutinised for embarrassing corrupt practices distract them with propaganda of corruption allegations usually levelled against perceived enemies of those who contributed to their appointments.
The truth is that the same people who are the enemies of this country have weaponised poverty in a way that it no longer just beclouds the judgments of the illiterates and very vulnerable, but also makes a mess of whatever degrees some of those that are supposed to be enlightened might have garnered over the years. Sometimes, you see otherwise educated individuals comment about critical issues on social media platforms and you wonder which school they passed through as they strive to defend the peanuts they are offered to sell their conscience and plunge the nation into deeper mess. To them, black can actually be white so long as that is the sound that must come out of the trumpet that has been provided by their paymasters.
One critical leg of ensuring good governance, especially in Nigeria – fight against corruption at all levels – has suffered so much as a result of this. It is indeed a shame that as central power changes, those that have been rightly or wrongly tagged super corrupt politicians suddenly become saints chasing after foes from the previous administration or potential threats to their future ambitions. Most times, however, the head of the administration may be immune from the plots and counterplots, but those known as regime cabals, who are mainly kleptocrats, to use the word of a serving Senator, play their cards so devilishly that one would wonder if there would be no tomorrow.
Unfortunately, where there is a genuine fight against corruption, these men who apparently desperately set the anti-graft agencies, particularly the EFCC, against their political enemies cannot walk the streets free. There are facts to back this but specifics would be a topic for another day.
To start with, however, if students of history won’t be that lazy to do a meaningful research, it would not be hard to count scores of super corrupt appointees that have been saddled with responsibilities at variance with their appalling levels of integrity. You find them everywhere, even in EFCC.
While many have been made to believe the monstrous narratives being peddled directly or indirectly by the EFCC against a former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, for instance, it is heartening to note that not a few Nigerians are able to read in between the lines to see the glaring oppression and political persecution of a perceived alien in Nigeria’s Almighty political formula.
I went back to check all what they have turned upside down through fifth columnists and deliberate mischief. I found so many reasons to call on well meaning Nigerians to stand with this citizen against brazen oppression by a few that are currently playing god in the corridors of power today.
The young man, Bello was never invited officially by EFCC, no letter of invitation has been produced till date by the Commission. His media office confirmed this and the Commission never refuted the claim other than the ignoble talk of verbal invitation through the backdoor. Many letters of invitation for former governors and ministers alike are on the internet in case anyone is unclear about what this means. Yet, the Commission laid siege with dozens of operatives on Bello’s residence as though he had been invited and refused to honour the invitation or like a person guilty of treason.
Second, even if the Commission had not erred with the no-invitation scenario, the former governor had a restraining order which ought to have been obeyed by a Commission which itself is a creation of the law. But no, the reality in Nigeria is that there is a law for the friend of the system and another for the foe.
We should count how many people have this restraining order and how many were treated like Yahaya Bello. Former Governor of Nasarawa State, Bello Matawalle, had a restraining order that was not even challenged, against a fraud allegation to the tune of N70bn . He is walking free today despite the brouhaha that greeted the case during the Abdulrasheed Bawa administration. Of course Bawa, the prosecutor, not long after that, became a prime suspect of corruption. We will hold our breath, waiting for a safe landing or otherwise for the current Chairman. The same cane used to beat the first wife will sooner than later be used on the new bride. Mind you, a number of politicians have also secured such restraining orders, which were obeyed to the letter. So who is the freeborn and who is the captive?
In Yahaya Bello’s case, the EFCC even tried to vacate that order but were refused and so went on appeal. As if they were power drunk, or in a way that looked like they were trying hard to impress key interests, they began to engage in series of missteps, right from the beginning by not even waiting for the outcome of the Appeal Court hearing before taking laws into their hands. And people asked: why the hurry? Why the desperation?
While a substantive judgment had been given, the EFCC still went to get a counter order from a court of coordinate jurisdiction despite the clear judgment that he shouldn’t be arrested. On the same day an order of substituted service was given, he was declared wanted with all sorts of oppressive pronunciations. I don’t want to focus on why anyone is after him but I want to echo the stance of those who have said this looks nothing like prosecution but persecution with underlying concerns that his life may be in danger.
When one looks at the desperation of some embittered Kogi politicians shouting ethnic agenda, who would dine with the devil to hang Bello out to dry with all manner of unfounded allegations, the real motive for the unwarranted and most unfair defamation may become clearer.
Even the judge presiding over the Yahaya Bello case, each time appears to be afraid of the power drunk counsels of the EFCC who talk down on colleagues and even hand down orders to the judge as if he were on their payroll. Yet, it is not hard to notice the toga of ‘we have backers’ in their actions as they treat Nigerians to embarrassing drama, and expose the judge to scrutiny in terms of perceived bias. It could even be that in his closet, the judge would know that he has been pushed into miscarriage of justice more than twice in the so-called money laundering case.
It is still unclear how the judge would rule that the defendant must be in court before he attends to preliminary objections bordering on jurisdiction and even on the issue of substituted service. What we understood was that the sitting of May 10 was supposed to be for ruling on these objections, only for the court that had not asked for the presence of the defendant to do a 360 degrees turnaround to accuse him of disrespecting the court. Boom, opposition members joined the cabals to unleash their attack dogs and shopped frantically for questionable CSOs to distort the narrative and make the victim look like the oppressor.
When one walks with the law in Nigeria, he is supposed to be protected, not the other way round. Umaru Ganduje, to the best of my knowledge, has no immunity. His state has levelled over N50bn fraud allegations against him. Mind you, the head of the anti-graft agency of the state, who he appointed, made this claim. However, today, Ganduje is a saint o, next to the holy prophets, in this administration, despite the embarrassing Gandollar saga that has not been laid to rest. What has EFCC done? They have looked the other way! The Bible says “touch not my anointed”.
Thrice he was to be arraigned for fraud, alongside his wife, before a Kano High Court, thrice he has ignored the courts. In all, he has shunned the court about five times, according to the CSOs. Heavens did not fall. At some point, he didn’t even dignify the court with counsels. No one is threatening to bring the country down over that. In fact, the court has even ruled that his trial would continue without his presence. Another veritable case of one law for the friend, another for the foe!
No one is saying Yahaya Bello is a saint. By all means, public officials must account for their actions while in office. But they are in court, and the law should take its course. All these giri giri, kiti kiti, kata kata are becoming questionable. We shouldn’t join the state to make a mockery of our judicial system by forcing what they want down the throats of unsuspecting judges.
No one is a fool in Nigeria. Every discerning person knows that this thing against Yahaya Bello goes beyond corruption for reasons best known to all those concerned. Anyone joining questionable forces against a victim of political ignominy will one day taste the same bitter pill. Nigeria will only progress if we identify the real enemies of the system. Let us start from the anti-graft agency itself. We need a system where the EFCC, if it must work, is allowed to work without political interference.
By the way, before I rest my pen, I want to ask the Chairman of the Commission: how far with the prosecution of your men who allegedly broke into a lady’s room in the name of operations? Have they been prosecuted? The last we heard was the order of arrest. How about those who allegedly killed their colleague over a suspect’s items? Where are we on the matter?
Fareedah Bala Abubakar, a public affairs analyst and human rights activist, writes from Katsina.
