Thursday, January 15, 2009
RE: THE EFCC, MISSING FILES AND EMMANUEL AKOMAYE
We, the entire leadership and members of the registered Development focused and Democracy inclined Non-Governmental Organization:- Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, have read the ridiculously catchy, illogically and dubiously couched advertorial on page 58 of Thisday of Thursday, January 15th, 2009 with the above title paid for by a so-called face less group - “concerned Nigerians in the United Kingdom” and endorsed by one funny character Abubakar Suleiman wherein the phantom group blamed Emmanuel Akomaye for allegedly been behind the so-called missing EFCC case files.
As a pro-transparency campaigner, our platform is hereby compelled by historical necessity to debunk this unwarranted debauchery, unsubstantiated, baseless, undocumented and malicious falsehood peddled against a highly respected young and upwardly mobile pro-transparency enforcer and one of Nigeria’s best known anti-graft crusaders Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye who incidentally is the Secretary of EFCC with good reputation as an unblemished and upright Nigerian even among Civil Society Organizations that have consistently remained vocal in their advocacy for transparency, accountability and good governance.
The aforementioned advertorial endorsed by Mr. Abubakar Suleiman is not only spurious, mischievous, offensive but is an unmitigated insult to the collective intelligent psyche of Nigerians because Nigerians are aware that the so-called allegation of missing case files of Governors leveled against officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) was baseless and has been debunked severally from the official quarters of the Anti-graft Commission. In one of the news releases endorsed by Mr. Femi Babafemi, the Head, Media and Publicity of EFCC dated 14 th of October, 2008,Stated satisfactorily thus:- “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has said that it has not drawn the curtain on the investigation and prosecution of some former Governors as being insinuated in some newspapers’ reports”.
According to a statement by the Commission’s Head Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Babafemi, “the clarification became necessary following misleading reports in some newspapers over comments made by the EFCC Chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri in response to questions asked by participants at a round table discussion held by the Initiatives Board of the National Assembly in Abuja”.
A participant had asked why the Commission was yet to prosecute the 31 ex-governors the former Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu claimed were ready for trial.
In her response, Mrs. Waziri denied inheriting 31 case files on ex-governors, stressing that she has been working on what she met on ground in addition to fresh evidence she has been able to gather against the former public office holders.
In her words, “we work on facts available to us and not on speculations. There are no case files on all these people as being suggested . We are now beginning to investigate and prosecute some of them. Truthfully, I got there and what I found is what I am working with. I work on the case files I found to see if there is prima facie evidence. But if there is nothing in the case file or there is no case file at all, there is nothing I can do than to start afresh”.
”Therefore, there are no 31 case files on ex-governors as claimed. Before arraigning anyone there must be facts, there must be evidences, there must be witnesses. And these are things we are working on quietly to put together before we can take any of them to court”.
The statement by the EFCC’s spokesperson further said that at the moment no fewer than 11 ex-governors are facing prosecution in court while some others are still being investigated to gather enough evidence to prosecute them.
“it is therefore misleading to suggest that because the present leadership of the commission did not inherit the 31 case files, the commission cannot build up evidence against those that have questions to answer”, it added.
HURIWA is convinced that it is therefore preposterous that some untrained hawks who want to seek the favor of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Chairman would hide under the covers of the dark to unleash a reign of media terrorism not just directed at Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye but to the collective intelligence of Nigerians.
As a platform made up essentially of humane thinkers, investigative journalists and philosophers dedicated to using their talents to work for the comprehensive enthronement of the principle of the rule of law, respect for the Human Rights of Nigerians, HURIWA hereby states emphatically that we believe like most discerning Nigerians that there are no missing files as clearly stated by EFCC.
HURIWA uses this auspicious forum to appeal to unemployed fictitious writers to allow the gentleman Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye and all other good operatives of the EFCC to face their constitutional duty of eradicating all traces of corruption in Nigeria because we believe that corruption is the root cause of Human Rights violations. Section 15(5) of the 1999 constitution stipulates that Nigeria shall abolish all corrupt practices. We say with pride that with statesmen like Emmanuel Akomaye, Nigeria will achieve so much in the fight against corruption.
Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko
(National Coordinator)
Miss Orok Asuquo
(Youth Pro-transparency leader)
