Coalition of rights groups have called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately order the arrest of former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami; former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Saadiyya Umar Farouk; and former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika.
The groups including the Niger Delta Youth Congress (NDYC), Initiative for Ethics and Value Orientation (IEVO), Northern Youths Frontiers (NYF), National Movement for Democratic Change (NMDC) and 107 Anti-Corruption Crusade Groups made the call on Wednesday in Lagos at a press conference, as they sadly noted that trillions of naira of public funds were stolen under the watch of the four ex-ministers.
This was just as they passed a vote of no confidence in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) led by AbdulRasheed Bawa for its inability to address corruption allegations in the country.
National Convener, Niger Delta Youth Congress, Israel Uwejeyan, while making the call at a press conference attended by Godfrey Osolase of Movement for Democratic Change, Godfrey Osolase (IEVO) and Comrade Bello Idowu, among others, demanded that Bawa must step down.
Uwejeyan said that the groups like other concerned Nigerians were worried by the enormity of accumulated corruption allegations mounting against top officials of the previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, but quickly acknowledged the first step taken by President Tinubu towards addressing “our grievances by relieving Godwin Emefiele of his position as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor and subjecting him to an investigation.”
The rights activist, however, expressed the groups’ serious reservations over the quality and calibre of the EFCC leadership under Bawa, saying that of major concern was that the AntAnti-corruptionency appeared helpless while trillions of naira of public funds had been lost to corrupt practices under various guises.
“We call on President Bola Tinubu to urgently ensure the arrest of Abubakar Malami, Saadiyya Umar Farouk, Hadi Sirika, and others, and to quickly move to secure available evidence of corruption against them in possession of the EFCC by immediately relieving Bawa and other top officials strongly believed to be Malami’s pawns of their position.
“In conclusion, we want to vehemently state that we have lost confidence in the current leadership of the EFCC. For any thorough investigation to take place, the current EFCC Chairman must step aside, else we will be chasing shadows.
“We firmly believe that a strong and credible EFCC is essential for the prosperity and development of our nation.
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