In this report, KUNLE ODEREMI, BOLA BADMUS and Isaac Shobayo write on the consistent choice of northerners as chairmen of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since its establishment about 20 years ago and curiosity being expressed by some concerned Nigerians.
THERE are more than 100 anti-corruption agencies (ACA) across the world. Some are set up by international bodies including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations and the European Union. Others are established by governments with the mandate of investigating and prosecuting cases of malfeasance and abuse of office in official quarters. Many African countries established such anti-graft agencies. Notwithstanding the preponderance of the agencies, the global body, Transparency International, submits that their performance, effectiveness and efficiency are incapacitated by limited resources, power to fight corruption and political interference by government and their agencies.
Like Nigeria, some countries have a multiplicity of agencies saddled with tackling corruption. In this category are Azerbaijan, India, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine and the United States, Austria, South Africa, New Wales, Canada, Cameroun, Egypt, Italy, Kenya, Indonesia, Liberia, Malaysia, Poland, Russia and Romania. In Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was created by an Act of the National Assembly on December 12, 2002 under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The law was amended in 2004 and signed into law on June 4, 2004 by the then president.
Since the inception of the agency, its headship has enjoyed the monopoly of the northern part of the country. The situation has continued to elicit curiousity among some Nigerians because of what they described as the diversity of the country, coupled with the expediency of balance between the North and the South in making strategic appointments. One of the posers is whether there is dearth of qualified and competent personnel from the South. How altruistic are the appointing authorities on the criteria competence, diligence, integrity and professionalism on the choice of who mans EFCC? Is the quality of personnel capable of leading the commission limited to any geopolitical divide? What role do extraneous forces play in determining the choice of who qualifies for the sensitive office of chairman of the anti-graft agency despite the fact that the nomination is subject to the scrutiny and approval of the Senate?
The list of the chairmen of the commission since it was established include Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Mrs Farida Waziri, Ibrahim Lamorde; Ibrahim Magu, Abdilrasheed Bawa and Abdulkarim Chukkol in an acting capacity. Under 20 years, the EFCC has thus had six chairmen, with each exiting office under curious circumstances. Some have been investigated over allegations of fraud and abuse of office, with observers sometimes likening the scenario in the commission to a case of the hunter becoming the hunted. The situation, according to them, has had implications for the integrity of the commission, public trust and confidence. The statement issued by President Bola Tinubu on his decision to suspend Bawa as EFCC chairman to allow for a thorough investigation on weighty allegations against him reinforced the curious circumstances that culminated into the exit from office of other past chairmen of the commission.
Ribadu is the pioneer chairman of the EFCC and hails from Adamawa State in the North-East. Mrs Farida Waziri, who succeeded Ribadu, was born and raised in Gboko, Benue state, North-Central. Magu is an indigene of Borno State in the North-East. Ibrahim Lamorde from Adamawa was appointed acting chairman of the EFCC on November 23 , 2011, after Waziri was replaced by former President Goodluck Jonathan. The retired Deputy Inspector General of Police was confirmed as EFCC chairman by the Senate on February 15, 2012.
On June 6, 2008, Waziri was sworn in as the new chairperson of the EFCC. Waziri was removed by former President Jonathan on 23 November 2011 and replaced by Lamorde as acting chairman, who was confirmed on February 15, 2012 by the Senate. Lamorde was sacked by former President Muhammadu Buhari on November 9, 2015, and replaced with Ibrahim Magu. However, the Senate refused to confirm Magu as chairman of the agency because of an alleged security reports by law enforcement agencies.
Magu hails from Tudun Wada local government area of Kano Sate. He served as acting chairman of the EFCC from November 9, 2015, until his suspension on July 7, 2020. He was replaced by Mohammed Umar as the acting EFCC chairman. Magu was appointed as EFCC chairman after Ibrahim Lamorde, who had earlier served twice and was sacked by then-president Muhammadu Buhari. Both Lamorde and Magu served during Nuhu Ribadu’s time at the anti-graft agency and were also credited with part of the ‘success’ Ribadu recorded in his time.
On July 6, 2020, Magu was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Police over sundry allegations.. So, on July 7, he was suspended from his position as chairman of the agency pending the completion of the investigation. On July 10, 2020, former President Buhari approved the immediate suspension of Magu as acting chairman of EFCC in a statement issued by the Office of the then Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami. The president approved that the Director of Operations of the agency, Mohammed Umar Abba. Abba worked at the Counterterrorism and General Investigations (CTGI) section of EFCC at the headquarters in Abuja and became the Director of Operations of the Commission in 2017, a position he held till 2020 when he took over from Ibrahim Magu as acting chairman, a position he held till he returned to the police. Abba was tasked to take charge and oversee the activities of the commission pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and further directives. This development paved the way for Bawa to step on February 16, 2021. He was nominated as substantive chairman of EFCC by Buhari.
However, Bawa was suspended as EFCC chairman on June 15, 2023 by President Tinubu to enable a thorough investigation of certain allegations against him. Therefore, Abdulkarim Chukkol was named as the acting chairman of the EFCC. He is from Borno State in the North-East zone.
Why South hasn’t produced EFCC chairman
Some Nigerian leaders, who spoke on issues surrounding the choice of leadership in EFCC, adduced a number of reasons. They are of the view that the rate of leadership turnover in the commission was due to antics of some forces to hold the EFCC by the jugular for class interest. One of those who belong to this school of thought is Chief Tokunboh Ajasin. He claimed that the latest leadership change that brought in an acting chairman could be part of the fallout of the political undercurrent in the last political dispensation.
According to him, “What I suspect is that the chairman’s political principal is the former attorney general who himself, as a member of a cabal, did put a lot of obstacles on the way of the current government. So, I believe this is a payback time. What goes round comes around. This is what I suspect. Government, of course, has more insight than me. So, there may be more to it that I am not privy to.”
In his opinion, the national president of the Association of Middle Belt Ethnic Nationalities (ASOMBEN), Mr Sule Kwasau said a section of the country would continue to monopolise the leadership of the agency because of its attractiveness and the stereotype that they are born to rule. He said the supremacy ideology of an average Nigerian might also be a factor in why people are often recycled to head the agency. According to him, “Most northerners are armed with the supremacy ideology; there’s a saying in the north that the people are born to rule. And some elites not only believe in this but hold on to it. It is also considered one of the juicy agencies that people want to preside over. So, people have always been attracted to where they will dispense power, and some people have also put their eyes on where they consider grade A parastatals and departments of government where they can exercise power in a way and manner they feel comfortable with. It is not a sheer coincidence that all the previous chairmen of the EFCC come from the North. The same thing can be said of other people who are in government too. There are particular positions that have been monopolised by a segment of the country for a very long time. But this EFCC is more like a jinx, and I think that jinx needs to be broken; we have incorruptible people in all segments of Nigeria,” he said.
Kwasau alleged that there is a temptation in the office that even an angel has to be careful about because there is too much power in the office. “The rate of leadership turnover in the agency is not normal; the turnover is high because a country gets the kind of leadership it deserves. There is one thing with Nigerians: we are addicted to mercy rather than being addicted to justice; that is the difference between Nigeria and America. People will deliberately break a law because of their backgrounds in terms of ethnicity, religion, and tribe, then begin to beg for mercy.
A member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Olu Alabi claimed that the skewed leadership of the EFCC against the southern part of the country was a deliberate policy. He said the lack of due process was responsible for the turnover of its leadership. “The appointments of previous heads of EFCC and in fact, most of the security organisations have always been deliberately skewed for the Northerners, as a deliberate policy, since the First Republic by the British colonialists and the status quo has been maintained, with special reference to the Police and the Army, from where even the newer security agencies sprang out. The rate of turn over is not good for the antigraft Agency like EFCC, which makes a ridicule of what an ideal Commission, with fixed tenure, ought to be. Every situation or establishment is influenced by political/ethnic considerations in Nigeria. If ab initio, due process is carried for suitable candidates for the normal fixed term of four/ five years for a commission.
Another prominent politician, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse said that appointment of Mr Abdulkarim Chukkol, another northerner as acting EFCC was a reflection of the ethnocentric administrative structure enshrined in the establishment by the immediate past administration. Pearse, who is the Convener, Reset Lagos PDP, said: “President Tinubu has the prerogative of appointing a substantive chairman of his choice once Chukkol’s term as Acting Chairman of the commission is over, noting that “the next EFCC chairman may or may not be a Northerner; and may be male or female.”
Speaking on the leadership matter in the commission, a former two-term president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and PENGASSAN, Comrade Peter Esele disagreed on those who presumed an inherent banana peel in the system. He quipped: “There is no banana peel. EFCC chairman should be above board.” Similarly, a professor of Strategy and development, Anthony Kila said the EFCC was a victim of the brand of politics in practice in the country. He advocated the need for independence for EFCC like any institution to thrive and fullfil its mandate. He stated: “Generally speaking, we must consider that the EFCC is not isolated from the ongoing trajectory of Nigeria. It is like many institutions and policies born out of good intentions but later suffers the fate of politics, competence and lack of sanctity of institutions.
On a particular level, we must look at individual cases with an open mind and based on facts and logic to see if truly the chairperson has abused office or committed other crimes they have been accused of and removed for. The question of who watches the watcher is a long battle in human institutions. Moving forward, If we truly want institutions to endure and we want stability in our organisations, then we need to ensure offices are assured independence and they continuously act in accordance with the law and transparently.”
On his part, a former Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly and ex-acting governor, Honourable Abubakar Bello said he was saddened by issues surrounding the suspension of Bawa as EFCC chairman. “The AbdulRasheed’s saga was very tragic and traumatic to bear. It’s so saddening that Nigerians of all categories are ready to swallow corruption pills even if such leads to their death. What a tragedy!
“What kind of nation is this? And what has happened to us that we no longer have positive values towards integrity? It’s only in Nigeria, that an individual will approach court seeking order disallowing an agency of government saddled with investigation and prosecution from doing It’s duty! Look at how the system in America treated Mr Trump! Assuming Trump is Nigerian ex-president; his supporters will have gone to the streets shouting ethnic or religious bias! I hope that Tinubu will keep the pressure on the pedal of good governance and ensure that people pay for any infringement, and ultimately make our public institutions better than their present standard. A standard best described as being like, ‘drenched hen.
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