amendments to efcc

I am pleased to learn that finally the Attorney General of Nigeria has exercised his functions under section 43 of the the Act that established the EFCC. The AG's office has issued an apparently sweeping rules and regulation aimed clearly at conforming the EFCC monster to the constitutional due process both in substantive and procedural regards.

Indeed, from the moment I was detained by the EFCC, I realized to my utter shock that the EFCC was operating like a criminal organization in forms worse than anything Nigerians saw during the worst of the military rules. I was so worried that Nigerians would allow such organization to operate at all. Not only were the EFCC leadership so terrible incompetent, the was corrupt and inept to the core. I immediately began to speak out against this menace. And they punished me for my outspokenness by holding me in detention for 90 days through a lawyer whose personal interests in the my case would soon come to light.

In a recent development, which has now been made public, the AG issued 27 rules/guidelines that could effectively deal a heavy blow on the EFCC abuses. I saw this coming, but I did not want to preempt the announcement. The new rules are to be effective from September of last year (2010). So, a number of the things that EFCC did are already in violation of the rules.

Despite this move, I am compelled to approach this development with caution. Many questions remain to be answered. First, given that the law clearly enabled the Attorney General to regulate the EFCC, why did it take the Attorney General until now to act? Why were many Nigerians allowed to suffer to much pain in the hands of the EFCC before the AG could act to uphold the constitution? We need to see concrete action and not mere pronouncements. Indeed, it is now a common fact that what the EFCC did to me and my family and business was heading toward a sweeping lawsuit in the United States. In that lawsuit, Nigeria would be on trial in a way it has never seen before. Certainly, with these rules, Nigeria will help itself by showing the world that it did not condone some of the extreme aberrations of the EFCC. Also, it is clear that I am presently representing many Nigerians whose rights have been violated by the EFCC over time. While these new measures by the Attorney General are a deep breadth of fresh air and are highly encouraged, they came too late for many victims of the EFCC.

I encourage the Attorney General to do more. I encourage President Jonathan to do more. For the abuses and corruption committed by the leadership of the EFCC, I urge that Mrs. Farida Waziri and certain officers of the EFCC be immediately arrested and prosecuted for corruption immediately. We shall keep our eyes open for further development. Thank you.