Recently, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), released an updated list of properties seized from an unnamed ‘top military officer’. For most people familiar with the operations of the anti-graft agency, the move was proof that under the new leadership, the commission is rearing to go after those who dip their hands into the public till and make them regurgitate what they corruptly ate....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
While the decision to expose the sleaze is commendable, it is important for the agency to go the whole hug and reveal the identity of the mystery military officer. That in itself will sound a note of warning to people of like minds that there is no longer a hiding place for any public officer, including those in the military.
In the opinion of this newspaper, the revelation is mind-blowing if not totally flabbergasting that just one officer could acquire assets worth N10.9 billion spread across the country. Still, we think that since the forfeiture was made through the court, Nigerians deserve to know who this officer is. That the matter is in court makes it an issue of public interest.
This newspaper, in previous editorials on the issue of security operatives turning the security situation in the country into an industry, we argued that the government owes the nation a duty to fish out the bad eggs and make an example of them. It is common knowledge that the insecurity in the country has lasted this long because security agents are fighting not to win and end it, but to use it to enhance their own pecuniary interests. For them, self-aggrandisement is the name of the game.
In demanding that the EFCC makes public the name and accomplices of the officer, if any, we are calling to mind the probability of subterfuge so as to forestall it. We are not unaware of previous cases involving the EFCC in which it was alleged that recovered properties were not satisfactorily accounted for. Some of them were also alleged to have been either criminally diverted or fraudulent reacquired by the same crook through fronts.
What is so disconcerting in this instance as the EFCC drags its feet over this necessity of making public the name of this military officer is that, before now, the agency celebrates such high-stake recoveries. We remember the case of a former Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun. He was even handcuffed and dragged on the floor publicly.
At that time, the then chairman of EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu was accused of going too far but it served as a demonstration on his part to alert everyone else that there would not be any sacred cow.
Also, there are instances of governors, senators and other public officials whose cases were made public. As a matter of fact, some of them are still serving jail terms. So, we ask again, what is so special about this military officer that his name cannot be mentioned.
The EFCC must strive to be circumspect in their actions and pubic conduct if they are not to make a caricature of the fight against economic and financial crimes. They must also be mindful that there are insinuations already in the public space regarding the agency’s selective justice regime.
Part of the duties of the agency is to ensure that no one benefits from the proceeds of crime. What it entails is that whosoever is caught and found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction for acts prejudicial to public interest is, to that extent, a criminal who should have no claims to decency by whatever description.
The fact that the EFCC stated that the owner of the said properties is a military officer makes it the more curious. Nigerians are interested in knowing who this military officer is. By the way, why was his prosecution shielded in secrecy?
The EFCC is a guru agency when it comes to media trial of suspects. How come there was no mention of this case in the media until it got to the stage of forfeiting assets? It is trite to note that the EFCC is mandated by law not to shield the identity of those who committed economic and financial crimes. Engaging in that, on its own, amounts to aiding and abetting crime. The rational thing to do is for the anti-graft agency to publicise the name of the military officer who committed this heist against the country.
We can’t continue in this fashion if we are serious about sanitising the system. It is not enough for the properties to be confiscated. The offender must be made to face the full wrath of the law to serve as a deterrent to others.
The EFCC must hasten the process of revealing the identity of that military officer who amassed so much ill-gotten wealth at the expense of the rest of us. Almost N11 billion is at stake here. And this may not be all. Nigerians have a right to know who did this and why he is about to get away with it.
