EFCC: A New Benchmark For Performance Evaluation!

If we are experiencing improvement in some of our federal institutions at the moment, they are not on the strength of the appointments made so far by the President. The President is still the one selling the ticket. What would happen, when the honeymoon is over, or when the Ministry of Justice, ICPC, and EFCC cannot recover the money some members of the ruling party and NEITI have consistently accused the previous administration of stealing?  Would it be stealing and embezzling as usual? Until EFCC redefined its mandate and strategic approach to procedural issues, the nation will continue to lose big time in all the big cases.  

Therefore, the gist of this short piece is on how to overcome those non-substantive legal issues that have consistently derailed EFCC in its quest fro real justice.  Fighting corruption through the legal system is not just about interrogation and "quiz", but successful prosecution, conviction and forfeiture of the stolen wealth to the State. Do NOT invite any suspect for interrogation or "quiz", unless you have probable cause to consummate arrest and proceed to trial. Then, conduct a due diligence review of the nature of the crime committed, the expected remedy, as well as, the jurisdiction of the court. Is it a competent court? In other words, is the case within the power of the court with respect to location and hierarchy? If yes, has the court the power to issue a fine (redress) that is commensurate with the amount stolen or embezzled (grievances suffered)?

The Legal Department at EFCC must undergo a refresher course in JURISDICTION and JURISDICTIONAL issues. When filing a case at a given time, or at a given location, and at a given court, it is trite that you ensure that the court has the power (jurisdiction) to entertain the suit as filed. In addition, be absolutely convinced that the same court has the power to redress the grievances that you have suffered. For instance, you cannot be asking for a N3.7b in fine, when the court does not have the power to award your client more than N750,000.00, as the case may be. Unless, of course, you have a vested interest in the outcome of the litigation. Whatever your motives are, may be ignorance of the applicable statutes or vested interest in the outcome, given the status of EFCC in our war against corruption, a lawyer like you ought to be a guest of the Bar Disciplinary Council immediately. In addition, all the supervising lawyers in the department should not stay a day longer in that complex. Same reason the Chairman of the organization ought to have turned in his resignation letter.

Do you have an "Appeal Team" on standby in the event of a decision that is not favorable to the State? The culture of "we are waiting for a certified true copy of the final judgment before we make a decision on whether to appeal the judgment" is lame, disgraceful and must be discontinued. What about Case Management? Do you have a credible history of the evolution of each and every case that you have filed - stages and outcome? Do you have a Case Manager? IT IS MORE ABOUT LEGAL STRATEGY, THAN THE NUMBER OF SANs HANDLING THE CASE. I must count myself lucky or blessed for the opportunity that I had working at some of the top law firms in Manhattan, New York City for many years.  In other words, what you are reading is based on first hand experience, not textbook or classes lecture notes.

Congress man, Jesse Jackson Jr. is just out of prison for spending part of his campaign donations for private use. I repeat, prosecuted, found guilty and sentenced for buying gifts for his wife using part of the money that well-wishers donated or gave to him for his own reelection. We are not talking about public funds under his control, but money given to him or donated to him for his campaign. 

In similar vein, Congressman Mr. Anderson, a Harvard trained lawyer, is serving jail term for accepting $90,000.00 (Ninety Thousand Dollars) from undercover agents to facilitate a telecom deal in collaboration with a powerful political leader in Nigeria. Within days, the Congressman was apprehended, and FBI was able to recover $80,000.00 (Eighty Thousand Dollars) of the money hidden inside a refrigerator at Mr. Anderson’s residence. Now flip the coin: Nigerian SSS parted with $600,000.00 (Six Hundred Thousand Dollars), I repeat, $600,000.00 of public funds to induce Mallam Farouk Lawan and his deputy (both members of the Nigerian House of Representative) to alter their findings on the now famous Petroleum Subsidy Scandal in favor Mr. Otedola. 

There are three lessons I want President Buhari and his recruiters to learn from here. 

One, the American FBI recovered their money in no time. On the other hand, our SSS is yet to recover a Naira note from Mallam Forouk Lawan and his Deputy, more than two years after the scandal.

Two, Congressman Anderson was tried and convicted, and presently serving his jail term for the crime. On the other hand, the impeccably dressed legislator Lawan is still standing, unruffled in his eminently attired babariga and a matching hat.

Three, America is a very rich country and they respect their Dollar. In no circumstance would a discerning mind fathom a scenario where the FBI would have to part with half a million dollars to instigate a member of the US Congress to alter the finding of an ongoing investigation. On the other hand, Nigeria, supposedly a poor country, way poorer than the United States of America, has no respect for the almighty Dollar, and had no scruple dispensing with that colossal sum of money. So, parting with just $600,000.00 (Six Hundred Thousand Dollars) for an unsuccessful, ill-conceived and crudely executed sting operation as was the case with our SSS agents is no “biggie” – we have our crude oil. Yet, we never stop blaming the same America for not adequately funding our war against the boko haram and home grown terrorist groups. 

Today, Nollywood has reinvented itself. It is one of the most robust and dynamic of its kinds in the universe. In addition, the Nigerian hip-pop culture has taken the globe and the music industry by storm, leading to mass influx of Nigerian foreign born and foreign based artists to our own native homeland for a new start and collaboration. Not left out, is the Nigerian fashion industry. They are giving Hugo Boss and the major established brands a run for their money. Unfortunately we cannot say the same of our political leaders who, time and time again, failed to heal themselves or reinvent themselves for a bold new start.

Politicians who should or ought to be facing prosecution for abandoned projects, over-invoicing and inflation of contracts are now being repackaged for yet another escapade because they wear the garb of progressive. For the zero tolerance to be meaningful and sustainable, it must be seen to be equally dispensed across the board.

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