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The West Frustrates Nigerian Anti-Graft War For Their Own Benefit
12 June 2009
The International Community is frustrating Nigeria's anti-corruption war because it is benefitting from the situation, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Farida Waziri said yesterday.
Mrs. Waziri at a press conference to mark her first anniversary as Chairman of the commission said the international community has so far not raised any concerns over stolen monies from Nigeria deposited in foreign accounts or investments in their countries by looters.
"The international community is benefitting from Nigeria's criminalities. Nigerians that buy gigantic homes there, they have records but it suits them to keep quiet. Nigerians that steal money and open huge bank accounts there they know and they keep quiet," she said.
She said corruption in Nigeria was across board and "most Nigerians who are being investigated for looting the public purse have their money stashed in off-shore accounts and they build companies abroad when the ordinary Nigerian has no basic amenities."
The EFCC chairman also said when the commission is able to pass the non-conviction assets forfeiture bill into law it will reduce the incentive to acquire luxurious properties.
According to her, the bill is designed to allow for confiscation of property proven to be got with proceeds of corruption even when the commission cannot get a conviction.
She said, "You see in Abuja a lot of estates are springing up and we are waiting for our non-conviction assets bill to be passed and then we will do something about it. We will find out how you got the money to develop these estates if you can't tell us then we take the property to court it has nothing to do with the person and it will be forfeited to government. Even if you say you got a loan from the bank, we will investigate."
Waziri said she was not appointed to shield some thieving ex-governors who were being investigated by her predecessor, Nuhu Ribadu.
Waziri said she was still gathering evidence against some former Governors and will not hesitate to drag them to court if a prima facie case is established.
She said EFCC was still investigating former Governors of Lagos and Rivers state, Bola Tinubu and Peter Odili.
Ex-Governors who were charged to court by Ribadu and are still facing trial include Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, Joshua Dariye of Plateau State, Saminu Turaki of Jigawa State, Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State, James Ibori of Delta State, Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State, Jolly Inyame of Taraba State and Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State.
Two ex-Governors were charged by Mrs. Waziri and they are Michael Botmang of Jos State, Boni Haruna of Adamawa State.
"If I have evidence and if my predecessor had left 31 case files and the rumour was that I was going to kill the war on corruption, the first thing I would have done to sit pretty was to carry these case files to court and you will be worshipping me but I had to work day and night to build case files," she said.
According to her, "I met some of these case files at the initial stages where maybe there were petitions and nothing more was done or there were petitions and statements were recorded or documents were recovered but they were not enough to file charges. I never said anything was missing. The cases are ongoing."
The EFCC boss said, "Governor Tinubu for instance I inherited the case file on him and I am still working on that case file. The thing is if you alert anyone that you are coming after him the first thing he will do is to get anything incriminating and set some on fire and hide some and I think the attitude or actions of my predecessor in talking too much, made it difficult for me.
As I said earlier criminal cases there is no status bar," she explained.
"In Rivers State about Odili there was this obnoxious court order. There was a perpetual injunction. The matter is in court and we assigned the case to a SAN to try and vacate that order. The case is still on appeal. These are some of the high profile cases that a lot of Nigerians are worried about that there is nothing but it is not so," she further said.
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