When it comes to following due process of law, it appears that the present head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, is worse than the former helmsman, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu.
In the days of Ribadu, the anti-graft agency paid no heed to due process. It disobeyed court orders with impunity and detained suspects endlessly without charge, among several other infractions.
At some point, the agency held Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), for 12 days, or so, without any charge. I argued that if an authentic Nigerian ‘big man’ like Marwa’s fundamental rights could be so easily trampled on, then many other citizens could be kept endlessly in EFCC’s detention.
As they say, what goes round; comes round. Ribadu eventually became a victim of the same high-handedness and lawlessness, which he perpetuated with impunity.
Since President Muhammadu Buhari started executing his sole agenda of fighting corruption, Magu and the EFCC have been carrying on as if they are a law unto themselves. He has such disdain for due process and the rights of individuals guaranteed under the Constitution.
Indeed, in paying little or no heed to the rule of law, Magu has surpassed Ribadu. He was once quoted as saying that the Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Olisa Metuh, was being kept in detention because he refused to refund the sum of N400 million, which he allegedly diverted from the funds meant for arms purchase. And that he will only release him, if he returned his “loot.”
Magu gave the example of another person who was given bail because he returned some money that he was accused of stealing and promised to bring the balance later. As far as the EFCC is concerned, there is nothing like presumption of innocence. The anti-graft agency wants to be the complainant, prosecutor and judge at the same time.
The Constitution is very clear about the liberty of the citizens of Nigeria. Generally, you cannot detain anyone for more than 48 hours (24 hours in most instances) without charging the person to court. It is also wrong to just arrest people and clamp them in detention and then begin to fish for evidence to prosecute them. The better way will be to investigate. When you have sufficient evidence, arrest the person and arraign him or her in court within twenty-four hours. But, no, all the people arrested by the EFCC are already guilty and must be treated as criminals even before they get the benefit of a trial.
The EFCC boss has actually accused lawyers of aiding and abetting corruption by taking up cases of those accused of corruption by the Commission. As far as he is concerned, once the EFCC labels you a criminal, you should just be thrown into jail. So why bother with keeping and paying lawyers, including external lawyers, who are paid huge sums of money to prosecute matters for the agency?
In other countries, a man like Mr. Magu would have been forced to resign his position, going by his utterances and actions. He has by his actions demonized lawyers who carry out their legitimate duties and obligations to clients and he is being hailed by a largely uninformed and ignorant public who forget that they may one day find themselves, or someone they know, at the receiving end of the agency’s impunity and would need someone to plead their case.
I have said it and will say it again that the EFCC, like the Nigerian Police, is more interested in intimidation and harassment. Nobody remembers now that the immediate past Governor of Abia State, Mr. Theodore Orji, got sworn-in after he was given bail while in the custody of the anti-graft agency.
Ribadu and late Gani Fawehinmi criticized the judge for granting Orji bail. I made an intervention by arguing that the offences for which he was being held were bailable and that since time does not run against criminal offences, nothing stopped the Commission from prosecuting him after leaving office as governor. Orji has since left office, but nothing has been heard of his case.
The EFCC, being a creation of statute, should do well to respect the Constitution and other laws that prescribe a presumption of innocence and guarantees every person a fair trial and the right to be represented by a lawyer of his/her own choice. With proper and painstaking investigations and competent prosecutors, the EFCC should be able to put away those who have stolen our common wealth without insulting our sensibilities.
PUNCH
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