Politicians are under fire, as Tinubu is being urged by the Coalition to arrest Malami and three other ex-ministers.
Yesterday, the Niger Delta Youth Congress, the Initiative for Ethics and Value Orientation, the Northern Youths Frontiers, the National Movement for Democratic Change, and 107 Anti-Corruption Crusade Groups urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to arrest Politicians like the former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubarka Malami; former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Saadiyya Umar Farouk; and former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika.
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They claimed that these politicians stole trillions of naira in public cash when the four former ministers were in charge.
The groups voted no confidence in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and its leadership, stating that the Chairman of the Commission was corrupt.
Malami appointed Abdulrasheed Bawa to the Commission to investigate the former administration’s serial financial misdeeds.
National Convener Niger Delta Youth Congress, Israel Uwejeyan; National Convener Movement for Democratic Change, Godfrey Osolase; and National Convener Initiative for Ethics and Value Orientation, Bello Idowu issued a united statement demanding that Bawa resign.
We, like other concerned Nigerians, are concerned about the magnitude of the corruption charges leveled against top officials of President Muhammadu Buhari’s former administration.
“While we acknowledge the current administration’s first step toward addressing our grievances by removing Godwin Emefiele as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and subjecting him to an investigation, we remain concerned.”
I have severe doubts about the EFCC’s leadership under Bawa’s leadership. Of particular concern is the lack of action taken against other key collaborators such as Malami, Farouk, and Sirika.
According to reports, the four of them have lost trillions of naira in public monies to corrupt practices under various guises, while the EFCC remained impotent.
By now, everyone is aware that the current EFCC leadership, led by Bawa, was installed and protected by Malami for the sole purpose of covering up the massive serial financial misconduct committed during the previous administration.
We are also concerned about growing concerns that the EFCC’s leadership is attempting to destroy evidence. By slipping relevant documents out of the EFCC headquarters, the former ministers gained knowledge of financial crimes that could be linked to them.
We urge President Tinubu to arrest Malami, Farouk, Sirika, and others immediately and to move quickly to secure available evidence of corruption against them in the possession of the EFCC by immediately removing Bawa and other top officials widely believed to be Malami’s pawns from their positions.
“We urge the president to appoint a more credible EFCC leadership, or to appoint an independent investigation panel of people of reputable integrity to conduct thorough and comprehensive investigations.”
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Finally, we want to express unequivocally that we have lost faith in the EFCC’s current leadership. To conduct a thorough inquiry, the incumbent EFCC chairman must stand down; else, we will be chasing ghosts.
“We firmly believe that a strong and credible EFCC is essential for the prosperity and development of our nation,” the statement said.
